BAR AWARDS INDUSTRY FEATURE
PICTURED: EVOLVE SPIRIT BAR GENERAL MANAGER BEC GOODMAN. CREDIT NIKKI DAVIS-JONES/ THE MERCURY
A host of Tasmanian hospitality hot spots will fly the flag for the state at the 2022 Bartender Magazine Australia Bar Awards, looking to replicate the success of one venue 12 months ago. Robbie Brown’s general manager Liam McQuade might have taken a bit more of a back seat in the day- to-day operations of the popular Kingston venue, but it will always remain his “little baby”. And while he is as proud as punch that Robbie Brown’s has been nominated as a Tasmanian finalist in the Regional Bar of the Year category for the Bartender Magazine Australian Bar Awards, he is quick to praise the efforts of venue manager Daniel Conway and bartender Jordan Flynn for returning the bar back to where it belongs. Robbie Brown’s is one of 12 Tasmanian venues in the running for a national gong at the Bar Awards night, which will unfold during Sydney Bar Week in early September. With an increase in votes of around 50 per cent this year, the Bar Awards continue rising in popularity and businesses from the Apple Isle continue rising to the challenge.
Last year Evolve Spirits Bar at MACq01 was crowned the Australian Hotel Bar of the Year for the second year running, and McQuade would love to see Robbie Brown’s follow suit. “I think it’s recognition which has been a long time coming for the guys there at the moment, Dan and Jordan specifically,” McQuade says of being a Tassie finalist. “I’ve sort of stayed away from the bar awards for a couple of years and put my focus on the venue itself because a bit of work goes into getting nominated. It was never really high up in my priorities when I started at Robbie’s, I wanted to focus on developing the venue and all the behind the scenes stuff. Dan and Jordan came along, they really helped me take my foot off the gas for the bar side of things and focus more on the bigger picture and let them run the bar. “So it is great for them to get that recognition as they’ve been working hard and looking after that little space for me. That’s where it all started when I took over, it was my little baby and then we developed the restaurant and I had to put my focus somewhere else. It’s really back to where it should be thanks to them.”
34 Tasmanian Hospitality Review August/July Edition
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