EPISODE · Apr 7, 2026 · 59 MIN
#87 Kim Haasarud: Are Bar Owners Waiting for a Guest Who No Longer Exists
from Serves You Right · host Andrew Roy
Most hospitality operators are running a broken strategy and calling it optimism. They are sourcing the same ingredients, targeting the same guest, and waiting for a market that structurally no longer exists. The middle of the market is hollowing out, consumer spending has split into luxury experiences and high-value basics, and the bar industry's third space identity is being competed away by bookstores, online communities, and drive-through coffee brands that have cracked Gen Z culture without serving a single craft cocktail. Kim Haasarud, 20-year beverage innovation veteran, author of eight cocktail books including the 101 series published by John Wiley & Sons, USBG leader, and consultant to national chains and hotel groups, brings the strategic clarity this industry desperately needs. This conversation is a direct challenge to the way you are thinking about your concept, your menu, your competitions, and your creative identity.Expect to Learn:What the Stockdale Paradox reveals about why hospitality optimism is killing businesses right now, and the specific mental shift operators need to make before it is too late to pivot.The exact reason competition judges can identify an AI-generated entry within seconds, and what you must do instead to make your submission the one they remember.Why the "I work busy shifts, I know how to make drinks fast" mindset is actively sabotaging your competition performance, and the unconventional practice method a world-class winner uses to stay on pace under pressure.How the economy is forcing every concept into a binary choice, and the creative frameworks successful operators are using right now to position on either end rather than disappear in the middle.The single most important rule in any competition, the one that most experienced bartenders still skip, and why violating it results in automatic disqualification with zero chance of appeal.Links:Kim Haasarud on SubstackKim Haasarud on LinkedInLiquid ArchitectureThe United States Bartenders Guild (USBG)Jeffrey Morgenthaler's blogService starts now.Follow the show: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTubeI talk mostly to people in and around the service industry space. I'm looking to hear from the people I wish I could have talked to when I was coming up in restaurants. Said another way: I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. Check out the Podcast Website Here and get in touch with me!Classic Episodes You May Like:Doug Frost MW MSJeffrey MorgenthalerET: Entrepreneur (and creator of Surfer on Acid)Edward Slingerland's Masterful work on IntoxicationAndrew Hurley of Vegas.WineChris Tunstall of A Bar AboveTony Abou-GanimBobby "G" GleasonAs always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.Cheers
What this episode covers
Most hospitality operators are running a broken strategy and calling it optimism. They are sourcing the same ingredients, targeting the same guest, and waiting for a market that structurally no longer exists. The middle of the market is hollowing out, consumer spending has split into luxury experiences and high-value basics, and the bar industry's third space identity is being competed away by bookstores, online communities, and drive-through coffee brands that have cracked Gen Z culture without serving a single craft cocktail. Kim Haasarud, 20-year beverage innovation veteran, author of eight cocktail books including the 101 series published by John Wiley & Sons, USBG leader, and consultant to national chains and hotel groups, brings the strategic clarity this industry desperately needs. This conversation is a direct challenge to the way you are thinking about your concept, your menu, your competitions, and your creative identity.Expect to Learn:What the Stockdale Paradox reveals about why hospitality optimism is killing businesses right now, and the specific mental shift operators need to make before it is too late to pivot.The exact reason competition judges can identify an AI-generated entry within seconds, and what you must do instead to make your submission the one they remember.Why the "I work busy shifts, I know how to make drinks fast" mindset is actively sabotaging your competition performance, and the unconventional practice method a world-class winner uses to stay on pace under pressure.How the economy is forcing every concept into a binary choice, and the creative frameworks successful operators are using right now to position on either end rather than disappear in the middle.The single most important rule in any competition, the one that most experienced bartenders still skip, and why violating it results in automatic disqualification with zero chance of appeal.Links:Kim Haasarud on SubstackKim Haasarud on LinkedInLiquid ArchitectureThe United States Bartenders Guild (USBG)Jeffrey Morgenthaler's blogService starts now.Follow the show: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTubeI talk mostly to people in and around the service industry space. I'm looking to hear from the people I wish I could have talked to when I was coming up in restaurants. Said another way: I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. Check out the Podcast Website Here and get in touch with me!Classic Episodes You May Like:Doug Frost MW MSJeffrey MorgenthalerET: Entrepreneur (and creator of Surfer on Acid)Edward Slingerland's Masterful work on IntoxicationAndrew Hurley of Vegas.WineChris Tunstall of A Bar AboveTony Abou-GanimBobby "G" GleasonAs always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.Cheers
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#87 Kim Haasarud: Are Bar Owners Waiting for a Guest Who No Longer Exists
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