Kava Bar in NYC

[Deleted User01]

Headhodge said: I think maybe if I asked @Deleted User01 he might reply with something like "Don't Reinvent the Wheel"

Deleted User01 says, you can reinvent the wheel if you think you can offer value or uniqueness. I am in a tech field also and I came in when there was plenty of competition 20 years ago. But I offered a good price and superior support and I'm still here. Course I had a lot of energy back then. And I was lucky because my core employees were the best of the best. I also had my fill of working for unsuccessful businesses in the same field so I had a blueprint of what NOT TO DO. And I can't say this loud enough, DO NOT GO INTO A BUSINESS THAT YOU DON'T KNOW LIKE THE BACK OF YOUR HAND.

I also have reservations about a really nice bar that serves both liquor and Kava. I wish you all the best but I don't think it is going to help the Kava community. But a nice bar with a wall full of craft beer, a good selection of single malt scotch and some decent Pub Food .... well now you're talking and you can count me in (on my non-Kava drinking days). Offering Kava will make you unique but Kava and liquor is like mixing oil and water and someone will end up on the Front Page News after mixing the two. I've mixed them and the result was less than helpful. Luckily I stayed at home and no one got hurt except my pride.

P.S. I recently went to a pub in El Paso that offered both a great selection of craft beer, single malt scotch, great pub food, and at a reasonable price. I went there twice in a 24 hour period and I learned that they are expanding to my home town. And we have a ton of craft beer bars here but none with this unique combination. Time will tell.

 

[kingkava]

Best wishes on your venture, I think its going to be great. I saw a piece on how you and your partner started.

What is the best flavors that goes well with kava?

I think you're thinking of my friend Nick's company King Kava which bottles kava tea in Queens. They're actually going to be working together with us in the future. But yeah, I've always loved their name and totally stole it for my username (that won't be the name of the kava bar). Great flavors that go well with kava are chocolate, honey, and most fruit juices. We have some pretty creative concoctions in the works that use coconut, margarita, and even beer flavors- it's better than it sounds, believe me!

 

[kingkava]

Headhodge said: I think maybe if I asked @Deleted User01 he might reply with something like "Don't Reinvent the Wheel"

Deleted User01 says, you can reinvent the wheel if you think you can offer value or uniqueness. I am in a tech field also and I came in when there was plenty of competition 20 years ago. But I offered a good price and superior support and I'm still here. Course I had a lot of energy back then. And I was lucky because my core employees were the best of the best. I also had my fill of working for unsuccessful businesses in the same field so I had a blueprint of what NOT TO DO. And I can't say this loud enough, DO NOT GO INTO A BUSINESS THAT YOU DON'T KNOW LIKE THE BACK OF YOUR HAND.

I also have reservations about a really nice bar that serves both liquor and Kava. I wish you all the best but I don't think it is going to help the Kava community. But a nice bar with a wall full of craft beer, a good selection of single malt scotch and some decent Pub Food .... well now you're talking and you can count me in (on my non-Kava drinking days). Offering Kava will make you unique but Kava and liquor is like mixing oil and water and someone will end up on the Front Page News after mixing the two. I've mixed them and the result was less than helpful. Luckily I stayed at home and no one got hurt except my pride.

P.S. I recently went to a pub in El Paso that offered both a great selection of craft beer, single malt scotch, great pub food, and at a reasonable price. I went there twice in a 24 hour period and I learned that they are expanding to my home town. And we have a ton of craft beer bars here but none with this unique combination. Time will tell.

This is very true. Fortunately I've been in the restaurant industry for a while, and have helped open several restaurants. I know almost everything there is to know about opening a restaurant/bar. I agree with you that mixing alcohol and kava can be horrible idea. This is why we will not be selling any alcohol. I love good craft beer and scotch, but it just wouldn't work.

 

[kingkava]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I really appreciate all your ideas and the kind words. Unfortunately though I still haven't found anyone who is interested in becoming a business partner (co-owner) or any potential employees for the kava bar. Finding these people was the main reason that I posted this. If any of you know of any kava lovers who have been thinking about getting involved in a startup, or really just anyone in the city who enjoys kava, please let them know about this opportunity. I really want to bring in kava lovers, and believe it or not it's been very difficult finding them here in NYC. Sadly, most New Yorkers have never even heard of it. I'd much rather hire people who enjoy and appreciate kava rather than people who are just trying to make some money. Thanks again!

 

[The Kap'n]

Sounds familiar. I think, and kava bar owners can probably back this up, is that you have to create the kava lovers in your area. Here in Nashville I've seen so many places that I think to myself "sure wish that was a kava bar". Honestly I think it would go over rather well with our dense hipster populace. No offense to any hipsters that for some reason claim to be hipsters.

Keep looking, We kavasseurs are out there. The number grows daily.

 

[Deleted User01]

King Kava. Once you have investors, you are not the owner anymore (unless its your in laws). I had the mistaken idea that you were going to sell liquor and Kava.

Here are some unsolicited ideas. Center your bar around the concept of Health and Serenity. Something along a juice bar with Kava and a limited but very, very healthy menu. Lots of veggies, easy on the fish, chicken and especially beef. Ambience is everything and the music has to be right. Put yourself in a neighborhood full of fitness centers and yoga studios. So who is your audience? One example, the New Yourker who is trying to get off the booze/benzos but needs a stress reliever after a horrible day at the office. He may also be fighting high blood pressure and his Doc is trying to get him to watch his diet. Now he can finally sleep well. The person who came from the workout center and is ready for some of the same. And oh by the way, this menu looks really, really healthy, might as well eat here too. For those that don't like "drugs" of any sort, a few select Teas, Coffees, a few Smoothie and Juice options. A limited menu where everything on it is done very, very well. No bouncers and no liquor license. A place where everyone there is your friend.

Cheap Market Research? Google every Kava bar on the planet and go to Yelp and see what the customers have to say. Your next (and last vacation) should be a road trip to visit the best Kava bars. It would be nice if Judd would weigh in because he has been there and done that. No doubt the restaurant business is tougher than most people imagine but you already know this.

Please keep us posted as you develop your concept. It sounds really really interesting and I hope you are wildly successful.

 

[Krunky]

Kingkava- I would love to work at a kava bar in NYC! I'm looking at moving to one of the coasts. Currently, in the Midwest, and have spent many years in retail/customer service and have been a barista in LA. Let me know if I can help in any way! Wishing you all the best, in your new venture.
- Larry

 

[KavaKenji]

Hey guys, I'm in the process of opening the very first kava bar in NYC. So far I've got a lot of people involved - from interior decorators to kava cocktail mixologists. I've also got a few potential investors. I'm looking for a business partner, as well as people who would be interested in working there. It's going to be very different than any other kava bar, and I think if all goes as planned it's going to make kava more popular than ever before. Let me know as soon as possible if you're interested!

I'm a kavasseur and native Brooklynite. I'm interested in starting a kava business and am interested in partnering.

 

[Deleted User01]

Ok, you'se guys. (is that NY enough?). You will only succeed if you follow the recipes posted by the 3 Kavateers and our Faithful Following on thiis forum. We know what is yummy for the Tummy. Good luck in your business venture!

 

[Alien]

I would recommend taking some cues from some other kava bars in the US by having pictures up on the walls showing some of the processes and ceremonies around the traditional cultures. I would also recommend having some live kava plants in the bar. These two things together help to educate people a lot better than simply literature. Just my two cents...

 

[Vekta]

That wine menu sounds f-ing amazing. I've said I'm a kavasseur (evenm though there is only one true kavasseur...) but I would love for someone to offer me a leather-bound book with every (safe) strain known to man and then prepare each for me and allow me to sip them and comment on them.

Vekta (I think) came up with a very nice tasting review one time.

Yup...I think it was. This wine-menu type thing I'm reading about sounds like a good idea to me. Kava really does have a flavor and prepared traditionally it stands out. Well...to me it does.

G' me a shell of a nice peppery, earthy kava and a couple of ribs. Now that right there is a meal.

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

Hi King kava, I like your idea about the kava being like fine wine, that is what I have always said about my kava, I grow Gourmet Hawaiian Kava and it is truly like fine wine, each one is different and has qualities all there own, just like I mention on my website.
It might help if you told us what your looking for in a partner, is it $$$$ you want or kava or kava expertise. Let us know more about what kind of partner your looking for. Aloha.

Chris

 

[Absent Minded]

Can't help in terms of investing, but if you do open up, I'll be making a trip through the tunnel (or over the bridge depending on where you're at) to visit

 

[RisingRoot]

Hi,
I live in Brooklyn and am really excited about your project. I love kava and I'm also an aspiring herbalist. I'd love to get involved with the kava bar.
How do I get in touch with you? Let's meet up and talk.
AJ

 

[Paradise Kava]

Wishing you the very best! A Kava bar is a lovely idea in NYC and will do very well imo.
We hope you will join the American Kava Association's subscription for Bar Owners when the website is up and running shortly.
Cheers!
Adil Ghiasi

 

[moor1984]

Hi KingKava, if you've already opened up your kava bar in NYC, or are intending to do so some time soon, I'd love to write about it as part of a larger trend piece about kava aficionados in New York. Please email me at robertmoor.freelanceATgmail

thanks,

RM
robertmoor.com

 

[Hyperion]

Headhodge said: I think maybe if I asked @Deleted User01

I also have reservations about a really nice bar that serves both liquor and Kava.

Yep. This is a definitely serious concern. Someone who doesn't know anything about kava, drinks their normal nights amount of alcohol, downs a strong amount of kava on top of it, and then proceeds to smash their car into a group of pedestrians. Guess what the headlines will read? It won't mention alcohol.

I'm sorry, but I think that at this time in the USA, it's a very bad idea to be publicly mixing up kava and alcohol and serving it to a bunch of people who know absolutely nothing about kava. In a city that knows absolutely nothing about kava. And this is NYC, the city that tried to ban 32 oz. sodas! Just imagine the freak out over this new stuff that no one ever heard of.

 

[Hyperion]

That being said, what part of the city will your place be in? I'd love to have some kava at a kava bar. I would definitely stop in next time I'm up there if I know where it is.

 

[The Kap'n]

He's cleared that up for us that he indeed would not have served alcohol at his establishment.

 

[Didgman Frankie]

Any progress on this? I'm visiting NYC in a few days, and wouldn't mind visiting a kava bar