Open your bar in 45 days.
A hands-on bar opening program for experienced NYC operators, independent restaurants, small hospitality groups, and hotels. Regular on-site presence, proven processes and training, a deep NYC talent pool, and constant priority communication from the first call to opening night. Menu, sourcing, SOPs, hires, vendors, and the opening event, all run with you.
45 days or less, pending operational and compliance timelines. Built to pay for itself in weeks, not months.
Apply for your opening →A hands-on 45-day sprint to a profitable opening.
Launch45 is the productized version of a process built across 30+ successful bar and restaurant launches in NYC, Paris, London, and Edinburgh. Independent restaurants, small hospitality groups, and hotels. The same playbook every time, tuned to your concept.
You bring the concept, the capital, the license, and the decision-making. I bring 20+ years of execution, proven processes and training, vendor relationships, a deep NYC talent pool, regular on-site presence, and constant priority communication across the build. This isn't a deck-and-decklist consulting engagement. It's a partner running the opening with you.
Doors open. Margins built in. Investment back in weeks.
45 days or less from contract signature to a working, profitable bar, pending operational and compliance timelines. Every cocktail costed, every par level set, every SOP stress-tested before service. You handle the lease, the buildout, the license. I handle menu architecture, hires, vendors, training, the opening event, and the first-week financial readout, all designed so the investment pays for itself in weeks, not months.
Three kinds of operators.
Built for NYC operators who've run the floor before and want a partner who can ship the next opening with them.
Engage, execute, launch.
Engage
Execute
Launch
Everything you need to open profitably.
- Full cocktail menu, costed to target pour cost and tuned to your concept
- Sourcing guide with my vendor contact list and supplier account setup
- Standard operating procedures (open, close, mid-shift, weekly, monthly) built around your margin
- Proven training program, 5 staff sessions delivered personally (4 hours each, 20 hours total)
- Vendor and equipment selection
- Bar manager recruiting, screening, hiring, and training from a deep NYC talent pool
- Regular on-site presence across the 30-day execution window, this is me, not a junior
- Constant priority communication from signature to opening night
- Friends and family soft opening, I run service
- Opening night service with your team
- Post-launch debrief with first-week financial readout and margin protection plan
Add-ons to keep the momentum.
- Events after opening night: $750 per event when I'm behind the bar
- Ongoing marketing platform: KMS Connect (monthly subscription)
- Year 1 Advisor retainer (monthly)
- Quarterly menu refreshes
- Regular ongoing staff training
- Restaurant maintenance and porter contracts (via The Punch List NYC)
- Multi-unit project management
- Branded training LMS and team community app
Three tranches, tied to delivery.
Flat program fee, paid in three tranches across the phases. Flexible plans available inside the structure. Pricing is shared once your application clears.
Built around your best opening month.
We pick a target opening month together, with a focus on the windows where NYC actually rewards a new bar: late winter through early fall. Slots are reserved on a first-come basis and offered pending availability. If timing shifts on your end, you've got a free reschedule built in. Specifics are in the FAQ.
Six signals you're ready to open.
The best fits show up with these six in motion:
- Liquor license filed (in active application or already in hand)
- Construction underway (permits pulled, work in progress or near complete)
- Full opening capital secured (separate from the Launch45 program fee)
- Target opening month within 90 days
- Location in NYC (5 boroughs)
- Sole decision-maker, or aligned partners with a single point of contact
If a couple of pieces are still in motion, apply anyway. I'll read every application personally and either book a call or send notes on the cleanest path to a future slot.
30+ successful launches.
Independent restaurants, small hospitality groups, and hotels across NYC, Paris, London, and Edinburgh. Full cocktail programs tuned to each concept. Bar managers hired and trained. Staff trained across structured sessions. SOPs running. Supplier accounts set up. Opening events executed. Beverage grids, mise en place, batch recipes, and garnish guides delivered.
Every piece of Launch45 is something that has shipped before, in a real room, on a real timeline.
Apply for the next opening
Eight short questions. I read every application personally and respond within 48 hours, either with a 30-minute call invite or with notes on how to set up the strongest possible reapply.
Common questions.
Why one client at a time?
Launch45 is 50+ hours of focused execution inside a 30-day window. Running two concurrent builds would dilute both. One at a time is how it stays a premium offer, and how your build gets my full attention.
Is this a fit for first-time operators?
Launch45 is built for operators who've run the floor before. If this is your first venue with no ops experience yet, the program is a stretch, and I'll usually point you toward a lighter advisory engagement first, then back to Launch45 when you're ready.
Which months can I open in?
Openings are scheduled February through October. November, December, and January are blacked out, NYC hospitality is chaotic during holidays and January is a brutal month to open a bar. Plan your target month inside the Feb-Oct window and you're set.
What happens to my deposit if things slip past 12 months?
You've got one free reschedule within 12 months of your deposit, subject to availability, which covers almost every license or construction delay I've seen. If the project hasn't opened after 12 months, the deposit is forfeit and you reapply against the current waitlist.
Do you travel outside NYC?
Launch45 is an NYC product. The hands-on model requires regular on-site presence across the 30-day execution sprint. I've opened bars in Paris, London, and Edinburgh on bespoke engagements, but those are scoped separately. Out-of-market projects get a referral or a custom quote.
What if my license takes longer than expected?
One free reschedule within 12 months of your deposit, subject to availability. Plan your target month with 30 days of cushion.
What if construction slips?
Same policy. One free reschedule within 12 months.
Can you start before my license is in hand?
Yes. Phase 1 (Engage) is pre-license prep. Phase 2 (Execute) requires license and construction to be confirmed.
How does Launch45 build for profitability?
Every cocktail is costed to a target pour cost. Par levels are set against forecasted volume. SOPs are written to protect margin, not just to look organized. The first-week debrief is a real financial readout, not a vibe check. Launch45 doesn't guarantee profitability, that's downstream of your ops, marketing, lease economics, and operator judgment after I'm gone. What it does guarantee is that you open with the financial mechanics actually built in, not patched in three months later.
What about events after opening?
$750 per event when I'm behind the bar. Subject to availability.
Can you do Launch45 for a restaurant with a small bar program?
Yes, if the bar program is a strategic focus. If the bar is an afterthought to the kitchen, you don't need Launch45.
Multi-unit groups?
One unit at a time at standard pricing. Scaling across units is a custom engagement with additional project management fees and an optional branded training LMS.
What do I need to do during the program?
Show up to the milestone meetings, sign off on hires, approve the menu, and let me run the execution. Total client time investment: roughly 8-12 hours across the 45 days.
What else will I need to budget for?
The Launch45 program fee covers my time, process, hiring, training, and on-site execution. Additional budget will be required for purchasing, equipment, and supplies. Full project scope details and exclusions are shared in writing before the contract is signed, so there are no surprises.
20+ years in NYC hospitality.
Bartended and consulted across Death & Co, One World Observatory, Scarr's, Atelier Joël Robuchon, and Stretch Pizza. Author of Bartender as a Business. Host of the Hospitality Strategy Lab podcast. Lower East Side based.