🍺🎄 This NYC Bar Created a Christmas Pop-Up and Franchised the Playbook

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Hello friends,

I don’t know about you, but this is my favorite time of the year. There’s a chill in the air. Lights decorate the trees, shops, and homes. It’s a time to get together with friends and family and enjoy the festivities.

With the holidays in mind, I wanted to take a look at a concept that I’ve seen grow the past few years in NYC - the Christmas pop-up bar! Turns out, this concept has also become a global phenomenon.

I’m always on the look-out for innovative ways to maximize the revenue of a space and the Christmas pop-up is a great example. Today we’re going to dive into the business of the holiday pop-up bar.

🍺🎄 The Miracle Pop-Up Bar 

In 2014, Greg Boehm was in the process of opening up his new bar, Mace, in Greenwich Village. The bar was being built out during the holidays, and Greg decided to pause construction and create a pop-up bar with holiday themed drinks and Christmas decorations.

The Christmas pop-up bar, Miracle on 9th St, was a hit!

Greg’s friends and fellow bar owners then asked him how they could also build their own holiday pop-ups.

The Miracle concept expanded to 4 locations the next year. This year, there will be over 200 participating locations worldwide.

Here’s how it works:

Greg has his concept down to a science. He delivers the drink menu (with holiday drinks like the Christmapolitan), the music playlist, and the specialty glassware. He is also able to deliver PR and marketing, as the bars become integrated into his brand.

Oh, and he also owns Cocktail Kingdom, an online store that sells specialty cocktail gear. With Cocktail Kingdom, he is able to produce unique glassware and sell to the bars at cost. The bars can then turn around and sell the holiday glasses at a profit.

How much can the pop-up bar make? 

Bars have reported double to triple their sales for the month of December.

Let’s break it down:

Hypothetical Annual Bar Sales - $800k

Hypothetical Bar Sales with Miracle Pop-up (2x Dec Revenue) - $867k

Estimated Additional Sales - $67k 

Annual Sales Estimated Increase = 8%

Cost breakdown:

Although an exact number hasn’t been quoted, it’s been stated that the initial franchise fee is affordable, equivalent of about a day’s sales. We’ve estimated this number to be around $2.5k. Then, let’s assume the bar spends another $5k in decorations (actual costs vary by bar).

That’s a total upfront cost of $7.5k.

Taking another look at our hypothetical bar, with a 15% profit margin, that’s $10,000 in additional profit, or $2.5k profit after your up front costs, and a 33% ROI in the first year.

Since you’ve bought all of your decorations and covered your costs in year 1, each additional year of operation should provide you greater net profit.

How much does the Miracle franchise make?

Greg seems to have grown the bars in a very organic way. Instead of selling pop-ups to any bar that wants one, he wants to make sure the bars are a good fit and in locations that don’t cannibalize each other. They also need to be capable of creating the specialty drinks and handling the demand.

By growing in this way, he’s maintained the integrity of the brand and maximized brand value.

With over 200 locations, at $2.5k a piece, the Miracle franchise is bringing in an estimated $500k in revenue, aside from any potential upside selling merchandise.

My take: This business model is a win-win, both for the Miracle franchise and the franchisee bars. For bars that deliver quality cocktails and in need of a winter traffic boost, it could be a great additional revenue stream. The concept also serves as a way to draw in new customers that may become repeat guests throughout the year. With the expertise in mixology and the ability to create special products and glassware, Miracle has created and executed a winning concept.

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And a fun tool - try this ghost kitchen calculator to find out if the model works for your space

That’s it for today!

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