An Interview with Monica + Alex
Discard: Monica & Alex! Can you tell us a bit about the concept behind Tayēr + Elementary?
M&A: Tayēr + Elementary is a bar with two distinctive spaces, which are separated through design and concept. Elementary, which is the street facing bar, focuses on beer, wine, drinks, bottomless coffee and snax in a laid back setting. As the name indicates, we’ve removed anything that’s unnecessary, so we can give our guests good quality drinks at affordable prices. Tayēr in the back is a bit more adventurous and experimental. Here our drinks list change almost every day, depending on what produce and ingredients we get, and we explore creativity through flavour. Connecting the two is our kitchen, with its additional 4 seat kitchen counter, which can be booked for a tasting menu with drinks pairing. All in all, we do a lot of things - but if I had to sum it up in one sentence, what we do at T+E is to have fun :)
D: How long did you have the concept for Tayēr + Elementary in your minds?
M&A: We’ve been working on the bar since we left our previous jobs, so around 5 years-ish. Obviously it has changed quite a bit, but the core principles remain the same. I think there’s often this illusion that if you work hard, your dreams will come true really fast - but in my experience, thats just not true. The process of creating the bar, building it and finally opening it has been, at times, brutal - and yes there were many times where we had major doubts and questioned if we were doing the right thing! So many times we’ve been told that our concept or our station design, or our business structure is stupid and wont work - but we’ve always believed in our vision, and are very aware that to get to where we want, we needed to and will need to make sacrifices. We’ve had a lot of great advice along the way - and we’ve been very lucky to have so many amazing people to help us!
D: Did you find that the concept evolved as you were finalising the venue? Were there any last minute changes or did you stick to the plan?
M&A: Absolutely - and we are still evolving! We make - some small, other bigger - changes every week. As with everything, there will always be a difference between what you envisage and how others will react to something. If you are not willing to be flexible and make adjustments along the way and learn from your mistakes - I don’t think you’ll be as successful as you could have potentially been. It’s important not to let ego and stubbornness come in the way of success, and after all - the most important thing is that our guests are enjoying the place!
D: You’ve spoken previously about the importance of building a team - how do you choose your team members? What are you looking for when you recruit?
M&A: Our team, which is almost the same today as when we opened ( we added one new member ) is probably the strongest team I have worked with to date. We don’t really believe in the classic hierarchy - in fact, in my experience, its actually the best way to guarantee nothing gets done and everyone else gets blamed - so we decided to nix the management, meaning we all are filling the same role; bartender. This obviously puts a lot of pressure to build a functioning team, so one of the most important qualities for us is that you’re a team player. We look for people who put the team first, are hard working, are inquisitive and most importantly, who are nice people with the empathy and understanding it takes to want to make a difference in our guest’s lives. We try not to micromanage the team, but rather teach them our “WHYs” so that they can find their own ways to our common goal. Our opening team is a mix of ‘old and new’ - where some have worked with us before, and some have not. They are all strong personalities, and I love watching how they are becoming closer and closer each week. For us it’s definitely a strength that we have so many different backgrounds and cultures represented on the team, and we work very hard to be as inclusive and open minded as possible.
D: How do you both work as a team? Are you very similar in your approaches, or do you bring different things to the table?
M&A: We work very well as a team - but obviously it has been an adventure getting to where we are now! It is important to communicate and be honest about your expectations, and to be open to your partner’s ideas and opinions, despite them being different from your own. Our industry is sometimes really tough, and it’s important to grow a thick skin, and be able to brush things off without feeling hurt - and one of the biggest strengths we have is that we always have each other’s back, and we always prioritise the other before anyone else. We are definitely becoming very aligned, but we are also different in many ways - something we have learned to use to our advantage. I don’t really think we could imagine going back to not working together after having done so for so long!
D: What inspires you, and where do you look for inspiration?
M&A: Everything and anything! We find inspiration everywhere; from the flowers in our neighbours garden, to our favo perfume
(currently F) to the latest Off-White exhibition or my recent trip to Tokyo. I think we often and mostly look outside of food and drinks to find ideas and inspiration and enjoy spending time with people from very different but still creative disciplines.
D: Is Tayēr + Elementary an expandable brand? Would you open it elsewhere, or would you change the concept depending on the location?
M&A: Yes, yes and yes - but…... I think the best bars, galleries, hotels - places in general - are a product of the time, place and people it represents, so if we were to expand on the brand we definitely would allow it to evolve in whatever way it wanted to.
D: You are both very very busy, hardworking people - how do you find balance, do you ever switch off? What do you do with your time off?
M&A: I think its important to say that balance - in life and in cocktails - is something different to everyone. Alex and I really enjoy both our time being in the bar and working service, but also talking about different scenarios, improvements, ideas etc when we are hanging out. We really enjoy going to bars, and restaurants to experience what others are doing - so on our Sundays when the bar is closed, we try to go for a nice lunch or a glass of wine etc and just hang out as a couple, rather than as business partners, if that makes sense - but if Im honest, we often end up talking work because we just really enjoy it. Im aware our life might not look very balanced from the outside, however it is quite right for us - and in the areas we need to improve, we are slowly making changes to allow for that to happen. At the moment, most of our time off is spent sleeping, which to be honest - is one of my favo things to do anyway.
D: How to you quantify success?
M&A: The freedom to say “No”.
D: Can you explain the different drinks styles between Tayēr and Elementary? Do you think you have a signature style in either space?
M&A: With Elementary we try to keep it fun and simple - taking drinks that you might have heard about and playing around with them. Our goal is to make drinks more approachable to everyone, and also introduce more unknown ingredients to a larger variety of audience. Our Palo Santo Gimlet is an example of a modern take on a classic drink, which introduces an exotic ingredient which many have not yet tried, but still keeping the end result very easy to drink. In Tayēr on the other hand, it’s much more experimental and adventurous. Here we try to explore ingredients to their fullest potential - and really work with unusual ingredients, techniques and combinations. Our goal, in both spaces, is always to make something delicious - but applying a different level of complexity, creativity and identity to each. Envisage and how others will react to something. If you are not willing to be flexible and make adjustments along the way and learn from your mistakes - I don’t think you’ll be as successful as you could have potentially been. It’s important not to let ego and stubbornness come in the way of success, and after all - the most important thing is that our guests are enjoying the place!
D: What makes you happy?
M&A: Seeing other people happy.
D: What changes would you like to see in the bar industry?
M&A: More focus on the basics.