Treat your landlord relationship like gold

Ben Wiley is an owner of some of the best bars in Brooklyn, NY, like Bar Great Harry and Glorietta Baldy among others.

He's had six different landlords in six different NYC neighborhoods, ranging from mom and pop operations to corporate LLCs.

But despite the different neighborhoods and the different landlords, Ben and his partners hold one thing constant: treat your landlord relationship like gold, and that means treat it professionally.

Ben counts this as a first principle of his business philosophy. Here's more on how he does it, why he does it, and how it's beneficial to him and his partners:

• Not every relationship in your industry life has to be professional, but you have to treat your landlord relationship with absolute professionalism.
• What does that mean? Always, always, always pay your rent on time. Be polite but direct when you speak with them. If something comes up, reach out to let them know. If they contact you, get back to them promptly. Nothing crazy here.
• Why? Your lease is going to fly by. When that lease is coming up for renewal 10 years from now, you want the landlord to say "yes, of course I want them to stay!" 10 years of being 100% on the ball is the most effective thing you can do to make sure that's the case.
• This goes such a long way because finding new tenants is very resource intensive. It's expensive in a bunch of ways: time, vacant months, etc. Landlords want to avoid it if they can.
• What about gentrification and huge rent increases? It's a good question, and it can be scary. The best thing you can do is focus on the things under your control, and that means treasuring that landlord relationship. Remember: they don't want to kick you out if you've been a good tenant, even if rents are going way up.
• This worked for Ben. A giant, fast-moving gentrification wave hit his area of Brooklyn (Carroll Gardens) in the 2000s and a great landlord relationship truly helped Ben and his partner renew one of their leases despite the drastic neighborhood changes.

❓ Why?

Because prospective customers often check out your website to decide whether or not to come in.

They'll click the "see website" link on their maps app, they'll click the link in your social media bio, or maybe they'll just run a google search for "bars near me."

Regardless, they're getting to your website, and if all they see on your website drink menu is "we have specialty cocktails and craft beer," it's easy for those folks to say "uh, no thanks."

And to be clear: you should keep all your menus—including your rotating beer list—up-to-date on your website.

Even if just a couple people each month are drawn into your place because you're website menu hygiene is on-point, that's totally worth it.

❓ How to do it?

Manually is an option (though not a great one—see below). Here's how the manual flow could work for your team:

1. Create a menu page (or different menu pages for your different items) on your website. Most website builders offer an easy-to-use and professional-looking menu template that allows you to avoid using a PDF, meaning your menu will be mobile-friendly.
2. Add your menu content. Be sure to include all your menu items and descriptions.
3. Include an "Updated on" timestamp so that visitors can trust what's up there (sooo many places have out-of-date menus on their website).
4. Make sure everybody who needs it has access and the know-how to update the menu when items change.
5. Every time your menu changes, go to your website and make the updates. Don't forget to change the "Updated on" timestamp.

• TX and AL closing in on spirits-based RTDs in grocery stores, convenience stores. Both state assemblies sent bills to their respective senates. The change would take effect on September 1 in TX. AL's timeline isn't clear at this point.
• Here's how alcohol importers are thinking about tariffs. Seven Fifty Daily interviewed five importers to get their thoughts. Interesting stuff. I don't envy them having to navigate the yo-yoing.
• New ingredients make IPAs smell even better. VinePair ran an article about brewers using terpenes, which are "organic compounds that give plants, herbs, and fruits their signature aromatics." So it's no longer just a boatload of dry-hopping that provides the dankness and fruitiness. Very excited to give it a try.