#WeAreNightlife is a campaign to celebrate the night-time leisure and hospitality industry.
A part of our venue showcase, NDML spoke to Flipside Craft Beer & Cocktails in Bristol. Andy Dodd, owner of Flipside, discusses the importance of the sector and how integral the nightlife scene is to the city of Bristol.
Andy is a legend in the hospitality trade, with over 25 years plying his trade in Bristol. Before buying his first venue in 2006, Andy ran the multi award-winning bar, The Park. Andy briefly explains the history of Flipside and how his business model helped his adaptation throughout lockdown. Having a flexible and agile outlook was necessary for the survival of many businesses in the pandemic, actions included creating a garden space and exploring new forms of service. He comments how some businesses have thrived under hard times, as we each evolve and adapt.
Andy made the difficult decision to close his doors early, before the Friday 20th March announcement, in order to protect his team. And with the uncertainty swirling at the moment, he is urging the nation to remember the sacrifice many businesses have made and to support them throughout reopening.
With NDML’s mission to showcase the most influential and unsung venues in the #WeAreNightlife campaign, where better than to highlight Flipside and see what the experts have learned from the difficult past year.
Andy Dodd, Flipside Craft Beer & Cocktails
Andy discusses the importance of the hospitality industry:
“We’re excited about seeing people again. Excited about serving up drinks, giving people that good time. That’s what we do, we give you a good time.”
“The main thing about hospitality for me is its where all your happier life events happened isn’t it. Your birthdays, the christenings, the weddings, those great nights out with your mates. Even wakes – I’m mean come one who actually doesn’t love a wake – A coming together of people under stressful times. All our happy moments are tied into hospitality. Being able to come back to work and give those joyous happy times, I think everyone is quite excited about that, but nervous about the way the public are.”
Andy discusses how crucial its been for businesses to be adaptive:
“We spent a lot of time post-lockdown expanding our garden area. It was literally blood, sweat and tears getting that space ready. But as soon as we did it; got the table and chairs in, got the tent up, a safe environment; the response we’ve had’s been amazing.”
“We’ve just had our busiest week that we’ve ever had in twelve years, which is fantastic. Everyone’s come out in force last week and the response has been amazing. We’ve been fully booked all last week, we’re pretty much fully booked all this week – so long may it continue.”
For more information about Flipside, Bristol, see their website here.
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NDML has made it their mission to protect, safeguard and provide guidance to businesses in the hospitality and leisure sector. With inside information, case studies and up-to-date information on policy changes, NDML is a broker who cares about a business’s welfare and will celebrate their growth.
NDML is the broker that’s number one in the nightlife sector and is dedicated to protecting the night-time industry. We offer exclusive tailor-made policies and have decades worth of expertise. Our award winning service is built upon genuine relationships, and that’s why projects, such as #WeAreNightlife, are so important to us.