The Future of Bars

Evelyn Chick & Christina Veira Tap into the Best Bets for Bar Success in 2025

The bar industry is undergoing a seismic shift. Consumers are demanding more immersive experiences, economic pressures are reshaping pricing strategies, and technology is redefining hospitality. In 2025, reinvention isn’t optional—it’s essential. The days of simply slinging drinks are over. To thrive, bars must curate unforgettable moments, deliver value-driven luxury, and stay ahead in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Going out is no longer just about routine nights—it’s about intentional, high-impact experiences. With rising costs and shifting consumer behaviour, patrons are going out less frequently but expecting more when they do. This shift has forced bars to step up, offering not just exceptional drinks but captivating atmospheres, elevated service, and memorable experiences that turn every visit into an event.

Instead of relying on regulars dropping in for a casual drink, modern bars are positioning themselves as destinations, leveraging curated programming, innovative beverage offerings, and immersive design to justify the visit. In 2025, a successful bar isn’t just a neighbourhood staple—it’s a space that feels worth the effort, the expense, and the heightened expectations.

To get an insider’s take on where the industry is headed, MENU magazine connected with Evelyn Chick and Christina Veira—bar experts, educators and entrepreneurs, and the visionaries behind the Bar & Beverage Stage and Beyond the Rail Cocktail Competition at RC Show as well as their own trend-setting concepts. Their insights did not disappoint. Here’s their take on what’s shaking up the bar industry in 2025—how the best operators are adapting, where the biggest opportunities lie, and what’s defining the next era of nightlife…

1. Budgeted Premiumization & the Luxe-for-Less Movement

Consumers are more selective with their spending, but that doesn’t mean they’re settling for less. Instead of discounting across the board, bars are reframing luxury as accessible indulgence—offering high-end touches at competitive prices. Think caviar service paired with a top-shelf martini at near-cost pricing, creating a sense of opulence while driving higher check averages.

It’s a strategic pivot: rather than slashing prices, bars are stacking value, layering experiences, and curating moments that feel worth it, proving that luxury and affordability can coexist in the same space.

2. Immersive & Multi-Sensory Experiences

The modern bar is no longer just a watering hole—it’s an entertainment hub. Guests expect more than a drink; they want a full-fledged experience that blends cocktails, food, music, and interactive elements. By creating layered entertainment experiences, bars are transforming into destinations where guests linger longer—and spend more.

What’s trending:

• Live music residencies featuring up-and-coming artists.
• Themed pop-ups and supper club vibes.
• Karaoke rooms with full-service food and drink menus.
• Cocktail pairing experiences that rival fine dining menus.

3. The Rise of Snack Culture & Flexible Dining

Food programs are no longer an afterthought in the bar space, and small, shareable plates are dominating bar menus. With the line between bar and restaurant increasingly blurring, snackable gourmet menus are now a key draw.

Some bars are outsourcing food programs entirely, renting out kitchen space to independent chefs in a barbershop-style model, where resident chefs rotate through, offering creative, high-quality menus without bars taking on full kitchen overhead. It’s an innovative way to keep offerings fresh and costs controlled.

4. Cocktail Tasting Menus & Low-ABV Innovation

With the rise of mindful drinking, bars are moving beyond high-proof cocktails to low-ABV, tasting-style offerings. The traditional cocktail experience is evolving into curated miniature cocktails, progressive tasting flights, and omakase-style presentations—designed to enhance food pairings while maintaining a sessionable pace.

Up-and-coming concepts:

• Using vermouth, sherry, sake and bitters as low-ABV base spirits.
• Incorporating ferments, teas and herbal infusions.
• Designing cocktail flights with progressive flavour profiles.
• Expanding non-alcoholic and zero-proof selections with depth and complexity.

5. White Labelling & Signature Products

The era of custom bar-branded spirits, mixers, and proprietary menu items is here. Bars are forging deeper partnerships with distilleries and breweries to create exclusive, house-branded products, strengthening their brand identity and unlocking new retail revenue streams.

Think private-label gins, signature bitters, and small-batch aged cocktails bottled for in-house use and retail sales. The goal? Scale house-made specialties beyond the bar to offer new guests a unique, portable bar-exclusive experience they can’t get anywhere else.

6. Building Culture to Close Labour Gaps

The labour crisis is reshaping the way operators approach employee culture and experience. The bottom-line priority of retaining top bar talent is compelling leaders to take a hard look at their total employee value proposition and ushering in new and meaningful incentives, a renewed focus on workplace culture and flexible scheduling. The most forward-looking employers are investing in staff benefits, training and mental health support and valuable mentorship programs to transform traditional service jobs into sustainable and fulfilling career paths.

What’s working:

• Offering health benefits for staff working full-time or permanent part-time schedules.
• Providing schedule flexibility to accommodate work-life balance.
• Implementing clear and fair tip structures.
• Creating professional development and mentorship opportunities for long-term retention.

7. Creating Aesthetic-Forward Moments

Bars are no longer just brick-and-mortar spaces—they’re digital brands. The TikTok effect means a single viral video can drive massive foot traffic, but the key is making sure the in-person experience lives up to the online hype.

Bars that win on social media aren’t just relying on one-off influencer partnerships; they’re designing repeatable, visually captivating experiences that add value to guest experience and encourage sharing. That means building layered visual and experiential features throughout the space— from crafting aesthetic-forward cocktails, hosting limited-time pop-ups and designing ultra-immersive themes that encourage and inspire user-generated content.

Evelyn Chick
Entrepreneur, TV Personality, Beverage Expert

Evelyn is a highly accredited specialist in the world of wine, spirits, and bar and beverage. She is a serial entrepreneur, hospitality mentor and consultant, developing efficient, acclaimed and cutting-edge bar programs for media outlets, multimillion dollar venues and notable brands. Under her hospitality company, Evelyn Chick Projects, is Ahma, a dynamic event and incubator space, LOC (Love of Cocktails), an experiential events company and SIMPL THINGS, an award-winning cocktail and snack bar included in Canada’s 50, and the ‘One to Watch’ on North America’s 50 Best Bars in 2024. Her cocktail book, For the Love of Cocktails, is available across all major bookstores in North America, and she’s excited to have launched her inaugural Sip & Snack Festival ‘Feastie’, championing local, BIPOC and female-owned businesses. As a resident drink expert on the CTV’s The Good Stuff and The Social, she is thrilled to be a catalyst in the rapid growth of Canada’s vibrant food and beverage culture.

IG: @evelynchick

Christina Veira
Certified Beverage & Hospitality Expert, Educator

Christina Veira is a leading force in hospitality and beverage education. As co-owner of Bar Mordecai, she has helped shape one of Toronto’s most celebrated bars, recognized among North America’s 50 Best and Canada’s 100 Best. Opened just before the COVID-19 lockdowns, Bar Mordecai has since thrived, offering inventive cocktails, tapas, live music, DJs, and artist collaborations in a Wes Anderson-inspired space with four immersive karaoke rooms.Beyond the bar, Christina is the founder of STAVE, a platform for beverage certifications, hospitality training, and curated tasting experiences. She has played key leadership roles as Bar & Beverage Curator for the Restaurants Canada Show, National Coordinator for Speed Rack Canada, and Director of Programming for Toronto Cocktail Week. A WSET-certified spirits and wine educator and an Awamori Jinbner, she is dedicated to education and mentorship in the industry. Her accolades include Bartender of the Year (Canada’s 100 Best, 2023), a top ranking on Drinks International’s Bar World 100, and recognition as the World’s 50 Best Bars’ North America Roku Industry Icon (2022). Named a Foodism 40 Champion of DEI and a WSET and IWSC Future 50 Under 40 honouree, Christina is a champion of equity and inclusion and an avid fundraiser and organizer within the hospitality community.

IG: @christinaveira

Register for RC Show 2025 and make your way to the Bar & Beverage Stage for an unmissable lineup of industry insights, expert-led sessions, and the latest trends reshaping the bar world.

Don’t miss the Beyond the Rail Cocktail Competition, on Wednesday, April 8 from 11 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., where Canada’s top bar talent goes head-to-head for cash and prizes—proving that great cocktails don’t just elevate the experience, they drive demand and boost profits.