Meet Me at the Bar: 15 Eye-Catching Bar Setups We’re Still Talking About

For a pregame before the pregames, rapper Saweetie teamed up with Jack Daniel’s for a Super Bowl LVI kickoff brunch in West Hollywood, and the bar stole the show. The entire event perfectly married the essence of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey whiskey, California-born star Saweetie and everyone’s favorite meal (brunch). To manage and execute the event, Jack Daniel's tapped full-service event agency Juan and Only, LLC, with artist management by FlyteVu. The bar helmed the theme, with a honeycomb-printed and branded bar wall, a bar back anchored by a neon sign of the flavored whiskey’s logo, scattered honeycomb details throughout and an outpouring of pastel-colored florals. Guests at the invite-only, rooftop brunch were encouraged to snap photos and post them to their social media using the hashtag #SaweetAsHoney. See more: Super Bowl LVI: 38 Event Highlights From the Biggest Parties and Brand Activations

No event does F&B quite like the annual Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF) presented by Capital One. The 21st edition of the four-day, star-studded food and drink destination took place in February, and Aperol Spritz made sure it was not lost among the more-than-400 culinary experts in attendance, 70-plus festival events or over 60,000 people in attendance. The striking, orange-clad tent was reminiscent of the Italian liqueur’s bright hues, with a bar-back anchored by a lit-up Aperol Spritz sign and engulfed in orange flowers, a branded cart overflowing with (even more) florals and a lounge-area-slash-photo-op with street signs of playful sayings, such as “Spritz o’clock” and “Saluti!” meaning “cheers” in Italian. The tent even played into its location directly on the sand of Miami’s South Beach, with pops of live, tropical greenery, spandex drapery and bartenders dressed in sundresses, sandals and boater hats with orange ribbon. See more: Cheers to 21 Years: How SOBEWFF Celebrated with Boozy Bashes, Fieri’s Fiesta and Innovative Activations

Who says bars are reserved for humans? Not CityTarget—the retail giant’s smaller-format stores—which outfitted a corner of Seattle’s Plymouth Pillars Dog Park into a paw-some “Bone Bar” back in 2012. Here, a “bonetender” handed out treats and toys to the city’s furry friends behind a white and black-outlined bar (reminiscent of a doodle on paper) with three Target-red stools, each a different height to accommodate dogs large and small. A bone-covered backdrop boasting “Bone Bar” written in the treat alongside CityTarget’s logo made for the perfect photo op. CityTarget tapped local full-service marketing agency Rally Marketing Group to develop the playful experience, which also included activities such as a tire jump and on-site portraits for pets and their humans created by a Seattle-based artist. The immersive, promotional event was a clever nod to Target’s mascot—a bull terrier named Bullseye. See more: 10 Best Ideas of the Week: Coca-Cola Pavilion at the Olympics, Pop-Tarts Pop-Up Concert, ‘Travel & Leisure’ Cocktail Wall

Bumble went from dating app to date spot in late Nov. 2021 with the opening of permanent cafe and wine bar Bumble Brew, located in New York City’s Nolita neighborhood. Known for its over-the-top branded activations and pop-ups, the networking app showed that it also knows when less is more with a scaled-back, minimalist bar located inside the 3,760-square-foot space. While not overly branded (there’s a singular, not-too-large Bumble logo anchoring the space), the white bar top sits above a gray-and-white-marbled, hexagonal-tiled bar wall—a subtle nod to the dating app’s iconic honeycomb motifs. Designed by New York-based interior design firm Float Studio to foster all types of interactions—from an intimate one-on-one date to a double date, group gatherings, larger events and more—the bar space is also characterized by the vintage Danish opaline glass pendants hanging above, not to mention yellow seating and coffee appliances. See more: Bumble Goes From Dating App to Date Spot With Its New Brick-and-Mortar Space

Would it really be Super Bowl weekend without a drink in hand? To kick off this year’s Super Bowl LVI, vodka brand Smirnoff hosted “Smirnoff House” steps from the SoFi Stadium’s entrance, which greeted ticket holders with an outdoor bar designed “for the people.” Beyond the bar, Smirnoff, with the help of event design and production company Rose Gold Collective, captured the all-American spirit of a Super Bowl viewing and elevated it with a 40-by-50-foot, multi-level activation decked out in Smirnoff’s red and white branding colors, a custom Tic-Tac-Toe game and space for guests to mix and mingle. The outdoor space was designed with a football field-inspired turf floor, backyard furniture and house-like structures complete with white-picket fences, a Smirnoff-branded mailbox, a lounge modeled after a cozy living room, as well as an AR-powered photo booth and a kitchen serving up snacks and water. Talk about a first impression for fans attending the Super Bowl IRL! See more: Super Bowl LVI: 38 Event Highlights From the Biggest Parties and Brand Activations

PATRÓN Tequila’s two-day pop-up at the end of March in NYC, PATRÓN Residencia, was all about subtle nods to the liquor brand’s roots in Jalisco, Mexico. Anchoring the space was a circular bar that, to the naked eye, was nothing short of sleek and stylish, but vice president of PATRÓN Chloe Lloyd-Jones told BizBash that it was actually designed to be evocative of the tahona stone, a volcanic wheel used to crush agave before machinery became part of the distilling process. “PATRÓN is one of the few brands that still makes tequila the hard way—by hand,” Lloyd-Jones said. Above the space-commanding bar was a tiered fiber sisal rope installation, just another introspective design decision that made PATRÓN Residencia, in Lloyd-Jones’s words, an “in-person, interactive experience [that] gave consumers access to the talent and vibrancy of some of Mexico’s most esteemed creative luminaries while discovering the passion and mastery that goes into making PATRÓN tequila.”

Behind the bar, mixologist-in-residence Eli served up an array of PATRÓN-centered cocktails, including the “Golden Sherry Bee”—mixed with PATRÓN Silver, sherry Mazanilla and pineapple— the Smoked Naranja, a tasty combo of PATRÓN Silver huitlacoche and orange liqueur and the Flor de Canela, with PATRÓN Reposado, cinnamon, agave and hibiscus. See more: Trend Spotted: Beverage-Based Pop-Ups are Engaging Consumers and Driving Business

In a collaboration among Los Angeles-based boutique marketing agency Social Society, Las Vegas’s SKTCH Events and famed French Champagne brand Veuve Clicquot in Nov. 2020, Nevada’s Edgewood Tahoe Resort unveiled “The Champagne Chalet”—a Veuve Clicquot-branded immersive installation overlooking the Alpine Lake and snowy mountain ranges at an altitude of more than 6,200 feet. To no surprise, the cozy chalet was all about the bubbly, with a bar that drew inspiration from the European design elements of a woodsy cabin, including a simple, custom-wood bar that served as the focal point, with a deer bust mounted behind it in the Champagne brand’s iconic yellow-orange hue, and a modern brass chandelier hanging above. To bring the retro-chic-meets-luxury vision to life, SKTCH Events founder Kellie Hanley told BizBash that it was about the extreme attention to detail surrounding the bar, rather than constructing an over-the-top bar, that made the Champagne-centered experience a memorable one. For example: the bar was offset by branded skis and a snowboard, while the lounge area inside the cabin consisted of leather seating, faux-fur throw blankets and branded pillows; additionally, upon arrival, guests were offered a complimentary glass of Veuve Clicquot’s Réserve Cuvée Champagne in a branded glass. See more: Champagne Problems: See Inside Veuve Clicquot’s Winter Chalet

More than 70% of the tropical fruit produced in Cuba consists of bananas and plantains. In an eye-catching nod to that fun fact, Brooklyn-based experiential design agency Tinsel created a giant banana tower in the middle of a “Mosaicos Hidraulicos”-covered bar. (The Spanish term is used to describe the intricate and colorful, mosaic-like tiles characteristic of Cuban design.) For an added, artsy effect that demonstrated the epitome of effective simplicity in event decor, Tinsel lit the potassium-packed art piece in pink, making the bar a tropical, rosy oasis anchoring the private corporate event, which took place on New York’s Ellis Island back in 2018 with the city’s iconic skyline in the background. See more: Summer Inspiration: 15 Refreshing Ways to Use Fruit as Event Decor

Before “event tech” became a hot-button topic in the industry, when The Amazing Spider-Man premiered in 2012, the “Ultimate Lizard Lounge” bar commanded attention during the after party with LED screens displaying a reptilian skin-looking image as a nod to the film’s villain, Doctor Connors/The Lizard, and a green-lit, 14-foot-tall truss ring surrounded by plasma screens playing clips from the movie. The event shut down LA’s Broxton and Le Conte avenues, with a red carpet under a 16-by-22-foot stylized metal “web,” which hosted The Amazing Spider-Man’s cast earlier in the day and welcomed a star-studded guest list to the after-party, dubbed “Party Under The Web,” when the clock struck 11 p.m. The party took place in a 30,000-square-foot space up the street, and aside from the technology-forward bar, guests took turns with Activision Spider-Man games, including a climbing wall and a photo booth with a movie-inspired backdrop. See more: Guests Climb Wall Like ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ at Premiere Party

As a cocktail bar, it comes as no surprise that Washington, D.C.’s Miracle on 7th Street is among one of our standout bar setups. The brainchild of D.C.-based Drink Company, the fourth annual, over-the-top holiday pop-up bar in 2018 served as a vehicle of celebration, featuring a giant menorah and hanging dreidels in the restaurant window in honor of Hanukkah. Upon entering, guests were transported into a winter wonderland, where the ceiling featured Stars of David, dozens of rows of string lights and a mural created by artist Andrew Funk that displayed pandas—inspired by the Smithsonian National Zoo—eating jelly doughnuts, a traditional Hanukkah treat. Not pictured: a Christmas-inspired section with a festive bar top that appears to be wrapped in panda-printed paper, Frosty the Snowman drawn on the exposed-brick walls plus red streamers and garland decorating the ceiling. While the pop-up was nothing short of Instagram-worthy, Drink Company owner Derek Brown announced in 2020, ahead of the bar’s cherry blossom iteration, that the Miracle on 7th Street was permanently closing its doors. So while patrons can no longer enjoy the bar’s festivities (or libations), event professionals can still admire the decked-out space for its over-the-top, kitschy designs that truly immersed guests in a seasonal scene. See more: 21 Seasonal Ideas from Holiday and Wintery Pop-Ups

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards is an annual awards ceremony to recognize outstanding performances in movies and prime-time television; however, for the events industry, it’s a themed night loaded with steal-worthy event inspiration. The early 2020 edition did not fall short, with a gala intended to honor the charitable efforts of SAG members with a themed “cherry blossom forest” after-party. Event Eleven and its owner and executive producer Tony Schubert, who has been producing the invite-only event for over a decade, transformed the Shrine Auditorium into just that. The team utilized the bar area as an extension of the elevated woodland, with two light-wood bars flanked by faux cherry blossom trees courtesy of Green Set, plus florals by Floral Crush Studio. Pink under-bar lighting, elegant glass shelving lined with glassware and tealight candles made for an intimate atmosphere, perfect for paying homage to nonprofit organizations, including the Entertainment Industry Foundation, one of its divisions, Stand Up To Cancer, and the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. Guests, including the likes of Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, sipped on cocktails featuring Chopin Vodka and Dorda Liquer, and wine from Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurants. See more: See the SAG Awards’ Cherry Blossom-Filled After-Party

In October, 818 Tequila—a brand founded by Kendall Jenner and named after her San Fernando Valley area code—made a memorable debut with a booth at the New York City Wine and Food Festival (NYCWFF). Created by Miami-based Rose Gold Collective, the full-service brand experience agency perfectly balanced event decor with branding in a head-to-toe 818 experience by anchoring a 30-by-20-foot space in NYC’s Pier 76 with, of course, a bar constructed using 818 Tequila shipping boxes. The bar itself was an Instagram-worthy moment, as the tequila-filled shelves were built into the side of a vintage, faux 818-branded truck. It was surrounded by eye-catching floral arrangements, rattan lighting fixtures above and, as if the booth wasn’t already a NYCWFF standout, Jenner was even on-site mixing cocktails. “We never throw a logo on a decor element just because,” Rose Gold Collective owner and creative director Sarah Sebastian told BizBash of a similarly 818-branded event the agency executed for Jenner a month before the festival (the company’s New York launch party in Sept. 2021). See more: 20 Cool Event Ideas You May Have Missed From ColourPop Cosmetics, Ebony Magazine, Amazon Music and More

At ABC Television’s 2020 pre-Oscars party at the Four Seasons Los Angeles, Russell Harris Event Group handled design and production for the event, which oozed opulence. The North Hollywood-based event production and management company let the bar speak for itself, leaving bar branding to a single, larger-than-life Academy Award centering the expansive circular bar, which was adorned with four centerpiece-style rose bouquets in trophy-bronze vases courtesy of Los Angeles-based florist In Blume. All other event design elements merely served as supporting actors to the star: the bar. ABC Television, which aired the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, tapped Lighten Up to handle the gold-hued lighting and Event Carpet Pros for the rich red and bronze-toned carpets that filled the entrance and main event room, respectively. See more: Oscars 2020: Steal-Worthy Event Design Ideas from the Week’s Most Stylish Parties

When looking to do something different, American Express actually looked to one of the most common and ordinary objects out there: straws. To introduce the brand’s EveryDay card—targeted at small frequent spenders, such as multitaskers and busy mothers—back in 2014, the financial services company offered playful twists on everyday household items. Produced by New York-based ExtraExtra, the creative team transformed Manhattan’s Home Studios Inc. venue into a tongue-and-cheek launch event. At the focal point was, of course, the bar, which was backlit and filled with thousands of straws spelling out the event’s hashtag #EveryDayMoments, reminiscent of the classic American toy, the Lite-Brite. To further enhance the theme, the DJ booth was covered in groceries, a nod to the lifestyle of the card’s target audience. In another corner, Brooklyn-based artist Dana Kase designed a custom American Express EveryDay card using paillettes, which served as the backdrop to a live performance by A Great Big World; and catering by Creative Edge featured American classics (think: chicken and waffles, deviled eggs and mini grilled cheese sandwiches branded with the event’s hashtag). See more: Why American Express Used Grocery Items as Decor