When you think of technology innovation, you don't typically think of your neighborhood tavern.
That's probably for good reason. Bars haven't exactly needed to adopt technology as many other industries have. In fact, bars can often serve as escapes from cellphone screens, social media and other technology distractions that demand our attention throughout the day.
But that doesn't mean there aren't inefficiencies and customer pain points that bars can improve upon. Namely, waiting forever to get a drink.
That's where Chicago startup PourMyBeer comes in. It has created a system that allows bars to offer self-serving taps, letting customers pour their own drinks and pay by the ounce. Providing both the software and the hardware, PourMyBeer's technology essentially creates "bartender-less" bars, and powers such establishments as Tapster in Wicker Park and Lincoln Park, and Navigator Taproom in Logan Square.
"The experience of going to a bar has not changed in thousands of years," PourMyBeer CEO Josh Goodman said. "What we found is this definitely fills that gap where people want to go to a bar, but they don’t want to wait 20-30 minutes to get a drink."
However, Goodman says he's not out to disrupt the bar industry, in the sense of pushing out traditional taverns in place of robot bartenders. He believes the two can coexist and meet the demands of different bar-goers.
"There will always be a corner bar, or any bar, where people want to belly up and talk to the bartender," said Roman Maliszewski, founder of Tapster. "I want those to exist too."
Maliszewski launched Tapster's Wicker Park pub last year and just this week opened a second spot in Lincoln Park. Tapster has around 5 employees on-staff per night, and can see upwards of 1,000 patrons. By cutting down on labor costs, Maliszewski says he has plans to franchise Tapster and eventually have 100 locations across the country.
"This is about taking an industry that only had one option for a long, long time, and allowing it now to have different options," he said.
PourMyBeer has its technology in around 200 bars across the world, including places like Argentina, Japan and the Netherlands. The startup has raised less than $1 million in outside funding from investors such as Hyde Park Angels.
Here's how self-serving taprooms work: Customers are issued an RFID card at the door, which they can either set to have a pre-paid spending amount or open a tab. The card is placed in the slot above the customer's desired tap and they're charged based on how much they pour into their glass. Taps are lined across the bar's wall, allowing for an open and communal drinking experience, Goodman said.
"We’re taking the bar out of the bar," he said. "If you’re taking this natural barrier away, you’re now creating this community experience where there's encouraged mingling."
The current craft beer boom has certainly driven the demand for technology like PourMyBeer and bars like Tapster, as beer drinkers look to sample as many new options as they can. But PourMyBeer is working with more than just beer. Tapster offers one of the world's first self-serving craft cocktail taps, according to Maliszewski, and PourMyBeer also provides self-serve cold brew coffee at Chicago tech hub 1871.
