emlythmsphoto
Jake Sulek, left, and Jonathan Laurel are partners in The Professors, LLC, a drinks and hospitality consulting business.
West Main Crafting Co. — a bright spot in Lexington’s downtown dining and drinking scene until it closed last September after a six-year run — was known as much for its extensive and inventive cocktail menu as for its farm-to-table food. The people primarily responsible for the concept and execution of the popular bar were brand director Jonathan Laurel and beverage director Jake Sulek, who helped create menus, source ingredients and assist with other day-to-day operations.
Today, six months after West Main owners announced they were shuttering their bar, Sulek and Laurel are working hard on a new bar and restaurant consulting company called The Professors, LLC, which they formed in September.
Laurel said the business took shape quickly — once the ideas started flowing, they didn’t slow down.
“We both were like, ‘Let’s just do it!’” he said.
They began consulting with small restaurants and bars, hosting short sessions for front-of-house sta. to help hone beverage menus, enhance their knowledge of spirits, cocktails and wine, and help hone best hospitality practices. So far, they have worked with several clients in Lexington and Cincinnati, Laurel said.
Emily Giancarlo
Services offered include a customized mix of in-person tasting and educational sessions, online information and workbooks to impart knowledge to owners, managers and staff, Laurel said. Both adamant their techniques be education-based, the duo have shaped their model from a mantra of “know more, make more [money].”
Since they’ve both worked in bar and restaurant environments for years, Laurel said they’re able to strike a tone that’s both empathetic and approachable during lessons.
Sulek focuses primarily on pricing, inventory costs and profitability. Laurel teaches sta. about spirits and cocktails — how they’re made, what they are, developing new cocktails and how to talk about them with customers.
They work with owners on beverage menus — including cocktails, bourbons and non-alcoholic drinks — offering guidelines to operate more efficiently and with healthy and dependable margins.
That work culminates in team-based trainings to translate these new skills into a brand and service style, with a goal of measurable sales growth and improved guest experience and staff culture, Laurel said.
Richard Cooke, co-owner of e19 Lounge Bar and Discotheque in Cincinnati, is a client of The Professors. Cooke opened the LGBTQ+ focused bar and dance club in October 2020 and knew Sulek and Laurel from their days at West Main Crafting Co. He sought Sulek’s advice for bar equipment, design and layout during startup, and on everything from glassware to cocktails.
After he contracted with The Professors for additional sta. training for guest services and other topics, he said he was “very impressed with how the two of them could command people’s attention and get their interest.”
Laurel said The Professors have so far only worked with established restaurants and bars to incorporate “subtle tweaks” to their operations but are working toward offering customized templates and support for building out a restaurant or bar concept from the ground up.
They’re also designing a program for coffee shops and have partnered with On Tap Tours to offer some unique spirits and cocktail tastings.
emlythmsphoto
Laurel said when bar and restaurant sta. are equipped to engage with customers intelligently, this not only builds trust with customers and encourages purchases but also helps empower employees with a feeling of enrichment and opportunity.
Early results have been compelling, resulting in increased staff retention and sales by as much as 40 percent per guest, Laurel said.
Above all, The Professors strive to provide practical, measurable business strategies to help sta. improve their work, their attitudes and how they feel about their work overall — and that’s a cocktail that helps owners succeed.
“We’ve got the numbers to prove it,” Laurel said. “We just happen to think you can also teach people more.”