Business
Preparing for Opening Day
What happens in the ninety days before the doors open — hiring, training, dry runs, and the soft opening for the Founders Society.
May 5, 2026 · 5 min read
The last ninety days before opening are the ones that decide whether a hospitality concept holds together. The room will be finished; the habits will not be.
Our plan front-loads the people, because the build can be inspected and the culture cannot.
Opening night is not a launch. It is a rehearsal that the guests are kind enough to attend.
Hiring the founding floor
Every barber is a Florida-licensed Master Barber, hired on a generous commission structure with no back bar fees, and evaluated as much on hospitality instinct as on technical skill.
Bar and hospitality staff are hired in parallel and trained alongside the barbers, so that the handoff between the bar and the chair is one motion rather than two departments.
Dry runs and the soft opening
Before any public appointment, the team runs full-day simulations: greeting, beverage service, service timing, checkout, and the walk-out.
The soft opening belongs to the Founders Society. They get the first cuts, the first pours, and the first evening of live music — and their feedback shapes the standard we open with.