With the daily barrage of calls, emails and texts considered standard ways to keep in touch at work, Entrepreneur's third-annual Best Business Bars feature celebrates an often overlooked tactic to building relationships with clients and business partners: face-to-face communication. The featured venues represent ideal spots across the country for various business scenarios, from celebrating to head hunting to wining and dining a client. Profiles of each bar reveal their unique vibes, crowds and signature drinks, helping make entrepreneurs everywhere feel like regulars.
The July 2012 feature serves as a guide to doing business in a bar the right way. "Technology is obviously necessary to keep entrepreneurs connected, but the bonds built after face time together are irreplaceable," says Amy Cosper, VP and editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine. "The right bar can be a great setting for collaboration, brainstorming and, ultimately, communication that can expedite a turning point in business."
For those looking to rub elbows with the tech set, there's no better place than Azucar Lounge in San Francisco. The after-work crowd gravitates to the plush chairs and Latin-inspired cocktails, with Taco Tuesday being the preferred day of the week to visit. When it's time to take a potential client out to lunch, Entrepreneur recommends the Metropolitan Grill in Seattle. Its atmosphere of old-school affluence will impress and hopefully spur further prosperity during negotiation over your meal.
The full special report reveals Entrepreneur's list of the Best Business Bars for a number of objectives such as:
-- Getting a Lead on Your New Head of Sales: Drago Centro - Los Angeles
-- Getting Off the Ground for Startup 'Treps: Living Room at the W Midtown - Atlanta
-- Impressing Potential Clients Over Lunch: The Metropolitan Grill - Seattle
-- Politicking: Charlie Palmer Steak - Washington, D.C.
-- Celebrating a Sizable Influx of Funding: Roof at theWit Hotel - Chicago
-- Meeting the Money Crowd: Metro-North Bar Car - New York City
-- Networking With the Tech Set: Azucar Lounge - San Francisco
The 2012 Best Business Bars feature also includes tips on how to keep a meeting held at a bar on track, so that no matter where entrepreneurs are doing business, they keep engagement professional.
To read the entire "Best Business Bars" special report online, visit entrepreneur.com/bestbusinessbars" target="_blank">www.entrepreneur.com/bestbusinessbars.
