Though generational travel trends may seem irrelevant to the restaurant industry at first glance, operators have good reason to pay attention to the space. With 78 percent of Gen Z travelers planning vacations in the next year, many prioritize spending their money on experiences over material goods, according to the 2024 State of Student Travel Report from StudentUniverse, which surveyed 6,000 students between the ages of 18 to 25 in the US, the UK, Australia, and Canada.
Barcelona Wine Bar, led by CEO Adam Halberg, fully embraces this travel-oriented mindset by designing transformative and aspirational dining environments that appeal to the younger, experience-seeking generations. The 20-unit concept offers small, tapas-style plates shaped by Mediterranean, Spanish, and South American influences, served in a setting with imaginative ambiance, décor, and music.
In a recent Q&A interview with FSR, Halberg shares his insights on how the restaurant appeals to younger diners without compromising authenticity, and how the chain seamlessly blends minimalistic technology with a warm, human-centric atmosphere.
How is Barcelona Wine Bar (BWB) creating transformative and aspirational dining spaces that cater to this travel-oriented and experience-seeking generation?
We are fortunate to have, as our namesake, a Mediterranean city that lives in the imagination of many travelers and would-be travelers. The palette of foods and wines we color our restaurants with is ‘interesting’ enough to enchant and ‘comfortable’ enough not to alienate.
BWB has been designing restaurant spaces that serve as transportive experiences for close to 30 years. Even with new research polls tagging preferences to certain generations, we have not targeted age groups in this way. For those who travel, there is nothing more uplifting and inspirational. Today, all generations are simply exposed to and have access to more stories and images of fantastic and far-flung places, so the thirst for traveling someplace new is regularly and constantly whetted.
BWB capitalizes on this and wraps the experience in spaces that are unique and beautifully designed to the point of being cinematic.
“When so many new technologies keep us apart or create a false sense of social connection, a real person with a real smile can feel as revolutionary and refreshing as a sip of your new favorite cocktail.”
In an era where some restaurant brands are moving away from traditional dining rooms and incorporating more technology, how do you balance the desire for innovative, tech-forward experiences with the need to create warm, human-centric environments that appeal to Gen Z’s preference for authenticity and social connection?
We spend a lot of time looking for the perfect space to build a restaurant within, ideally something that contains time-worn surfaces that otherwise might be sanded down or painted over. Time is the one thing you can’t really buy or synthesize, and so we value it greatly; it’s the antithesis of the digital movement. Once we’ve found the right space we work out an interior that’s going to allow the rooms to feel as alive as possible no matter the day or how many people are in them.
With technology, at its best it melds usefully into our lives to solve daily needs. Previously we may have used the word ‘seamless’, but perhaps in this case we’d say the wires are well-hidden. If technology allows us to create human-to-human personal interactions without distraction, then it is an additive success.
This means small details are important to us. Ensuring the screen on an iPad reservation system is black-lit so the typical computer blue glare doesn’t turn our host into a ghoul or break the ambiance created by our chosen fixtures. Ensuring back-office systems do not ping manager’s cell phones in the midst of the dinner rush. Better sneakers may help us move more swiftly to greet new guests, but that wouldn’t create a conflict between human hospitality and innovative tech.
When so many new technologies keep us apart or create a false sense of social connection, a real person with a real smile can feel as revolutionary and refreshing as a sip of your new favorite cocktail.
We would not pin a desire for authenticity on one specific generation, but we also cannot pursue or create authenticity. We can only curate authenticity – choosing whole ingredients, revealing the architectural elements of our spaces, cooking with fire, allowing our teams to speak from the heart and without a script. Trying to be authentic is like trying to be funny; if you have to explain it, it’s not actually there.
With Gen Z being highly focused on social media and visual aesthetics, how do you ensure that Barcelona Wine Bar’s atmosphere and presentation are ‘Instagram-worthy’ while still maintaining authenticity and a genuine dining experience?
In the most ideal situation, our guests wouldn’t even think to pull their phones out because they’d enjoy the feeling of being somewhere electric surrounded by others feeling the same. If they do photograph or record, we’d hope they still had the sense (like during any great concert) that it “isn’t the same and you had to be there”. We all know the opposite feeling: a place that feels designed to pretend for a photo and is otherwise flat. To us, the phone eats last, and only if you’d like it to.
There are restaurants that have built actual “Instagram tables” where guests can bring their dishes to photograph in perfect lighting. It’s hard to think of anything less authentic than that.
We don’t have TVs in the restaurant or behind the bars. We don’t ask our guests to order off of menus on their phones, forcing them to see unread emails or app alerts alongside our offerings. Whether or not someone wants to record their experience and share it on social media, we will not manufacture technological distractions.
When we used to travel across the world, we hoped we captured some good photos, but knew we were soaking up life-changing memories. At Barcelona, our focus is on creating memories; it’s up to our guests to decide if they want to record them or simply live and absorb.
Related:
Restaurants Don’t Have to Wait for Gen Z Any Longer
Inside Corsica Wine Bar’s Countercultural Restaurant Revolution
As sustainability becomes increasingly important to younger generations, how is Barcelona Wine Bar addressing sustainability in its operations, from sourcing ingredients to reducing waste?
As noted on the other topics, we’ve never viewed this as chasing a particular demographic or following a current trend. Working with local farms and fisheries, where possible, just gives us better ingredients to cook with. Working with small family wineries gives us access to a vibrant array of flavors and helps build personal relationships that carry over the years. Working with repurposed buildings allows us to lean into found architectural elements and build restaurants that have a sense of place that resonates with each neighborhood we join.
