Couch’s Katie Rouse says it's time takeovers evolved to more meaningful inter-bar collaborations.
We've all heard the chat that’s echoing around the industry right now – bar takeovers just aren’t what they were. All parties involved are questioning whether they’re worth the investment. And, perhaps more importantly, there's a feeling that guests – be they the public or the hospitality community – aren't as excited about going to them anymore.
Takeovers have become the phenomenon they are because they tick a lot of boxes. They’re valuable for marketing,
gathering feedback, forming new relationships and helping bars and bartenders elevate their profiles. But the problem is that, for many, they’ve become nothing more than a checklist item – a predictable step toward increasing exposure and, ideally, securing awards.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with chasing accolades. Recognition attracts tourism, it brings in brand investment, and it can genuinely move the needle for businesses in today’s economy. But the takeovers that truly leave a mark on me aren’t the flashy, high-profile ones. They’re the ones that have a deeper reason for being. Done right, they can feel like genuine community projects – even if they aren’t labelled that way.
They can be hosted by people who show you more than the usual suspect bars. They introduce you to their guests, not just their bartender friends. They take the time to know you, to build friendships, to make you fall in love with their city or
their neighbourhood.
Those are the encounters that stay with you. At Couch, that’s exactly the kind of experience we want to offer. When we host, we’ll always introduce you to our locals – the heartbeat of a neighbourhood bar. Of course, it’s a bonus when the bartenders of Birmingham drop in to welcome our guests, but that’s not what Couch looks like day to day. Our regulars sustain us. They’re the reason the lights stay on. If someone wants to platform themselves at Couch, I want them to meet the people who make our bar what it is.
This mindset also shapes the bars we choose to host. We’re not picking partners purely based on industry prestige – we’re selecting bars we know our community will genuinely enjoy.
And it’s not just venues evolving; brands are shifting too. Investment in takeovers has dipped, and understandably so.
If a brand is paying for the experience, it needs to make sense
for them. Do the values align? Does the concept fit both sides? Are you adding value to their story as much as they are supporting yours?
It’s easy to forget that a takeover isn’t just hosting a bar – it’s hosting a brand and its ambassadors or sales team. These are people too, and they’re often looking to fall in love with your bar, your city and your community. Treat them well and they’ll be eager to return the favour. This is why I believe community projects are the evolution of takeovers.
Shift the language and you naturally shift the intention. You approach the event with curiosity, with the desire to get to know the place and people you’re visiting. Panda & Sons makes a point of showing visiting bars its city and has now gone further with its cultural immersive event the Panda Highland Games. Kiki Lounge in Douglas, Isle of Man, does an island tour, introducing its community to its guests.
This is your career, your time, your craft. If you can walk away with deeper, longer-lasting connections, the effort becomes undeniably worthwhile. It is rethinking what success looks like.
With that spirit in mind, I’m excited to share a personal project launching in 2026: Couch Surf – a global community initiative with one purpose: to work locally and learn globally. Couch Surf will see us collaborate with other community-led bars around the world which share our values. Rather than the fly-in-fly-out guest shift that has become the norm, we want to spend time with the host bar, spend a day doing the prep, meet the regulars and see the wider community of restaurants and bars they eat and drink in. We want the host bar to make money, not us. We just want to learn and make lasting connections.
This is how we take over the takeover.