Philip Herbert will be the first to admit that when he first opened World of Cocktails in 2017, he lacked the business skills that were necessary for consistency and ultimately success. Today, however, the business is thriving and in addition to amazing cocktails, offers a lunch menu that has a steady stream of regulars with others being added daily.
Herbert, who has 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry, pointed out that when he first began, he opened for a day or two and whenever sales were not good, he would close for another day or two. His was not a business customers could rely on to be opened on a regular schedule. This took a toll on the business, forcing Herbert to close for three months. Once he realized what the problem was, he reopened, vowing to keep World of Cocktails open as indicated in its scheduled hours, regardless of how the days went.
Soon, business began to pick up. Together with business partner and “right-hand man” Rishana Mohabir, he ensured that World of Cocktails became a hotspot. Things ran well until last year when the pandemic hit and business had to be shuttered.
Herbert, who has a wife and two children to maintain, explained that for a while he and his family relied on the savings accumulated from the cocktail business, while he contemplated what else could be done to provide for their livelihood. After a discussion, he and his wife, Melissa, decided that World of Cocktails would expand into providing a lunch service.
Melissa, who spent seven years abroad, worked in hotel kitchens, including at the world renowned Sandals Resort. Though she was not a chef, those experiences, along with her own cooking skills, served her well. Melissa cooked the meals and Herbert assisted in the kitchen. He also served as the business marketing manager at Brandsville Hotel and worked on his marketing techniques by sharing his business on several social media platforms regularly, including a daily lunch menu that is also sent to customers on WhatsApp early in the morning. Another thing he learnt also was to work on his procurement methods; buying in bulk was better.
Part of Herbert’s marketing strategy also was offering a $1,000 cocktail for $500 if the customer also purchased from the lunch menu. Cocktail or not, every lunch comes with a free cup of locally made juice.
Among Herbert’s popular cocktails are Margaritas, the Black Panther, the Red Oman and the Island Vibes.
World of Cocktails debuted its lunch menu in June last year and is still seeing new customers every few weeks. Chuckling, Herbert related that the food business is doing so well, he could shut the bar if he wanted to, but with the many customers he has today, he is not about to do so. The bar is open Wednesday to Sunday from 3 pm – 9:30 pm. Lunch is available Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm. These times allow him to adequately work at both businesses. In the mornings, and until 2 pm, he assists Melissa and looks into the lunches being delivered. Herbert explained that the meals are prepared from their home while the bar is situated at another location.
Meals are prepared only on orders and while a pickup service is available, customers choose delivery instead. Until a little over a week ago, World of Cocktails used motorcycle delivery guys, mainly because the service is cheaper and quicker. However, because of customer complaints about food arriving in a poor state or spilled, a change had to be made.
The entrepreneur said he realized that the issue was the delivery men riding the motorcycles dodging traffic and potholes along the way and took a decision to only have meals delivered by car. He said while this costs a couple of hundred dollars more for delivery, he and his customers can rest assured that their lunches are arriving the same way they were prepared and packaged.
Herbert said there are a few hiccups every now and again, one of them involving the curfew. He explained that many Guyanese are have trouble following rules, particularly the COVID guidelines. Despite the curfew starting at 9:30 pm, he said, some customers walk into World of Cocktails after 8 pm, sometimes as late as 9:15 pm. Herbert said he closes at 9:30 pm no matter what, which sometimes upsets latecomers. He noted that law officials do not come down on customers as much as they do on business owners and so he tries to avoid that at all costs by following the COVID guidelines. While there are businesses that are allowed to remain open beyond the curfew, Herbert has no intention of doing that. And though he wishes the curfew was in place for all, he added, “this is Guyana so we can’t expect that to happen.”
Meanwhile, he projected, “One of our long term goals is to own our own apartment complex, pool, gym including a rooftop restaurant”. As a result, he is working towards ensuring that his business becomes more established. Through his business, Herbert has met many prominent people including owner of Roraima Airways, Gerry Gouveia.
He shared, “Gerry Gouveia, who is a good friend of mine, was saying that five years is what you want to get to. He said once you get to five years, you should be established. He said that a [large] percentage of small businesses don’t complete a year. When we had talked, I was in the business for two years and he applauded me for that but encouraged me to try for five years.”
World of Cocktails marked its fourth year in May and Herbert is looking forward to next year, when his business will hit that five-year milestone. He hopes that by then, COVID-19 is under control and he can have a celebration with customers who have been vaccinated.
World of Cocktails is located at 57 David Street, Kitty and can be followed on Instagram @worldofcocktails.gy or on Facebook at World of Cocktails. To place orders for lunch, the number to call is 662-0332.
