Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Labbe.
Hi Ryan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in Providence, R.I., and was raised along the East Coast. I attended Newman College in Aston, Pa., to study Psychology and Sociology before transferring to Rhode Island College for History, Political Science, and Public Relations, with an eye on Pre-Law. I credit the good money and the desire to take a year or two off from school for setting the stage for my future in bars and restaurants.
I launched my hospitality career as a barback, working up to a bartender at Providence restaurants and dive bars. Moving through the ranks at Ultra in Providence, I went from bartender to bar manager to general manager before moving to Las Vegas. I spent my first year in Nevada getting to know the scene as a marketer and promoter before joining the renowned Light Group as a consultant. I used my time as a consultant wisely, lending my talent to several projects while learning the business.
Joining with a fellow hospitality professional, I launched 81/82 Group as the first of many game-changing projects in Las Vegas, resulting in eight venues with partners such as The Cosmopolitan, The Palms, and Pendry San Diego Hotel. CliQue Bar & Lounge was the first joint venture that brought tableside mixology to The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, followed by creating San Diego’s highly coveted and elevated nightlife destination, Oxford Social Club and The Pool House at Pendry San Diego in 2017.
The following year, we worked simultaneously on multiple projects, revamping The Palms Casino Resort culinary and drink experience, opening Apex Social Club, Camden Cocktail Lounge, and Greene St. Kitchen, a New York-inspired eatery.
Continuing to add to our portfolio, in partnership with CliQue Hospitality, we (81/82 Group) launched Barbershop Cuts & Cocktails, a gentleman’s grooming salon and hidden speakeasy tucked away at The Cosmopolitan, in Spring 2019.
My first solo projects within 81/82 Group, Más Por Favor and La Neta, with locations in both Las Vegas and Dallas, have allowed me to truly curate guest experiences that blend great food and drink with nightlife. In partnership with The Venetian Las Vegas, we operate Rosina Cocktail Lounge and Electra Cocktail Club. A new concept, Juliet Cocktail Room, will also open in late summer of 2023 within the hotel.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Of course, 81/82 Group has hit bumps in the road. A particular example was the opening of Mas Por Favor Taqueria y Tequila in Las Vegas in January 2020. A few months later, we had to shut down on March 17, 2020, due to COVID. While opening our first solo venue off “The Strip” was an obstacle in and of itself, having to go through the trials and tribulations during COVID made it more difficult trying to save the business, such as having to let employees go and then eventually reopening and hoping we could save the business. Opening back up after the struggles that came with COVID and shutting down is something I think made me, and probably all business owners and operators, think differently about our approach to things, trying to run more efficiently, which ultimately became beneficial. On the downside of reopening, we were challenged with trying to get people to come back to work when either they weren’t ready for safety reasons or did not have the desire to work because they were getting money from unemployment. While rehiring was difficult, we were also having trouble with patrons who wanted to be out but didn’t want to receive backlash for not complying with others’ opinions on the COVID rules.
Outside of the struggles of COVID, regular business at all of our venues has its ebbs and flows of ups and downs from hiring to getting our staff to be more than just bodies in a room and thinking about the business and themselves. We always want our staff to ensure they correlate the success of the business directly with results, as this reflects their income; the more money the business makes, the more money they make, so trying to ensure that people are thinking a bit more forward than usual also becomes a challenge at times.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about 81/82 Group?
My business, 81/82 Group, has been around for 10 years or so now. We began as consultants with other hospitality companies and eventually grew into our own hospitality company. In all that we do at 81/82 Group, we try our best to be a bit different through uniqueness, from extra touches on cocktails and the way we plate food to our interesting approach to marketing; our ultimate goal is to gather people’s interest and attention. We have seen that people today want an immediate experience, so if something were to be dragged on, they become disinterested; therefore, we try to add fun, personal touches to everything we do. Everyone would say they like their brand to be unique, but I find that we are successful in this way because we rely on our team to help execute what we are going for. It is important to have a team that has the same vision to avoid becoming disconnected and losing the mission of the brand.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Defining success can be paired in many different ways. One factor is the probability of the business. Not many people are in business just for fun, as it has to be profitable, but the margin of profit varies for each type of business. I believe that having a good gross revenue is something that alleviates the stress of a business’s success; if you can bring money in, the rest kind of falls into place. Another factor is what the consumer likes and how they respond to what you’re doing. It becomes difficult to have a profitable business if the consumer is unhappy, which is why this is something I pay very close attention to – my team and I read our reviews weekly and discuss how we can make as many people happy as we can, but unfortunately, that’s not how the world works. A third factor of success is your team. Although we can’t make everyone happy all the time, a great team is made by having good company culture, giving your employees upward mobility and the ability to express concerns. Listening to different approaches helps keep systems and processes in place. When all these factors are put together, the growth of the business or businesses by becoming better each day defines success.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.8182group.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlabbe/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/8182group
Image Credits
Mike Kirschbaum
Bryson Gamble
The Venetian Resort Las Vegas
