Progression, Development and the Art of Long-termism

Sam talks with Joachim Langebrekke about creating lasting, profitable concepts that engage with the local market.

I’ve known Joachim Langebrekke, operations manager for Resthon, for about eight years. First as my boss, and now as a very valuable client and friend. 

After coming up through the more seedy side of Oslo’s nightlife in the nineties, Joachim has been with Resthon for the best part of two decades.

Resthon is the restaurant arm of the Olav Thon Group, Norway’s largest hotel chain, and has seven venues in Oslo, with more on the way. Most of these venues have been around than I’ve been in Oslo (15 years) with some going all the way back to the 70s.  They are institutions, and with this longevity comes it’s own set of challenges.

“A guy who has been in our industry for a long time once said, ‘There is a fine line between a concept or a venue having patina and just being worn out and tired’.  At Resthon, we want our venues to have the patina. This comes with time, and the luxury of time as a venue comes with strong concepts and the ability to change and develop.” 

Before I got into the industry in Oslo and understood who owned what, I knew the Resthon venues as kind of ‘brown pubs’.  Dark wooden interiors with a focus on beers and with a bit of an older, more regular clientele. And then, about 10 years or so ago, a change began to happen. 

Dr Jekyll’s began an intense and dedicated commitment to whisky and now boasts one of the best collections in Scandinavia.  Den Gammle Major turned its focus to really high level gastro food, and The Scotsman, an Oslo mainstay since 1974, had a complete revamp.  It now boasts one of the best craft beer selections in Norway and a really solid gastro pub menu that is constantly evolving.  

These changes did not happen by accident. Joachim had his hand in all of them.

“It’s been crucial for us to change and to evolve as the scene has evolved. Norwegians are out and travelling (not right now obviously) and seeing what’s happening in London, New York, Copenhagen, Stockholm and so are more open to venues such as ours, pushing the envelope a little bit.”  

“When I started in the business in Norway 20 or so years ago, if you had lemon and lime as garnish, you were a cocktail bar. If you had more than two types of beer, you were a craft beer pub.”

“Today is different, you have a family coming in to watch the game and have dinner, one is a vegetarian, the other is gluten intolerant, Dad wants a Negroni, Mum wants a glass of Alvarinho, the kids want an organic juice.   A venue we’re opening soon, it needs to have twenty-four beer lines.  Norwegians are demanding that variety. ”

And your venues that are opening this year, they’re  a long way from the ‘brown pubs’ that I knew Resthon venues to be 10 years ago. 

“Yes, absolutely. With every venue we commit to, we think long term, 10-15 years, that’s important. Of course venues will evolve, some may not last that long, that’s the business we’re in, but we want to create the trust for people to keep coming back, and to trust us to evolve with their wants and needs. The wants and needs right now, is not what they wanted 10-15 years ago”. 

This long term view is not shared by everyone in Oslo. I’ve spoken with a few operators that have the exact opposite mantra. Their model is short term, fast profits, low spend, cut and paste. Which scares me a little bit, because I fear it damages the industry as a viable place to forge a career because how do you see opportunities to grow as a professional if your employer is thinking so short term?

“In Norway, for young people, the industry is still seen as something you do before you do something else.  My family was still asking me at 35 when I was going to get a real job, and that hurts the industry.  I mean we have a lot of really really high level venues, with a dedication to excellence and pathways for staff to grow, but equally, we have a lot of the opposite.” 

Williamsberg Beer & Bab

Photo Credit: Carl Filip Olsson

“I think venues that are planning for three years and then to get out are at a real risk. COVID has shown how fragile the industry is and I think people are going to be much more aware of who they’re supporting. I think the idea of community is stronger now so venues that are committed to being a part of the community and are successful at communicating that will be more attractive than venues that are paying minimum wage and with no interest in being around for the long term”.

And although Resthon is owned by Thon, a big company, I like their model and I like the way they contribute to our local industry here in Norway.  Both Alex and I have worked for this company, and I personally like how they operate. I see the support and opportunities they offer young people coming through and the pathway to a good career in our industry.

And Behind Bars, we’re doing four projects with Resthon this year, hopefully more in the future, and so I had to ask; What prompted Resthon to switch from their previous supplier to us?

“It goes to back to longevity, to quality and to development.  Our bartenders need to be better to meet guest expectations.  Our bars need to be better to enable them to do their job. We know you guys do really high quality stuff, and we know that those bars are going to be great for many many years. More than that, you guys understand concepts and what a venue needs in a bar, we understand that inside the cost of the bar is a level of knowledge and expertise that is hard to put a value on, but definitely has a big value.”