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August 2, 2007

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AT HANGER BAR & BOUTIQUE in Manhattan's East Village, martinis and vintage frocks make unexpected bedfellows. Yet, honey-infused rum seems to fit so seamlessly with Coco Chanel. Cucumber-spiked vodka pairs well with Halston.

 

Hanger, an unusual place where you can belly up to the bar or thumb through nearby racks of classic designer threads (all priced to sell), is not the great collision of bourbonistas and fashionistas as might be expected. Nor are there grenadine stains on the Lagerfeld: The stylish duds stay out between noon and 7 p.m., but get safely tucked into storage when the real crowd starts drinking — most nights, until 4 a.m.

In fact, there are far more dangerous combinations at hand than cocktails and couture clothing. Chiefly, there are the owners — best friends who opened the bar, three years ago, at the youthful ages of 22 and 23, with limited business experience and one's apartment on the line for a down payment. Then there's the potent mix of risk, timing and luck that comes with opening a bar in New York City, home to possibly the most competitive nightlife scene in the country. And lastly, there's the usual calamities that befall bar owners — patron fights, police visits and persistent theft — coupled with an extraordinary incident: a horrific accident that nearly claimed the life of one of the founders.

But Natalka Burian, now 25, and Betsy Nadel, 26, have managed to pull it off so far, enough to make ends meet, hire a staff, and pay themselves a small salary. And the good reviews have rolled in. New York Magazine deems it a "cozy" place where you can "shop (or drink) til you drop." Shecky's, an influential nightlife guide, says Hanger's staff "could just as easily sell you a Budweiser or a string of pearls." Blogs and online magazines have weighed in, too, including Gen Art Pulse, which calls Hanger a trendy place that "combines two of our passions: shopping and tying one on."

The inspiration for the bar-slash-boutique came when the two future entrepreneurs — like many before them — were miserably working for someone else. They had met each other in 2001 at a nearby dingy eatery, where both logged long hours as waitresses, and "we joked about it all the time — wouldn't it be awesome to have our own place," says Burian. In fact, looking back, "I don't even remember when it switched from being a joke to being serious," says Nadel.

As the two waitresses, who were finishing up bachelor's degrees — Burian in international relations at New York University and Nadel in theatre at Eugene Lang College — started brainstorming, the idea of making "dressing up" part of the business's theme tickled both their fancies. "Plenty of places are just bars," says Nadel, who thought the unique concept would help them stand out. "And I love party dresses," adds Burian.

Top 3 Tips

Hanger co-founders Natalka Burian and Betsy Nadel offers these tips to other small businesses:

Find a mentor
Nadel had a good work experience at New York café Alice's Tea Cup, and has turned to the owners for advice on writing Hanger's business plan, furnishing the bar, hiring help and more.

Be willing to wear many hats
Burian might be the owner, but she's unclogged the bar's toilet too many times to count.

Take risks
"We were fearless," says Burian. If they had worried too much about the challenges, they'd never have opened the bar in the first place.

The two learned quickly they needed to scale down grand plans, however. They originally dreamed of maintaining a big inventory of modern fashion lines (in addition to the vintage pieces), building glass display cases into the bar, and even running an electric-powered dry-cleaners rack around the 1,000-square-foot place. But then reality hit. The cost of renting a space, obtaining a liquor license, and paying lawyers drained their already-tight budget (they estimate it took $150,000 to get started — a mix of contributions from friends and family, and a home-equity loan). So with less than $2,500 left to overhaul their new space (a former cabaret) they got creative, tearing down mirrored walls, painting the walls a deep red, and driving an enormous truck to New Jersey to stock up on furniture at auction. And the clothes? In the earliest days, as the two scrambled to get the bar open, most came from their closets. Since then, though, most have been handpicked by Nadel, who recently took a roadtrip to Nashville, stopping at vintage shops and antique malls to pick up shirts, dresses, hats and high-heeled pumps, all priced at Hanger between $5 and $100.

While clothing sells — often, during happy hour when patrons' wallets tend to open a little easier — "we're not staying open because people are buying our clothes," says Burian. It's designer cocktails such as the Hepburn, the Jackie O and the Narcisco Rodriguez (not to mention the usual bar fare) that generate most of Hanger's revenues. Projected gross income for this year is $250,000. For the most part, the "boutique" part of the bar has been a clever marketing strategy — although "it's something we enjoy," says Nadel.

As it is for any business owner, their first year was particularly exhausting. Both worked six days a week, in a variety of roles: handyman, janitor, record keeper, sales assistant, bartender. And things were just starting to go smoothly when the unexpected happened. In December of 2005, Nadel was crossing a busy intersection when she was struck by a delivery truck. The accident left her in intensive care, with broken ribs and collapsed lungs, and put her out of commission for four long months.

"I thought I was going to have a heart attack," says Burian, who not only had to cope with the temporary loss of her business partner, but also her closest confidante. Nadel says Burian's key strengths — strong organizational skills, a knack for trouble-shooting, and an ability to stay on top of the books — got them through the ordeal. And upon her return, Nadel brought back her talents — most notably, a gregariousness that keeps customers coming back — that got them back on track. The two say those complementary skills make them good business partners, although they still fight on the odd occasion.

What's ahead? Making more money — although the friends say they have no illusions that they'll ever be millionaires. Burian ultimately wants to be a mom who spends time with her kids — she figures putting the work in now, while she's in her 20s, will pay off down the road when both owners can step back and let managers run the show. Right now, they confess to being a bit envious of friends who have carefree lifestyles; while most young people in the city are updating Facebook pages and making weekend plans, Burian and Nadel are managing employees and worrying about things like carrying costs. "We get jealous," says Nadel. "On the other hand, if there's a place you have to be stuck, it's great that it's a bar."

Bar Talk

Your name: Natalka Burian
Name of business: The Hanger Bar & Boutique
Year founded: 2004
Business type (industry): bar/boutique
Location: New York City
No. of employees: 12
Web address: www.thehangerbar.com

Where do you look for business advice? (Mentors? Industry or trade groups? Family and friends?)
I always ask for and get the best advice from my mother.

What do you know now that you wish you'd known when you started?
There are so many things! It would be hard to list them all.

What's the smartest move you've made so far?
I think our choice of location and the fact that we managed to lock into an extremely reasonable 10-year lease.

What's the best business book you've read so far?
None read. [Burian says she's never read a business book.]

In brief, how did you fund the business initially:
Betsy and I wrote a business plan and used it to approach friends and family about borrowing some money. I was also able to take out a loan using my apartment (which I purchased just after Sept. 11, 2001) as collateral.

And extra credit, please answer: When/where was your last vacation?
Well, I'm most excited about an upcoming vacation at the end of September [the first real vacation since the business started]. A friend of ours is getting married in Montenegro, in the former Yugoslavia, and both Betsy and I will be attending the wedding. We also plan to visit the Croatian coast while we're there.