Loycent Gordon is the owner of historic Neir’s Tavern (the oldest bar in NYC), which he has twice saved from closing down, in 2009 and in 2020.
Loycent Gordon’s Speech Topics:
How To Build a Committed Community Around Your Restaurant
Loy shares his story: how he was motivated to save his neighborhood bar (which happens to be the oldest bar in NYC), and the nearly insurmountable challenges he faced as an inexperienced tavern owner. He describes how he tried to win new customers using traditional methods, most of which were unsuccessful; why he was ready to give up after a few years; and a random conversation with a customer that restored his faith in the mission to keep Neir’s sustainable.
-How to identify, gather, and mobilize the community that’s already there for you.
-How a community was built around Neir’s and how the owner gained their unequivocal support, without resorting to discounts and free food.
-Why a committed community is the best way to offer the highest value to guests, making the time spent there more about the shared experience than anything else.
The Future Of Local Restaurants And Hospitality Businesses Is To Offer A “Contribution Experience” To Your Guests
Products are commodities now. Easily replaceable. To be successful you used to only need a good product. Then it became great customer service. Then it was offering a wow experience with all kinds of bells and whistles. Doing all kinds of crazy things in your restaurant to make guests feel happy.
That was yesterday. The future is to incorporate an experience where guests feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves when they eat at your restaurant. This is called the “Contribution Experience”.
This is the highest value we can offer guests. It not only feeds their belly but feeds their souls. As a small restaurant, your goal is not to see how much cheaper you can make your products or to offer good service (all of that is a given now). It’s not just about discounts and transactions. It’s about connections and community.
Local restaurants’ future depends on this mindset and are already uniquely positioned to win. We must not be the blockbuster in the age of Netflix. In the age where social media and online world is blamed for increasing population of depressed individuals, we can fill the gap.
Launching a Community Initiative Using Neir’s Ambassadors as a Model
Plans are underway for the launch of a Community Initiative for Historic Bars and Restaurants – locally in New York, and then nationally. Loy will be extending an open invitation to owners and supporters of these important establishments, beloved by their own communities, to be a part of the Historic Bars & Restaurants Council – a support network for historic establishments, helping to build relationships, revenue, and resiliency, that will positively impact the establishment and the greater community. Neir’s Tavern and its dedicated Ambassadors have already demonstrated the viability of this concept and Loy knows from his lived experience that it works.
-The overall vision is to encourage the formation of Ambassador Groups for the oldest bars and restaurants in each neighborhood – across the state, the nation, and even around the world. What being a Brand Ambassador really means.
-How other historic establishments who want to preserve their own history can emulate the sustainable membership-based model and form symbiotic relationships with their community.
-The financial structure of the Ambassadors’ Group and how it benefits the bars and restaurants which they are supporting.
The Story of Historic Neir’s Tavern and How It Was Saved – Twice!
Loy talks about the nearly two centuries of history behind the bar he has owned since 2009. The tavern was established in 1829, built on the same spot where it stands today, on 78th Street in Woodhaven, in Queens, New York; why (and how) it’s the first tavern/restaurant to have a street named after it: “Neir’s Tavern Way”. Loy shares his genuine passion for preserving a place that locals took for granted until it was about to close down, and describes the reasons that he and his Ambassadors in the community have an ongoing mission to keep Neir’s sustainable and ensure it reaches its 200th Anniversary in 2029.
-Respecting the history of Neir’s and the Woodhaven community; why we need to keep history alive and the relevant lessons we can take from it.
-How a committee was formed (Neir’s 190) to celebrate that milestone anniversary in 2019, and how that same group evolved into dedicated Ambassadors for Neir’s.
-How the Ambassadors and the community-at-large rallied and intervened to help Loy save Neir’s for a second time in 2020.
Video:
Bio:
Born on the island of Jamaica, Loycent Gordon emigrated to the U.S. at the age of 10, and attended school in another Jamaica – in Queens, New York. Loycent has always been grateful to the country that provided him with a wonderful education, and for the opportunities he has been given. As a young man, Loycent wanted to sign up for the Marines, but he did not make it through. Post-9/11 with the loss of 343 firefighters, he decided to serve in another way – and he became a NYC firefighter. Having now worked in the department for nearly two decades, Loy is one of the first African American Lieutenants in FDNY HAZMAT history. Loy and his wife Aisha share one son, Evan. Between his ownership of Neir’s and his FDNY shifts, Loy balances his life by spending as much time as he can with family.
In 2009, when Loycent learned that one of America’s oldest community taverns was just days away from permanently closing down, he zealously jumped in to save it – despite having no experience in the hospitality industry! He found himself immersed in the community, hearing stories from his neighbors, the local customers, and those who knew all the details, such as Woodhaven historians, both amateur and professional. As the years passed and Loy made these unbreakable connections with the community, he knew that having saved the bar was not enough; Loy and a growing group of Neir’s Ambassadors are now on a bigger mission – to see Neir’s reach its 200th birthday in 2029.
His success has been recognized by various entrepreneur and restaurant organizations as well as major media such as Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown.
