Miracle: a global Christmas themed-popup bar franchise

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If 2020 is in need of something, it’s a miracle. After a year of public health, economic and social crisis, we all need an escape. And by that, we don’t just mean a vaccine.

Meet Miracle, a pop-up bar franchise serving holiday-themed drinks among over-the-top Christmas decorations. It was born in New York in 2014, when Greg Boehm pressed the pause button on the construction of his cocktail bar Mace, transforming the space into a holiday wonderland for five weeks only. Great success ensued and Miracle expanded rapidly, with four locations in 2015, before going global in 2016. Now Miracle is present not just in the US – but all across the globe.

For this year’s BCB Pouring Digital, Elva Ramirez spoke with Boehm and their manager Joann Spiegel, both who are based in New York City. Here’s what we found out.

 

Miracle was only meant to be a one off

“In the start we wanted it to be the one location!” said Greg, “I had just bought the bar that became Mace and before I did renovations, we did a Christmas popup. We didn’t plan for it getting bigger than this!”

Look how things change. He describes how by year two, a few friends joined them, making it four locations. Then 17 location the next year. Then 54 locations the one after that. It’s clear that Miracle becoming a runaway franchise was a pleasant accident.

 

Miracle bars are all the same, but different

The Miracle brand is very strong and identifiable. There’s candy stripes. Tartan too. A tongue in cheek and naughty, but nostalgic vibe reigns supreme. “But what’s great is it also flexible with Christmas experiences,” says Joann. “You see that throughout all locations. You can tell what’s a Miracle location, but they are still all different.”

“You know you’re in a Miracle, when you walk into a miracle,” she smiles. Greg gave more details on this: “We do give locations a lot of direction, as we know what resonates with most customers.” They send to their partner bars a variety of things for inspirations, including moodboards, design ideas and decorative things they manufacture (like glassware), but there’s room for them to include their own Christmas references. And what was it based on? “It was based on my grandparent’s basement built in the 1950’s - that’s the Christmas I remember!” says Greg.

 

There are many reasons why bar operators are tempted by Miracle

Why are Miracle bars great for owner-operators? First and foremost, they offer a great increase in volume and revenue. More so, it brings access to an established community, as well as reaching the completely new demographic that Christmas brings.

Greg mentioned the current economic situation as something else that might convince owner-operators to spin a Miracle. “I think people are being more conservative, so it makes sense even more,” he said. “Miracle alleviates a lot of the risk of opening a bar. If they ever have a situation, we can guide them – or they can also ask the other locations. But it’s plug and play, we have everything from glassware to music ready to go.”

Joann agreed. ”There is no question they can ask that hasn’t been answered already, or if it hasn’t – we’ll answer quickly,” she said. And one last thing: they don’t have to worry about competing against themselves. “If they do a Miracle, they have the license for that area,” says Joann. But that doesn’t make it a franchise in the same way as the big ones. “But there’s not the same saturation as a Starbucks. We don’t want to see a Miracle on every corner,” she says.

 

The drinks are also inspired by nostalgia

What do they look for inspiration? “Just as we do with the décor, we go nostalgic,” says Joann. She gives some regional examples, going from using ham and pineapple in a drink in Hawaii, to the candied jams and marshmallows they used across the globe. “We’re inspired by the flavors of Christmas, wherever you are in the world.” Another one Joann loves? The Terry’s Chocolate Orange!

One thing they love about Miracle is how it converts newbies into cocktail stans. “What’s great is that the bar introduces people to fairly advanced cocktails. We kinda trick them into it!” smiles Greg. “We even make a drink called Flip - which has a full egg in it!” But what does a standard menu look like? With a cocktail menu at Miracle, you can expect ten cocktails and a few shots. And while it’s very diverse, many classics remain at all locations. Case in point: the Chrismapolitan. And yes, they work on ideating and creating the drinks all year round: “We’re an all year operation,” says Joann. “Although it’s very tough developing recipes in the 100 degrees of summer in New York!”

 

At Miracle, the glass is the centerpiece of the drink

With the likes of the SantaRex and the Christmas Carol Barrel, the franchise has many popular glass concepts. “When we started we were using vintage glassware,” says Greg. “Mostly we would come up with the idea for the glass – every drink comes in a unique glass – then figured out what went in it.” And sometimes they even underestimated the popularity of certain glasses: SantaRex sold out by week three in some years! “I think lots order because of the glass,” laughs Greg.

 

Despite COVID, the Miracle vibe still exists in 2020

Of course, 2020 has been an unprecedented year which has thrown everything into upheaval. So, what have they prepared, in order to operate safely across the globe but still with the indefinable Miracle magic?
“It’s different in different cities, depending on the rules,” says Greg. “It’s all about developing that sense of community, even with reduced capacity and smaller groups.” There’s no doubt about it: it will be different. Reservations and time slots are in. So is sanitizing and cleaning in-between sessions. But there’s still going to be “magical drinks with beautiful labels” – just how a drink should be.

“It’s still going to feel cozy,” Joann says. “There’s so much fullness in our décor that it feels warm and cozy. And you’ll be surrounded by lots of lights. It won’t feel empty at all.”

 

There’s big demand right now for a Miracle – and it’s quick to put together

“People were calling out for Christmas in June and July,” laughs Joann. “Some were even decorating their houses! And judging from Facebook messages, Instagram, emails and phone calls, people want to know when Miracle is back.”

So what if a bar is up for it? How long does it take? “We are so organized and do a lot of the heavy lifting,” says Greg. Joann concurs: “If someone wants to jump into the Miracle quickly, it’s practically plug and play. We’ve done much work in the last six seasons, that by this point within 48 hours I can get it up.”

 

Halloween ain’t quite the same

In terms of other concepts, the Miracle crew have created Sippin’ Santa, the tiki version of Miracle. But they aren’t convinced by Halloween as a concept. “It doesn’t quite have the full staying power of five weeks,” admits Greg. “It’s actually really hard to find a concept that can last a month.”

 

And they love a bit of Mariah Carey!

What about the playlist? He’s been working on it for six years, changing it every year – even getting rid of some surprising artists. “Not every song sounds good on a sound system, Elvis for example sucks in a bar,” he says. “So we have to figure out exactly what songs resonate.”

At a Miracle you can expect a lot of nostalgic Christmas songs – but they don’t want people crying into their Santa Rexes. And there’s room for the most played classic of the moment too. “How many times can you get away with playing Mariah Carey?” says Greg. “At Mace, they even put on special lights for that song!”

 

Thanks Greg and Joann for the great discussion!