Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Asher.
Hi Jason, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I come from a long culinary background. My early teenage years were filled with bussing tables, washing dishes, and warming bread! I spent nearly a decade bartending at various high-volume nightclub-style bars, eventually transitioning to a high-volume lobby bar called Jade Bar at that world-renowned Sanctuary resort. There I honed my skills and eventually won the Most Imaginative Bartender competition by GQ Magazine and Bombay Sapphire. The win opened so many doors, and I eventually worked for a spirit brand while curating cocktails for one of the nation’s largest alcohol distribution companies. All of these efforts and experiences helped prepare me for the next big step: to launch Barter & Shake and truly begin to turn phoenix into one of the best cocktail cities in the country!
Barter & Shake, an owner and operator group based in Phoenix, Arizona, began in 2015 with its first concept, Counter Intuitive. In 2016 they had an opportunity to open a concept in the basement of an old Jiffy Lube, which later became UnderTow. UnderTow was one-of-a-kind, including computer-generated video behind Portholes to appear as if you were inside a ship’s hull. UnderTow’s popularity rose quickly, and in 2017 it made the Top 10 Finalist list for Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards for “Best New American Cocktail Bar.” In 2019, the group had the opportunity to lease the building next door to UnderTow’s location and decided to open the largest concept to date, Century Grand. Amid COVID closures, UnderTow lost its lease and original location, and the team decided to migrate UnderTow into the Century Grand building. With its reopening in the latter part of 2020, Century Grand became a building that houses three separate cocktail bar concepts – UnderTow, Grey Hen Rx, and Platform 18. Barter & Shake prides itself on creating innovative, more immersive-style environments, giving guests a 4th element of experience while enjoying world-class cocktails. This past year in 2022, the UnderTow concept was expanded with one new location in Gilbert, Arizona.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Small business ownership is always a challenging path, especially owning a bar or restaurant. It’s exhausting and a ton of work! There isn’t necessarily a roadmap to success for new restaurant and bar owners; far too often, hospitality jobs are trial by fire. We’ve made mistakes just like we’ve succeeded in other areas. One of the biggest challenges is having the ability to scale our business. With this, we have had to grow our team, investing time, resources, and energy into training and focusing on staff retention.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Jason Asher is the Owner/Operator & VP of Beverage for Barter & Shake, an ownership, operator, and consulting group based in Phoenix, Arizona. He oversees all of the cocktail creation for multiple concepts and assists with drink development on a consulting basis.
“We push flavor boundaries! We use the science of flavor and composition to create elevated cocktails. These cocktails a nuanced and contain layers of flavors. We produce all of the ingredients in a commissary-style environment; as such, we can push boundaries with garnish, presentation, and execution! Our experiential cocktails are beyond immersive and truly allow our guests to escape,” said Jason Asher.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Organization and work ethic and vital to success in any profession. Learning to be flexible while maintaining your company’s core values takes time to grasp, but eventually, it will become a very important skill you use daily. Communication is another key component to success, and as such, the team members depend on communication for success.
Contact Info:
- Website: bartershake.com | centurygrandphx.com | drinkundertow.com
- Instagram: @barternshake | @asher52 | @centurygrandphx | @drinkundertow
- Facebook: facebook.com/barternshake
Image Credits
Grace Stufkosky TJ Perez
