Whilst out and about on my travels, I was introduced to today's guest by previous guest, powerhouse Rachel Thomson (Episode 176).
So it was great to sit down with Tim Hobern, the founder of Dovetail Bars, to talk about his wild and unexpected journey from bartender to bar owner to entrepreneur shaping London’s cocktail scene. From opening London’s smallest bar to launching a Leicester Square hotspot in just 72 sleepless hours, Tim shares the thrills, challenges, and lessons of building a hospitality business in a post-COVID world.
Key Takeaways:
- Entrepreneurial Agility – Tim’s journey is a masterclass in spotting opportunities and adapting quickly. (Spoiler: "Pivot" is mentioned... reluctantly.)
- The Power of Saying Yes – How a residency deal turned into a rapidly growing bar brand.
- Future-Proofing Your Business – Why Tim doubled down on a second location early on.
- The Art of Customer Experience – From London’s tiniest bar to a casino collaboration, making guests feel at home is everything.
- Handling Chaos Like a Pro – Lessons from opening a bar in three days, fighting fires (literally), and dealing with late-night Camden crowds.
Fun Moments:
- The creative way Tim once "gently" persuaded a rowdy crowd to leave his venue. (Hint: Music choices matter!)
- The time a neighbouring building caught fire, and Tim had to empty the bar’s safe and grab some beers… just in case.
- How opening a bar inside a casino required a surprising amount of explanation to customers.
Memorable Quotes from the episode:
“No one has ever had a fight with Britney Spears playing in the background.”
“Everything only ever makes sense in retrospect.”
“I called in every possible favour… and then we had a three-day turnaround to open a bar.”
“If you tell yourself this is going to be a chapter in the autobiography, you can push through the pain.”
“I’ve developed an almost religious relationship with coffee.”
“Most things are set up to be manageable—otherwise, businesses wouldn’t survive.”
“The best problem-solvers have just a tinge of arrogance—the refusal to accept there’s something they can’t do.”
“You can find ways to make people feel unwelcome without being unwelcoming.”
This chat is totally brimmed with lessons and stories and I hope you enjoy!
The Guest
Tim is a British/Australian Bar manager who's been working across London venues for the past 9 years. Since 2023, he's been the owner of Dovetail Bars Ltd, a company that operates bar residencies for venues that have difficulty executing bar concepts in a post-Covid and Brexit space.
Instagram - @dovetailbars
Show Partners
A big shout out to Today’s show partner, RotaCloud, the people management platform for shift-based teams.
RotaCloud lets managers create and share rotas, record attendance, and manage annual leave in minutes — all from a single, web-based app.
It makes work simple for your team, too, allowing them to check their rotas, request holiday, and even pick up extra shifts straight from their phones.
Try RotaCloud’s time-saving tools today by heading to https://rotacloud.com/phil
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