Here is a big spoiler for
tomorrow people: The new name of Spiral Music Bar is going to be Lost in
Budapest! Wow, would you not think that that name already exists about 10
minutes walk from that place, only opened in June 2013. It would be crazy to
rename a place to an already existing one, wouldn’t it? Well, it looks like its
not so… Scott London is working now for Spiral Music Bar, after he got fired
from this place, that we have been working together for about 10 months in
total.
In Vienna we came up with a
concept and had some money to open a small place in Budapest, where people can
come to and have fun, after experiencing what hospitality is abroad I felt like
there would be a need for something like that in this city. Of course opening a
business is not easy, but we just seemed to get along fine enough. Just before
the opening, we had lots of difficulties already with Scott, as we had
differences in the concept. In Vienna we had Scotts friend to make the logo for
us, and then we started building it up. I was writing the blog and Scott was
doing the videos. Back then he imagined a place where he is going to get the
djs from around the world and although the bar is tiny and can only fit 30
people in it, he is great in making the most out of it, was saying that
actually this is what is going to make the place unique. I guess, now it is all
about the big venues again. Anyway, the investment for the bar was mostly mine,
but it didn’t really matter, because we were both working hard for it, and it
seemed like it is going to pay off as well. The first problems occurred when
Scott was spending all the money before the opening night, so we were standing
here with no budget as the bar opened. That was a source of a lot problems
later on, as he realized 2 things: doesn’t matter even if you have an amazing
concept, with a new business you just have to be patient and wait for it, and
two, the money a bar makes in Vienna is not the money a bar makes in
Budapest.
After that we had a crazy
summer with the building and the licences, and the goal we started with, or at
least what I thought it was, was slowly fading away. Friends of mine were not
welcomed in the bar anymore, as they were seen to be helping me and they spoke
Hungarian with me, which is I guess totally unacceptable. They got phone calls from Scott, saying they
better not be coming here again, or else there are going to be problems. These were the first times I realized I made a
very big mistake going into business with him. Lots of times, I left the bar
with him, and came back to a very short till or having lots of missing drinks
and no stock. That was the second time I realized I made a mistake here.
At this time things got very
out of control between us and it led to a point where I had to get a report on
him at the police for locking me out of the bar taking my keys away for both
the flat and the bar saying he is going to do it by himself.
Of course during this period
we didn’t make enough money to get all the bills and the rent paid, so my
family helped us out, even when I called them I need money, because the till is
not what it was when I left the bar, but I need to pay for the delivery,
otherwise, there is no drink in the bar.
Or for that matter if it was for him, this place wouldn’t have even made
it through the summer, as we had no money to pay for it.
I was staying away from the
bar more and more, as it was impossible to work with him at this stage, and I
was hesitating if I should just leave everything and start new, or should I
fight for it, and get him off the company papers, and get his share. It was not
an easy decision to make, and for the people that think I am a bitch for
getting him out of here, I can ask: if you have an employee that is stealing
money from you and has no sense of business whatsoever, what would you do? If
that person is constantly abusing you, getting wasted at work and telling
people you don’t even work in your own company, what would you do? Would you
keep investing into it? I guess, I figured, with so much great help behind me,
that after all for 3 years I had a dream to have a bar eventually. Ever since I
started working in Amsterdam I knew this is what I really want to do.
Apparently, having a business
is a very though thing to do, and I needed to thoughen up for it too.
By last week I knew, even if
I actually come back with all the legal documents, that he doesn’t work here
anymore, he is not going to end up on the street and probably the worst case is
that he has to go back to England, where his family lives. The reason I got
help with me to get him actually realize that he is off the contract is that
whenever I came by myself, he would just get me out the place physically,
saying it is not possible.
The day after he came back
and stole the computer from the place, but I guess its okay, he said he wanted
to make me upsetJ. I don’t think that when you actually have to leave a
place, you can go around somewhere else and start doing it again with the same
name that already exists, but maybe all of this is going to turn out well in
the end!
I don’t know what is going to
happen in the near future, but I am not afraid, if the names are going to
change here and there is not the biggest problem on earth, although I do feel
sad to this thing came to this end, but after this, just look to the future and
we will see what it is going to bringJ!
Thanks for reading.
