Punch Bowl Social built a business on the idea that grown-ups still want to play. Then a pandemic closed all 19 rooms - and the comeback got stranger than the concept.
Marcus Baney is a co-founder of Spec (specapp.com), a restaurant and bar inventory management and recipe costing platform, and a seasoned beverage consultant based in Dayton, Ohio. Drawing on 11 years of hospitality experience - seven years behind the bar at Nashville's most celebrated craft cocktail bars including The Patterson House, Pinewood Social, and LA Jackson, plus four years as a bar manager and beverage director - he bridges the gap between artisan craft and operational profit. His consulting work focuses on designing cocktail programs that hit 85% gross margins while being executable by real teams. Beyond hospitality, he's an avid photographer with over 2,600 images on Flickr, a guitar player, and a golfer.