The ex-startup founder joined Bar Pacific three years ago to lead Hong Kong’s largest bar chain with 54 locations across the city.
Clad in black paint with a white neon sign board plastered in front, and packed with neighbourhood drinkers hunching over European and Chinese beer, pool tables, and electronic dart boards, a Bar Pacific bar is not hard to miss on any corner in Hong Kong.
Numbering 48 locations in total, Bar Pacific is Hong Kong’s largest chain of bars, with a history dating back 25 years ago. Their first location opened in 1999 in the residential neighbourhood of Hung Hom.
“Their first location of Bar Pacific began as a watering-hole for blue-collar residents of Hung Hom,” Teresa Chan tells Foodie. “We wanted them to have a place to relax and de-stress after getting off from work, without having to spend big bucks on a night out.”
A second Hung Hom location soon opened next door in 2002, following Bar Pacific’s growing popularity in the Kowloon area. “It became a place in the local community where they can just gather with their friends and just have nice drinks.”
Today, a Bar Pacific location can be found in almost every large residential area in Hong Kong. Three bars in Tuen Mun support a local population of more than 500,000. One bar in Chai Wan serves the whole eastern chunk of Hong Kong Island. Three bars in Sha Tin accommodate 700,000 Hong Kongers. And a bar in Aberdeen caters for the entirety of the Southern district, 260,000 strong in population.
Teresa joined Bar Pacific three years ago to assist with the digitalization and marketing growth of the company to compete in an ever-changing Hong Kong bar scene. She has helped to streamline drink operations and launched digital marketing efforts to promote Bar Pacific locally and collaborate with different brands. Growing the count of bars in new locations is one of her top priorities.
“We mainly focus on residential areas when growing our brand. We want to stay close to our customers and close to the neighbourhood. When we open a bar, we see a lot of customers coming in, showing a demand in that area. So, we will consider opening a few more locations to strengthen the brand.”
Teresa says Bar Pacific will not prioritise the highly competitive bar scene of Central when it comes to opening new locations, but areas like Mong Kok, Kwai Chung, and Kwun Tong see more than three Bar Pacific bars operating in close proximity to each other. “As long as we see potential in a residential area with a certain population living there, then we have our market.”
Over 25 years, the bar chain has come to represent a “local Hong Kong bar culture,” she says, serving as a community hub for neighbourhood residents to casually drink and relax.
Most Bar Pacific bars host multiple electronic dart boards, pool tables, karaoke machines, and an array of TVs showing the English Premier League and other football matches. It is not atypical to see groups of people ordering cocktail towers at the bar, of which the concept has been initiated by Teresa.
“I think Bar Pacific is so unique to Hong Kong, I cannot find another chain or bar similar to Bar Pacific here.” To further establish its uniqueness, the chain recently launched their own craft beer label with a wheat beer, a passion fruit and a lychee flavour fruit beer, and own a Bar Pacific wine label with bottles from Burgundy and Spain.
Within the Bar Pacific group, attention has been placed on the future of the bar chain to modernise its offerings and compete with other Hong Kong bars and restaurants – most locations have stood for years.
“In terms of our exteriors and branding, we want to begin to decorate our restaurants to support daytime operations such as coffee and lunches, making the atmosphere more welcoming for new customers.” The signature black door and see-through windows of their Bar Pacific locations are outdated, Teresa admits.
The group also operate Moon Ocean bar and lounge in Causeway Bay, Tai Wai, and Kowloon Bay, offering cocktails and American food, and skewer restaurant Katachi Bar & Kushiyaki in Hang Hau, Mong Kok, and Tseung Kwan O, highlighting “a focus to provid[e] a more upscale bar experience in Hong Kong with cocktails and food.”
“At Bar Pacific, we want to continue to serve good quality products and seek room for expansion in the region. It is important for us to tell Hong Kong that we are transforming with new looks and attracting more younger customers to enjoy our brand.”
With their newest location in Tuen Mun opening earlier this year, Teresa is targeting openings in the GBA to add to locations already operating in Guangzhou and Huizhou. “Chinese consumers are already starting to enjoy the classic bar culture. We want to bring our culture over [to China] to share with them.”
Visit Hong Kong’s largest bar chain in every corner of the city today and experience real Hong Kong bar culture.
