Armin Azadpour – Hunky Dory

Posted on January 2, 2022

Frankfurt is not the first city that comes to mind when planing a trip to Germany nor is it when discussing cocktails. While it might not be the most interesting city to visit for the sights, for the cocktails it is absolutely worth a look. Over the last few years, this city has had some great new bars see the light of day. This is where you will find Armin Azadpour, a good friend of mine who moved from Zurich back to his hometown of Frankfurt some years ago. A bold move, but at the time he said to himself: “Everything will be hunky dory”. In the meantime he travels between Frankfurt and Zurich, since he opened a new place in Zurich called Lupo.

About

Armin was born in Germany, but his parents are from Iran. It took the thirty-two-year-old a while to discover his second passion after fashion: bartending. After leaving school, he started off his professional life in a completely different industry by doing an apprenticeship at American Apparel. He has always had an eye for beautiful things, which becomes evident as soon as you see him, but also when you walk into his bar. After his apprenticeship, he became a visual merchandiser for American Apparel in Germany and Zurich. Eventually he moved to Zurich, opened a new store, and became store manager. A year later, he did an internship with a tailor in Zurich to learn all the necessary skills to create and sew clothing. To get by he had to work nights, and that is how he first got into the hospitality industry at the club at renowned Zurich luxury hotel Baur au Lac, hosting the VIPs. Since it was his dream to become a fashion designer, he decided to move to London for two more internships and various courses at the famous art and design college Central Saint Martins. But Zurich was still on his mind, so in 2008 Armin moved back and started his own fashion line that included leather jackets and leather goods. It was a tough business to be in, but he was successful and managed to get into some of the best department stores abroad. His bestselling markets were Germany and Japan. As with all new and successful enterprises, there is the challenge of production keeping up with the growth of the business. Armin needed a large sum to pay for materials and production, and when one investor suddenly pulled out, Armin was left stranded, trying to organize everything on his own. While it had been a rewarding experience to have his own brand, at the same time it was a very lonely existence. He took a step back from his business for a while and thought back on the good times he had had in various bars in London while making money to finance his internships. Fate stepped in at the end of 2009 when a friend asked him if he wanted to help him open a new project called Rivington & Sons, inspired by the famous Schiller’s in New York. His friend wanted Armin to be in charge of the whole bar, attract people, and run the beverage program. He enjoyed the unexpected dive into the bartending business and somewhat lost interest in his fashion line. Two years later, another friend approached him and asked if he wanted to manage a new place called Grande Café & Bar, a highly frequented café and cocktail bar. Another three years on, in 2014, Armin’s entrepreneurial instincts kicked in again as he began dreaming about his own little project. Armin often traveled to Japan and knew about their culture of small cocktail bars and he had a vision of opening a small speakeasy in the very heart of Zurich. He opened that magical place together with Ivan, a talented young bartender he knew and while technically illegal, it was open for six months on Thursdays and Fridays only. “The Office” was always packed, very welcoming with a great atmosphere and a new drinks menu every week. Luckily, the neighbors and the police never found out about that little gem as it was hidden away in an office building, but it was a close call at times. Many bartenders would drop by after their shifts to end their evenings, which was a big honor for Armin. The nights usually only ended with the sun rising. In 2015, however, Armin felt it was time to move back home to Frankfurt to be with his partner. He had become a father in the meantime and wanted to be closer to his child. Filled with lots of energy and experience from the small bar project, it was time to open a permanent place. At the end of 2015 he opened Kinly Bar together with René Soffner. René was in charge of the drinks and Armin, with his design expertise, took care of the interior and the hospitality. It started out well, but soon the two developed different ideas about the future of the bar and Armin decided to leave Kinly. But he didn’t stray from the bar industry for long. He took a few months to source inspiration from bars all around Europe while traveling with his wife and daughter and at the end of 2016 he opened Hunky Dory.

Hunky Dory

Hunky Dory is situated in a modern building but when you walk in it feels like two worlds collide. Armin has seemingly visited every single flea and antiques market in Europe and collected all kinds of treasures from the past. You will want to leave with half the interior—it is just magnificent. He was lucky that right from the beginning the right crowd was drawn to his bar. He had already made a name for himself in Frankfurt, but the bar is located on the outer edges of a trendy area and is easily missed by foot traffic. People have to want to come to this place, as there is not much else going on around there at night. Hunky Dory has a very unique concept; Armin wants to get strangers who come to his bar to connect with each other. Along the wall opposite the bar counter are seven open phone booths that guests can use to call each other, invite one another for drinks, order drinks, or just have a chat. It creates a lively atmosphere and is geared towards introverts as well, Armin explains, since the communication is not face to face. Another important feature are the small vintage games ranging from table soccer to slot machines; all made to bring people together and break the ice.

Inspiration

Armin feels lucky to be able to travel the world, and it is also something that is very important to him. He tries to network whenever he can and visit other bar shows. In his time off, he also likes to visit the best antiques markets he can find. Everything he does in his free time inspires him to come up with new creations. In his opinion, any idea will work out if you put passion and energy into it. The fashion expert’s credo is, “Just do it.”

Favorite cocktail

He loves cognac, and therefore cognac cocktails are never far from his palate. His drink of choice at the moment is a pure Cognac Sazerac like they used to be made in New Orleans. He loves the creaminess, the richness, and how balanced yet full-bodied it is. The perfect drink to wind down after long day behind the bar.

Check out Armin’s recipes: Sherlock Holmes, Equator’s Punch and Blood Diamond.

Favorite bar

Beaufort Bar at The Savoy in London.

The future of the bar world

Armin sees a trend towards sustainability. Bartenders are becoming more aware of reducing waste, including food and drink waste, but also plastics such as straws. What has long been just a buzzword without much substance has become a trend sparking actual change—with the added bonus that bars end up saving money. Another trend towards low ABV (Alcohol by Volume) drinks is taking place as more and more clients now ask for this type of cocktail.

Advice for opening a bar

Make something special and create and extraordinary concept which is new for your city. Look around at what others are doing and try to do it differently but never forget to deliver outstanding hospitality and drinks.

Frankfurt

The city is Armin’s home where he grew up. He loves his bar and bar community, which is like a big family to him. At the same time, Frankfurt has an international flair with the only real skyline in Germany. For its size, it has an outstanding bar scene.

Best decision

Having a child was the best thing that happened to him in his life. In a professional sense, becoming a bar owner has brought him the best life experience.