Boris Gröner – One Trick Pony

My Life

Originally, I come from a place called Rosswag, close to Stuttgart, and am now 44 years old. I have two kids, and together with Andreas Schöler I own the bar One Trick Pony in Freiburg. When I started university, I first moved to Mannheim to study economics, but did not like it too much, and so in 1999 I continued my studies in Freiburg with sports economics and geography. Like many others, I needed to fund my private life, and so right from the beginning of my studies I helped out in a place called Hemingway bar, which was the first cocktail bar in Freiburg at the time. All in all, I stayed fifteen years at Hemingway bar and right after I graduated I got a fulltime position as bar manager there.

I liked gastronomy and the nightlife so much that even after uni I wanted to stay in this line of work. After four years in the fulltime position at Hemingway I heard about a new bar/restaurant/club project which really caught my attention. I was asked to run the place and was even able to bring in another person with me. At the time I was already working with Andy at the Hemingway bar so it seemed obvious for us to move to this new place together. Andy was working as bar manager while we were running Passage 46 together. After just one year though, due to some investor-related financial issues, the place went bankrupt.

“I think if somebody would have asked me three months before signing the lease if I could imagine myself being a bar owner, I would have said NO WAY”

Boris Gröner

It was a very difficult time … but as luck had it, due to the bankruptcy we were free to take over One Trick Pony. That’s how I became a bar owner. I think if somebody would have asked me three months before signing the lease if I could imagine myself being a bar owner, I would have said “no way.” I knew how hard a business in gastronomy can be, but the decision ultimately was very spontaneous. At the end of the day though, it worked out very well and I am very content now to have taken this step in my career.

One Trick Pony

When the idea first got into our heads, we were thinking about how we could make our bar concept appealing to the people of Freiburg. What was missing in Freiburg? We realized that there was not one privately owned cocktail bar that lived up to our standards. We wanted to make high-quality cocktails, but at the same time the people from Freiburg—who are per se more into wine and beer—needed to feel attracted to what we do. We experimented a lot in the Hemingway bar, but the guests in Freiburg are not very experimental.

There are no cocktail nerds here like in other cities. But the journey we started at the Hemingway bar could continue on at One Trick Pony. Shortly before the opening, we still did not have a name for our bar, but we had a poster on the outside for a while on which people could write name suggestions. Early in the process, somebody wrote “One Trick Pony,” and we thought: actually, we do “bar” very well and don’t want to be anything else, so the name fits perfectly. Moreover, pony is an old bar measurement which one often finds in old cocktail books.

We make most of our essences that we use in our creative cocktail ourselves, and we try to be as local as possible. But in the end the bar should be for everybody. We did not want to overcomplicate things and set high prices, that was never the aim. It should all be fun and affordable. Over the years the bar has really made a name for itself and we are well-known now, at the least in German-speaking parts of Europe, which is something that makes us proud. In the meantime, we have opened our own spirits and drinks’ store called Chin Chin right above our bar, where we sell our own bottled cocktails.

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The Future

Generally, I believe that Germany’s bar scene is still a step behind the world’s bar culture movement. I would expect more trends to evolve from Berlin, especially if I compare it to cities like New York or London. For sure, Germany was never really a cocktail country, and while a lot has happened in the past years, there is still room for improvement. I see more and more bars being added to restaurants, which is an interesting development. At the same time, in the last five to ten years, many cooking influences found their way into bars.

In Freiburg itself, it’s funny to say, but I think it would be beneficial for the development if there were even a few other competitive bars on the market. It would not hurt our business and at the same time it would raise more awareness and develop the bar culture in the right direction.

Profile

Year born: 1976

Special skills: I am superfast in loading and unloading dishwashers

Free time: Family time, traveling and computer, mainly marketing and social media activities for One Trick Pony

Bartender since: 1999

Biggest fail: Running Passage 46 and unfortunately going bankrupt

Most significant career step: Opening One Trick Pony together with Andy

Favourite cocktail: For sure the Daiquiri. Why? It’s very easy, with only three ingredients, and there is Rum in it—which I love. You can also use it to test bartenders quite well because you can still be creative with it. All in all, a good shaken Daiquiri always works

Check out Boris’ cocktail recipe: Golden Gin Supreme

Favourite bar: Difficult to say as it always depends on the mood. If I have to choose one, I would go for the Booze Bar in Berlin as I really like the people there. They are good friends.

Freiburg: Freiburg in three words for me is “Prevent and Preserve.” New things are always looked on with a very critical eye. Like in so many cities, creativity is unfortunately inhibited due to bureaucratic rules and regulations. In Freiburg it might be because of its old history and the historical center or the still-strong influence of the church.

One Trick Pony Website

Boris Gröner’s video portrait

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Images: ©Felix Groteloh