South America is the next stop of our world’s best bars tour. We’ve done the “Five questions to fight back the crisis” to Jean Trinh of Alquímico in Cartagena, Colombia.
Thanks Jean, first of all, tell us who you are
I’m Jean Trinh and I was born into the hospitality industry.
French of Vietnamese descent, his parents had several restaurants in France and Jean started washing glasses and putting together dishes in the kitchen when he was 5 years old.
Jean moved from Paris to Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) at the end of 2013 and after six months opened a Pop-Up bar in the Bohemian neighborhood of Getsemani to put his first foot into the world of hospitality in Colombia.
Jean Trinh
Enriched by this beautiful experience, he opens in March 2016 Alquímico in the historic center of Cartagena. Starting to operate with five companions, it has been growing and opening more spaces in this three-story mansion for in 2020, to have a team of more than 60 people (16 bartenders).
Could you describe, in short, your bar, its mood and your philosophy of bar?
Alquímico is three bars in one: 3 floors, 3 bars, 3 menus, 3 vibes with a very high energy.
Today Alquímico is considered among the best bar Team and best High Volume Bar in the Americas according to TOTC, serving an average of 850 guests every day of the year.
Jean and his team today travel and learn from the best in the world, to create and make the world discover the diversity and riches of Colombia.
Coming to the covid-19 crisis, how did you react humanly, psychologically at the spread of the virus and the consequent lockdown?
We tried to behave as a team. My first thought was to help staff, small producers, local farmers in order to “keep them
Alquímico
alive”, like you did in Italy.
So my team has classes, workshops and they study together six nights a week.
Here in Colombia, we have not received any help from the government : we have to keep paying staff (we can not fire people because the government would fine us), pay the rent (if the landlord does not accept to help us), taxes, lights, etc…
We kept paying staff 100% of their salary and with other partners, we bought to local producers 3.8 tons of organic fruits and vegetables, and made food baskets for 450 very humble families from Cartagena.
As we still don’t know when we will open, we will go with almost half of the staff (25 pers) to the Alquimico’s Farm at the coffee Region (900km away from Cartagena). There, we will work from the roots: permaculture, and design what should be the Post-Covid-19 Alquímico, working with our products and supporting Colombian industries.
When the re-opening will be announced in your country what you will concretely do? what action will you put into practice?
We will start serving more food to local people and step by step, we hope to be able to welcome foreigners. As part of the
Petronio
team will be working at the farm, we will step by step going back to Cartagena and we will have a more solid business.
What do you suggest to those who will be facing the re-opening phase soon?
I would say to work more with local partners and don’t forget what our industry is about: Hospitality.
AND GOOD LUCK!!!!! #KeepItalyAlive
