08/06/2021 6:00 AM
Clarín.com
Economy
Updated 08/06/2021 7:08 AM
The dream was ambitious: to
open the bar of his dreams
.
And the decision that led him to turn Presidente Bar into one of the 50 best in the world in just two years came with a risky bet that changed his life because the venture is not only about to expand to Miami, but this 38-year-old businessman For years he has been committed to consolidating himself as a
benchmark in gastronomic consulting
through Sherpa, a firm of which he is now a partner.
Ezequiel Pereira
, a native of Ituzaingó, had a senior position in a foreign trade company.
A resignation, a trip to New York, discovering the world of bartending and surrounding yourself with the right people could be the summary of your story.
But
there was and is more
: from not having social networks to a media relationship, or from doing sports with friends to running an Ironman in Dubai.
“I left my position in a foreign trade company along with a very high salary and standard of living;
I bought a ticket to New York and decided to spend some time there exploring the world of cocktails ”, Pereira summarizes for
Clarín
.
When he returned to Buenos Aires, he called his partner Sebastián Schkair and they immediately decided to look
for
strategic allies
to face the investment, look for a property, an area that was not saturated by the offer and a first level bartender who would join the project from minute zero .
“So we added German Pereira in the planning, Mariano Maciel, founder of Franks and Nicky Harrison and he suggested that we summon Seba García, one of the best bartenders in Argentina.
My main success was the work team.
Seba is the best, not only because of how he makes the bar shine when he is behind it, but because of his influence, his vision and his understanding of the business ”, adds Pereira, referring to the four partners who have been with him for five years.
The partners of President Bar. From left to right: Mariano Maciel, Sebastián García, Germán Pereira, Ezequiel Pereira and Sebastián Schkair.
Photo:
Located in Quintana 188, over the years Presidente Bar has gained recognition as a meeting place for great stars from the world of music, sports and entertainment.
Noted for its cocktails and its collection of liquors, figures like Maluma or bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Coldplay or Depeche Mode decided to visit it during their time in our country, in addition to frequently receiving personalities from different fields such as Mirtha Legrand, Marcelo Tinelli, Adrián Suar or Leo Messi.
Lionel Messi's visit to the Presidente Bar in Recoleta.
Pereira assures that the dream of entering the World's 50 Best Bars was from the beginning, and that they worked hard to make that happen, from the investment to the service, the setting, the property where they decided to open the bar, the furniture and every detail of excellence, contemplated to compete internationally.
Since 2019, just two years after its inauguration, Presidente Bar has been among the 50 best bars in the world.
And there Pereira stops to emphasize the people around him.
“The truth is that President gave me the opportunity to work with the most trusted people in my life, but with the most experienced in this area as well, and today I feel that
the team could not be better
.
And they bench me in all ”.
Among the “all” of Pereira, today the head is on the
opening of the President in Miami
and other business units abroad. "Today my business horizon is in the United States, but I am clear that it is thanks to an undertaking in Argentina, because President was the kick that opened all the doors for me."
With the same logic, the young entrepreneur also explores the universe of another of his great passions: coffee. Its
Cafecito
brand
is a tiny Coffee Shop that is about to open its third store in Palermo and with which it also plans to enter the North American market. “I love coffee, I'm a big fan and that's why I found it nice to combine it with business. A friend who lived in Australia (today it is the mecca of specialty coffee) told me about a project with the characteristics of Cafecito and I wanted to join in on the move, ”he enthuses.
Installed for a year and a half in the United States, while preparing the opening of President in the trendy district of Wynwood in Miami, he works to consolidate himself as a gastronomic reference and cultivate
a business model known as “hospitality”
, a holding of related companies to the business and the gastronomy industry.
In view of this structure, it bought part of a consulting firm in the field, Sherpa, with which it is promoting and developing the
landing of several Argentine brands in the North American market
.
“We provide the consultancy and help these brands to open their business in the United States.
Sometimes we charge
a rate per square meter
and
sometimes we
charge a lower value and keep a
percentage of the business
.
It makes it much easier for each brand to disembark abroad and for us it is a commitment to the future, it is a vote of confidence in this undertaking and a way to expand our hospitality ”, he defines.
Media exposure and his love of sporting challenges
Ezequiel Pereira when he ran the IronMan in Dubai.
Pereira, who confesses that before opening the President he did not even have social networks, does not deny a certain exposure, although he assures that he does not seek it.
His courtship with Floppy Tesouro put him in the crosshairs of another audience.
"I love social life, encounters and everything that the gastronomic world gives you, but there is an exhibition that I often avoid because I don't feel comfortable," he says.
He defines himself as an “athlete of integrity” (he runs, plays soccer, trains in the gym) and for almost two years he prepared to compete in IronMan races, getting to participate in the circuits of Punta del Este and Dubai, remaining for very little out of qualification for world competition.
“When I ran my first IronMan in Dubai I understood that everything I had done in that year of preparation and during the competition had to do with knowing how to suffer.
With
knowing how to interpret suffering, capitalize on it and give it a twist
”, he says.
The process to get to the competition included workouts six times a week.
And Pereira concludes: "I'm ambitious,
I don't do anything at half speed
".
A definition that clearly applies to all your ventures.
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