Same Same
Three bartenders walk into a bar…and buy it
Same Same is the brainchild of three North County bartenders who grew tired of not having any say in their bars’ basic operations as employees. Ownership is different than management, so they decided to buy out a failing restaurant in Carlsbad, CA, remodel it in one week with the help of friends and family, and finally take the reins. They opened Same Same in the Carlsbad Village Shoppes in December of 2022.
As their first social media manager, I was presented with several challenges:
1. Grow an audience from nothing and bring in business.
Same Same was located in a decidedly uncool part of Carlsbad, known more for its boomer dive bars and cute gift shops than its popping nightlife. For a long time, people would walk right past our front door because the bar was so tucked away. I had to remedy that.
2. Keep up with an ever-changing menu and last-minute events.
Because Same Same didn’t have a dedicated chef and menu for the first year it was open, they focused on bringing in pop-ups. One chef might do pizza over the weekend, then another would do French food for a few days, then it would shift to BBQ, then soul food, then latin fare. Every day was different in some way, and oftentimes, I didn’t know what food was being served until the day of. Events like DJs and restaurant takeovers were also pretty last minute.
3. Create a consistent brand voice and community image for a bar run by three very different people who all had different visions for it.
When multiple people own something, it can be difficult to hone in on the brand’s vibe. One owner wanted a Cheers-like home bar with elevated food and cocktails that didn’t feel bougie; another wanted DJs and nightly music to compete with the pub downstairs—more of a “club” atmosphere after dark; and the other…well, I’m not sure what he wanted aside from cementing their legacy as having the best damn cocktails in San Diego, which to this day I’ll agree: they do.
Embrace the Chaos
After a few weeks, it became clear that organization and pre-planning content would be impossible. So I embraced the chaos.
Here’s how I dealt with the challenges this role presented:
1. Build off what already exists.
Same Same was unknown, but the owners weren’t. They’d built reputable careers in North County as hilarious, rockstar bartenders who’d grown a following both within the industry and local community. I used that to our advantage by building a brand voice and imagery that mimicked their personalities and senses of humor. I created on-the-fly Stories, Reels, and posts that reflected what was happening at the bar, often in real time. It created a sense of urgency and FOMO, but it also showcased the authenticity of the place—we liked to have fun and everyone was welcome to participate in that fun! (If they could find the front door that is.)
Curating UGC became central to my strategy since we had so many locals rolling through to congratulate the owners and hype up their homies via their own social media. Then Same Same started getting popular. Eventually, I had so much UGC to choose from that only the most well-lit or heavily followed users were reposted. Bathroom selfies trended hard, as did our weekly menu changes.
What Same Same lacked in business acumen it more than made up for in Instagrammable ambience, bartending skill, friendly personalities, and a genuine desire to succeed. Capitalizing on all that got us 4K followers within three months of opening, and ranked as the #1 Restaurant and #1 Bar on Yelp for our area.
2. Be proactive and think several steps ahead (even if no one else is).
Once I knew that creating a marketing plan and content calendar wasn’t going to work for these guys, I leaned into creating real-time content. I’d come in for dinner and order food so I could take pictures to promote the rotating menus. I’d introduce myself to bartenders and figure out which ones were fun in front of the camera. I’d invite friends with me to create social scenarios I could shoot if business was slow. I’d hang out in a corner and listen to the owners talk to customers, honing the bar’s brand voice around them. I’d often edit what I’d shot just moments before and post it while still at the bar.
Unlike most marketing photography, I had to shoot when we were open, with low, multi-colored lighting and little control over my surroundings. I didn’t even have a good camera then! So I leaned into taking pics that weren’t perfectly exposed or even fully in focus. What you saw was what you got when you visited. I made content that made our audience laugh, feel seen, and want to be a part of the Same Same crew.
3. Don’t force it.
My biggest error at Same Same was trying to wrangle the owners into giving me direction over the social media content I produced. Truth is, at the time, they were too busy to think about it. They just told me to keep doing what I was doing because it was working and people kept complimenting it. I wanted to represent them as a brand and have a growth mindset. I wanted to take pictures when the place was closed so I could create professional-looking imagery with a specific tone and thematic vibe. But ultimately that’s not what Same Same needed, and I learned that sometimes good enough IS enough.
As the bar launched merch, themed DJ nights, nailed down a menu, built a front patio (yay, people could find us!), added to the ample decor, and even had a cookbook offer at one point, it was clear that simply representing them as the three local entrepreneurs they were was enough to grow their following and help solidify them as the place to be in Carlsbad.
