Bevs & Brews: An Inside Look At A Unique Bar Program
“Some of my favorite drinks we create ever are often the ones that really push the limits of guest expectations,” said Kolbe Digiulio, Beverage Manager at Decades. “Guests themselves have a whole variety of taste buds, desires and favorites. I want to make sure that I can capture even that one guest that comes in and wants something that no one else wants.”
Kolbe joined the Decades team in 2019 two months before it opened to help perfect many of the techniques, staple offerings, and beverage menu items. It was a unique opportunity to curate a lineup of delicious options for guests of all types.
Opening in March 2019, Decades was started by three childhood friends who wanted to offer an inclusive place full of nostalgia and a fun experience with curated food and beverage combinations that elevated what most people think when visiting an arcade. You can check out the current food and beverage menu here.
We chatted with Kolbe to explore what it took to develop–and perfect–an innovative, approachable, and elevated beverage experience. Check it out!
A variety of cocktails at Decades
Building A Beverage Experience
Before he joined Decades Kolbe built a solid foundation in the beverage industry for over 20 years, first learning about the field at Ruby Tuesday when he was 18.
“I think this ended up being the perfect career for me because I can genuinely say I’m excited to be here everyday,” said Kolbe. “There is this excited feeling that you get, that never gets old, when a guest comes in and you meet someone new. Bartending is the only job I can think of where you instantly have this weird friendship that might last 20 minutes or might lead to a lifelong friendship.”
In 2011 Kolbe began working with Chris Trendler, Operations Manager and Partner with Decades, at the Lancaster Marriott when the restaurant there was The Rendezvous Lounge at The Penn Square Grille. It’s also where Kolbe met his fiancé Trinity Wiker!
“Working side by side with Lancaster's Ben Hash at The Marriott is where I started to think about craft cocktails,” said Kolbe. “He was so passionate about creating the perfect drink experience and up until that point, most of my experience was in high volume corner bars, working with Ben definitely piqued my curiosity. Side by side we created an incredible list of infusions and my very first opportunity to design drinks that went on a menu.”
He also worked with Joe Devoy, the original owner of Tellus360, to help consult for their bar design and bartender training.
Kolbe’s experience continued to grow when he moved to Melbourne, Australia in 2014 to work at The Hairy Canary–one of the most esteemed cocktail bars in the world.
Kolbe creates one of the classic cocktails
“It was there that I really pushed myself to try any and everything,’ added Kolbe. “The cocktail book was nearly 40 cocktails and demanded weekly changes. The Hairy Canary was a transformative experience because the team was Austrailians, New Zealanders, Brits and myself and we all brought different techniques and abilities that we all learned so much.”
In 2016 he moved back to join the team at Cafe Fresco and Level 2 as Beverage Director to oversee multiple beverage strategies in Harrisburg, PA. Then, in 2019, Chris Trendler reached out to see if he’d be interested in returning to Lancaster, PA once again to be part of the Decades experience.
“During my years of bartending I had gotten to know much of the group of friends that became the ownership group at Decades and they are totally rad and we all just make this incredible quilt of weirdos that somehow works.”
Exploring The Menu
“A menu is an opportunity to really show off your diversity of skills,” said Kolbe. “The menu is there for people who like to find our version of their favorite cocktail, but is also there for guests who like to push themselves outside of their comfort level and really try something different.”
Decades has a great lineup of Signature cocktails, which are typically the top-selling beverages, such as the Toasted Pecan Smoked Old Fashioned (Wild Turkey Longbranch, toasted pecan syrup, angostura bitters, orange bitters, garnished with caramelized pecans and an orange twist), the Dragon Ball Z (citrus & orange vodka, spiced amarena cherry syrup, fresh pressed lemon juice, celery bitters in a frozen ice ball, garnished with a sour candied rim), and Lavender Town (Penn Square Lavender Vodka, fresh lime, fresh grapefruit, tarragon, angostura bitters, garnished with pearl sugar and a purple Monte Casino ice cube).
In addition to the signature beverages, Decades offers some of the most sought after breweries on tap–along with other beer staples everyone can enjoy. The menu additionally boasts a variety of canned cocktails, wine selections, and the ever-favorite Cocktail Pouch drinks.
The Cocktail Pouches hit the menu in 2020 to be an easy to-go option for alcohol, when that was an option, during the pandemic. They were so popular that Decades kept them on the menu, often switching out flavors and types seasonally. Although they can’t be taken to-go anymore, guests enjoy them in the space while playing games and connecting with friends.
A variety of our cocktail pouches
“We definitely want to keep things fresh but we’re also always trying to balance that with familiarity to the guest,” added Kolbe. “We won’t do an entire menu change, but every couple of months we try to remove a few drinks that no longer fit the season and add a few that do.”
Popular pouches include the Princess Peach’s Pouch (Silver Tequila, peach schnapps, lime, peach nectar, peach rings), Waluigi’s Lemonade (gin, butterfly pea flower, lemon, seltzer), Pineapple Express (Tang, pineapple, lime, Malibu rum), and the Falcon Punch (Bacardi Dragon Berry, peach schnapps, mango nectar, pineapple juice, fresh lime, Sprite).
The beverage team enjoys building engaging drink experiences as well, including the Bourbon Flight Experience (3 flight options featuring multiple hard-to-find bourbons to choose and taste ensure a unique experience on our own custom retro arcade flight boards).
It’s also a focus for the team to offer unique mocktails for those seeking something elevated yet alcohol-free.
“Not everyone can or wants to have alcohol, but they would still like to try something unique, and still feel connected to the group they are hanging out with,” said Koble. “If you look at some of the mocktails we offer, we take just as much care in thinking about flavor profile, quality, and presentation that we do with all of our cocktails.”
Three of Decades mocktail beverages!
These mocktails include the popular Kiss of Eve (gala apple, rambutans, lemon, rose water, and seltzer) and Lavender Elixir (lavender and honey early grey, fresh lemon, seltzer, and topped with butterfly pea flower gelatin and garnished with button flowers).
Crafting The Experience
The whole beverage team at Decades collaborates to develop new drink ideas for guests.
“At different times throughout the year we host two meetings with all of the bartenders,” said Kolbe. “The first meeting will consist of all of us bringing our new individual cocktails. We will make them for each other and give each other constructive criticism. We’ll encourage each other to think about the following choices: glassware, flavor profile, ice, visuals, process and many more things.
It’s a process that concludes with a friendly competition to determine what makes it onto the next menu.
“The second meeting will typically be about two weeks later and at that meeting we will compete against each other,” added Kolbe. “We all secretly vote, and the winners will make the list. I absolutely love this process. Every bartender has a cocktail style that you begin to recognize over time. This process helps create an incredibly diverse and complete menu. It’s also an amazing time for fellow bartenders to show off their talents and learn from each other!”
It’s this type of mutual collaboration that helps each bartender grow and further craft their own unique beverage perspective. For Kolbe, his process has involved a lot of information-gathering and testing.
“I will generally lean on books, experience, the internet or maybe even a night out where I tried something and there was something about that experience that might influence something I’m currently working on,” said Kolbe. “I obsess over other smaller details with a beverage experience and ask myself questions like–was reading the drink menu an enjoyable experience? Was it visually appealing to watch the drink made? Was the guest able to interact with the bartender when their drink was being made? Was it a full sensory experience? Have they seen this before? Is this the best possible version of this drink that they could get anywhere? Did they smile when they saw and tried it and if not, why? I have about 100 of these questions I ask myself every time. It’s this attention to detail that I do believe has allowed me to come up with some pretty fun ideas!”
Let’s Toast
Kolbe encourages everyone to stop by and see what we offer, while exploring the full Decades entertainment experience.
“We have an absolutely awesome staff, the games are a ton of fun, the food is outstanding, and we have some excellent beverage choices,” said Kolbe. “Lastly, I would say that if none of that sounds intriguing, just come in and say “hi” to me. I already mentioned this, but I love meeting new people, hearing about their life, and you never know sometimes that interaction becomes a lifelong friendship. You can never have too many friends.”
It’s a common sentiment at Decades–building a place where connection can thrive.
“I think that’s my tagline at the end of the day–’Come try Decades, because you can never have too many friends’.”
Explore the current beverage menu here, the on-tap beer list here, and make sure to visit soon and try some of the delicious drinks for yourself! You can also check out other behind-the-scenes feature stories including a look at what makes a retro arcade work, the design process behind an experiential destination, and the intentionality around curating a delicious food menu.
