The Bethnal Green bar, which featured on the World’s 50 Best Bars list in 2018 and 2019 and has spawned a number of modern classic cocktails, will continue trading without its founder, who left the business last week.
“Coupette took its toll on me,” Moore told DI. “Last year I was working every hour god sends. Working like that is not a badge of honour and you can’t do it forever – it doesn’t make you happy. I was fixating on winning. But winning professionally meant losing personally. Since I opened Coupette, my wife and I separated, I lost my home. I need to rebuild my foundation. All I care about now is being happy.”
The former Beaufort Bar head bartender founded Coupette in 2017, operating as a director and shareholder. This year, when the business transitioned to new owners, Moore’s equity share was put on hold until he had made clear his future direction. A severance deal for the former co-owner was brokered today.
Moore told DI: “I didn’t want a drawn-out process. It’s a burden when I’d rather have the freedom. Leaving Coupette feels a weight off the shoulders.”
He and his team created a number of neo-classics at Coupette – the Champagne Piña Colada and Apples both won Cocktail of the Year at the Class Bar Awards, and of the most recent menu Strawberries & Cream has also been well received.
It is understood Coupette will continue with the current menu – Summer – and that a mooted second edition of the bar remains on the table.
Having left, Moore intends to take a break but re-emerge in operations in early 2020 – perhaps abroad. “I’m not sure ownership is what I want," said Moore. "People talk about having freedom to do what you want when you own a bar, but it’s the least freedom you’ll ever have. "I’ll be staying in operations, not moving to brands. I’ve never worked abroad and America is a possibility, but if I did move there, I’d want a solid base – somewhere I can grow.”
