Hong Kong’s queen of mixology, Beckaly Franks, has announced on her Instagram that she will be taking a step back from her role as the creative director of Soho’s beloved dive bar, The Pontiac. Founded in 2015, The Pontiac is an American cocktail bar that is an inclusive safe space for all and unapologetically fun. In addition to her role at The Pontiac, Franks has also established other bars in the city, including Call Me Al and Artifact. Most recently, Franks was lauded with the prestigious Altos Bartender’s Bartender Award in the 2023 iteration of Asia’s 50 Best Bars.
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“Myself and The Pontiac are growing and evolving, and we’re going to be creating space”, says Franks in her Instagram reel. “I’m going to be creating space for myself as a creative, and creating space at Ponty, so she can take this hot rod on the next adventure”, she adds. Most importantly, Franks also shares “people have asked me like ‘what is going to change?’ and the answer is absolutely fucking nothing.”
While we’re gutted to see the self-proclaimed Mama Bear step down from her role, Franks states that “I’ll be focusing on my wife (Ezra Star, fellow mixologist and nominee for Time Out Bar Awards 2024’s Bartender of the Year), my life, and Hungry Ghost (a company founded between Franks and Star, responsible for venues such as Artifact and Call Me Al)”.
When asked about who would take over the queen bee’s helm at The Pontiac, Franks responds by saying “I don’t need to be replaced, and that’s sort of the reality. There is in fact also an actual (Jen) Queen there”, she jokes. (As of 2022, Queen has been overseeing The Pontiac’s cocktail programme and operations of the bar.) “She’s one of my soulmates and I want to build things with her in the future, but she’s the only person in the whole world that could run The Pontiac, and take care of it the way [the bar’s] been built to be taken care of’, she states.
Although Frank’s decision to step back from the Soho-based institution comes as a shock to many, she reinforces the fact that “I’m not trying to treat it as a loss. I’m not leaving The Pontiac, but I am creating space for myself to grow and Pontiac to grow”, says Franks. “We’re going to do a lot of tandem events, because I am in no way disassociating myself with the brand, I’m just letting people know that I'm not the owner of it, and they can look towards the current team that is there”, she reaffirms.
So, the big question on everyone’s mind is “What’s next for Franks?” Franks informs us that she will focus on brand development and exciting collaborations with global venues. We can’t wait to see her pop up again on guest shifts around the region, so keep your eyes peeled for where you can see this bar legend next!
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