Andrés Rolando: instinct, intuition and bars that never go out of style

Behind some of the most iconic and sought-after bars in Buenos Aires — Nicky Harrison, Uptown, Trade Sky Bar — is Andrés Rolando, a porteño who made it big without a manual. From cutting acrylics in a print shop to building temples of the porteño nightlife, his story is pure instinct, boldness, and intuition for what’s coming next. Entrepreneur, dad, husband to Julieta Nair Calvo, and a full-time dreamer, Rolando tells us what it’s like to launch bars that never go out of style in a city that’s always changing.

Do I need to know how you and your partner made a 180-degree turn from running a print shop to founding a bar/restaurant?

There are several reasons. First, we wanted to get involved in a more fun industry that would fulfill us more day to day. Also, we had friends who had worked at Frank’s, the speakeasy on Arévalo Street, and well, we always flirted with the idea of doing something with them, and it turned out we could make Nicky happen.

You are the owner and founder of successful gastronomic projects. What makes each one special to you?

They’re complementary projects that don’t overlap with each other. They all have a trademark that is impact — these are not places that go unnoticed, that customers forget, or leave without a strong impression of the experience. Speaking about each one specifically, I think Nicky Harrison is a bar for those who know, right? It’s a bar favored by industry connoisseurs, where every detail is cared for from the moment you enter until you leave. It feels like living a different, luxurious experience. We take great care of that; it’s already 12 years old and is one of our prestige brands. Uptown is, above all, a fun bar, right? It’s open Monday to Monday, always has a good vibe, there’s a DJ every night, and it’s styled with New York, hip-hop, and basketball aesthetics. It’s very appealing, fun, and relaxed. I believe Uptown would work really well in other countries as it does here. Finally, Trade Sky Bar is the cherry on top because it lets people see Buenos Aires with new eyes, right? It made porteños and foreigners rediscover the city we have. It’s a city that doesn’t often get viewed from above because it lacks tall attractions, so being able to see the whole city’s magnitude is a total privilege — and for me, it’s an honor to own this space.

"All my bars have a trademark which is impact"

What are the main challenges of being a gastronomic entrepreneur nowadays?

Beyond the economic situation and the country’s multiple crises, I can tell you about something I think is very important: with the rise of social media, trends are so visible and pass so quickly that it’s very difficult to maintain a product in the long term. What do I mean by this? Things that are good, that become trendy or have content, social media sometimes sucks them up and exhausts them very fast. It drains them, you know? So maybe a place that’s great, you see it so much on social media that you visit it during its six-month peak, but a year and a half later no one goes anymore; it’s out of fashion and all that audience moved elsewhere. So, I believe today, when you start a gastronomic business, you have to think beyond those six months, more like a year and a half, two, or three; because no business can survive on just six months. There’s a lot of error from people opening places, a lot of error from journalists and influencers covering places that cause this to happen, and also from disloyal customers. Obviously, you have to earn the customer — it’s not the customer’s fault — but this creates a vicious cycle that generates a big challenge for the entrepreneur wanting to open a venue.

"With social media, trends are so visible and pass so quickly that it’s very difficult to maintain a product in the long term"

We talked about the challenges; now let’s talk about what you’re most passionate about in your work…

What I like most is seeing each of my projects like finely tuned instruments. That they keep producing the notes we want them to produce, and this is about a solid experience that ranges from maintaining the venues to the renovations needed to keep them up to date, staff treatment, training, social media, trends in drinks and food — basically not falling behind on any of this. So, what I’m most passionate about is looking ahead, building on what we already have.

Where do you think trends are heading today in bars and restaurants?

I think trends today are a bit photocopied, right? When something works somewhere, it quickly gets replicated elsewhere, and with each copy, the ink fades and the new copies bastardize the original concept until it fades away, you know? So, suddenly, bars with small plates become trendy, then wine bars, then breweries (which aren’t trendy anymore). Today it’s vinyl bars; before it was hiding a bar anywhere. And I believe what people really look for, in my humble opinion, are places with their own personality — and that personality is understood. Places where you feel embraced by everything thought out for the customer. And I think that transcends fashion and trends…

"I believe what people look for are places with their own personality"

Any coming-soon project you can spoil for us?

I can’t spoil, but I can say we’re working on something new to fill a gap in Buenos Aires in that segment. A place for the prestigious, luxurious niche, but with fun. I think that’s still a gap in Argentine gastronomy, where although there are high-end dining places, it’s hard to have fun there as well. What we want is for you to feel in an impressive place, have a great time, and eat and drink well. Obviously, that’s what we already do in our bars, but we want to take it to another level.

Let’s do a quick-fire round

• Your favorite place for breakfast in the city: Tres Tostador

• A place for a quick, tasty lunch: Loreto or Norimoto

• A spot to go out with friends: for something chill, Gris-Gris. For partying, Uptown

• A restaurant for a date with Juli: Ness in Nuñez

• A kids-friendly restaurant to go with your children: there are few good ones. I’d go to Malloys because it’s close to the river

• The best drink in the whole world and where they make it: the Penicillin at Nicky Harrison or the Dry Martini at “The Connaught Bar” in London

• Your favorite dish and where they make it: I can’t pick just one, so I’d do an asado with this mix — ribeye cap from La Brigada, skirt steak from Don Julio, and central cut asado from Madre Rojas

• Your favorite neighborhood in the city: Colegiales because I live here; it’s a low-key, quiet neighborhood with all kinds of people. But I feel that’s changing, and I don’t like it

• Your favorite destination in Argentina: Patagonia’s lakes because they’re the most beautiful landscapes I’ve ever seen. They move me in a way no other place does. Also, they change with every season, and the effect is the same every time.