Self-service EBars have been popping up at sporting and cultural events, replacing the need for lots of bar staff
The queue for the bar has long been a bugbear for the thirsty sports fan, a gamble that all too often results in a rushed pint, downed just before the whistle for the start of the second-half.
After missing a key try at an international rugby match while waiting for a beer a few years ago, Sam Pettipher decided to do something about it. Studying for an MBA at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen at the time, he dedicated his final project on “technology commercialisation” to finding a better way of lubricating crowds at mass events.
His solution: the EBar. An invention that will either fill your heart with gladness or make you fear for the future of the bartender, depending on how you feel about self-service checkouts and the prospects of robots taking all of our jobs.
Anyone watching the Ashes at Old Trafford this week will have seen the EBars, a wall of mobile vending machines pouring pints at the touch of a button. They were at Manchester international festival last week too, where even those despairing at yet another ancient industry being dehumanised by technology couldn’t resist a pint of Amstel for £4.
There are 40 automated EBar kiosks in the UK, popping up regularly everywhere from Murrayfield Stadium in Scotland to Twickenham in London.
