Drunken Clam pop-up capitalizes on experience economy
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Steph Solis/Axios
There's no shortage of reasons to want to escape reality these days.
- Lucky, there's a "Family Guy"-themed pop-up in Boston.
The intrigue: The "Drunken Clam" pop-up, which recreates the bar in "Family Guy," is the latest addition to the nation's growing experience economy.
The big picture: Experiences are a growing segment of the U.S. tourism industry, which reached 1.2 trillion in 2023, per a Cushman & Wakefield report.
- Spending on experiences grew 25% between 2019 and 2023, while tourism spending on material items dropped 15% during the same time frame. And it's outlasted Barbie Mania.
- For companies like Bucketlist, those experiences increasingly feature shows beloved by Millennials and GenXers — from the "Barbie" movie to "The Golden Girls" and now "Family Guy."
State of play: The pop-up launched last week in the basement of West End Johnnie's, selling 90-minute slots for $18 (includes a cocktail or mocktail).
- The pop-up sold out last weekend, but will continue to run through Sept. 21.
Zoom in: The "Drunken Clam" pop-up has the usual merch and photo ops — the Quohog Channel 5 News desk, the Griffith Family couch and tiny rooms modeled after Stewie and Chris' rooms, down to the Time Machine Stewie made.
- Episodes play on screens around the bar.
Context: Experiences like these can draw business to bars, restaurants and other venues that are being frequented less since the COVID-19 pandemic, be it due to inflation, less interest in drinking or overall economic uncertainty.
Zoom out: Boston is home to several "experiential" spaces, from the WNDR Museum to the Museum of Ice Cream that opened last year.
- Other pop-up bars and exhibits have capitalized on the experience economy, like the "Friends" experience.
The bottom line: People are more selective about where they spend their money, but for some, a nostalgic pop-up might be enough to draw people into the local watering hole.