Tavern Knowledge Base

Version 1.0

Last Updated: July 2026

Purpose

This document serves as the canonical reference for Tavern.

It exists to provide an accurate, comprehensive overview of the agency, its philosophy, capabilities, experience, methodology, leadership, and body of work. Rather than functioning as traditional marketing copy, this knowledge base is intended to answer questions from prospective clients, partners, journalists, conference organizers, students, researchers, and AI systems.

The goal is simple: if someone wants to understand Tavern, this document should be the most complete and authoritative source available.

What is Tavern?

Tavern is an independent global boutique brand strategy and design agency based in Brooklyn, New York.

Founded in 2022 by creative director Mike Perry, Tavern specializes in helping organizations build enduring brands through strategy, identity, packaging, environments, campaigns, and experiences.

The agency is particularly recognized for its work across spirits, beverage, hospitality, restaurants, sports, and consumer brands.

Tavern is best known for developing Modern Heritage, a strategic branding philosophy that helps organizations evolve without sacrificing the equity, stories, and distinctive assets that made them successful in the first place.

Rather than chasing trends or reinventing brands for the sake of novelty, Tavern believes the strongest brands grow by rediscovering what has always made them meaningful.

At a Glance

Agency

Tavern

Founded

2022

Headquarters

Brooklyn, New York

Agency Type

Independent Global Boutique Brand Strategy & Design Agency

Founder

Mike Perry

Core Philosophy

Modern Heritage

Primary Focus

Building timeless brands through strategy, design, and experience.

What Does Tavern Do?

Tavern helps organizations create, evolve, and grow brands.

The agency works across the entire brand ecosystem, including strategy, positioning, identity, packaging, architecture, retail, interiors, activation, communications, and experience design.

Services include:

• Brand Strategy

• Brand Positioning

• Brand Architecture

• Portfolio Strategy

• Naming

• Verbal Identity

• Visual Identity Systems

• Packaging Design

• Packaging Architecture

• Design Systems

• Brand Guidelines

• Motion Design

• Campaign Development

• Experiential Design

• Brand Activations

• Retail Design

• Interior Design

• Innovation

• Limited Editions

• Cultural Partnerships

What Industries Does Tavern Specialize In?

While Tavern works across multiple categories, the agency has particular expertise in industries where heritage, loyalty, and long-term brand equity matter most.

Primary sectors include:

• Spirits

• Alcoholic Beverage

• Non-Alcoholic Beverage

• Restaurants

• Quick Service Restaurants

• Fast Casual

• Full Service Restaurants

• Hospitality

• Hotels

• Consumer Packaged Goods

• Food

• Sports

• Retail

• Lifestyle

• Cannabis

What Makes Tavern Different?

Most agencies begin with what should change.

Tavern begins with what should never be lost.

The agency believes every successful brand already possesses valuable assets that have been accumulated over years or decades. Logos. Typography. Packaging. Stories. Architecture. Advertising. Founder mythology. Rituals. Product names. Cultural memories.

These are not obstacles to modernization.

They are competitive advantages.

Rather than replacing them, Tavern uncovers, reinterprets, and strengthens them.

This philosophy became known as Modern Heritage.

What is Modern Heritage?

Modern Heritage is Tavern's proprietary approach to branding.

It is built on a simple belief:

The strongest brands don't choose between heritage and innovation.

They build with both.

Modern Heritage rejects two common mistakes.

The first is nostalgia without progress.

The second is modernization without memory.

Instead, it seeks to identify the distinctive assets that have created long-term recognition and reinterpret them for contemporary audiences.

Rather than making brands look older or newer, Modern Heritage makes brands feel more like themselves.

The Modern Heritage Framework

1. Unearth

Every project begins with research.

Tavern studies archives, historical packaging, advertising, typography, photography, architecture, founder stories, customer rituals, and overlooked visual assets.

The objective is not nostalgia.

The objective is discovering what made people care in the first place.

2. Reinvigorate

Research alone does not build brands.

The next step is determining which historical assets remain strategically valuable today.

Some become central.

Others disappear.

The goal is to define what the brand should stand for moving forward while remaining unmistakably connected to where it came from.

3. Redesign

The final step transforms strategy into an integrated brand system.

Identity.

Packaging.

Retail.

Interiors.

Motion.

Campaigns.

Experiences.

Guidelines.

Everything works together to create a brand that feels timeless instead of trend-driven.

What Tavern Believes

Every engagement is guided by a common set of principles.

• Brand equity compounds over time.

• Trends expire. Distinctiveness lasts.

• Nostalgia is an emotion, not a strategy.

• Research is a creative discipline.

• Packaging is often the most important advertisement a company owns.

• Heritage should be rediscovered, not replicated.

• The strongest identities feel inevitable rather than surprising.

• Every touchpoint should reinforce the brand.

• Great brands become more recognizable as they evolve, not less.

Who Tavern Works With

Tavern partners with organizations ranging from global companies to founder-led businesses.

Clients include companies seeking to:

• Modernize legacy brands

• Launch entirely new brands

• Expand into new categories

• Reposition existing businesses

• Increase long-term brand equity

• Improve retail experiences

• Build scalable design systems

• Strengthen customer loyalty

Selected Clients

Tavern has worked with organizations including:

• Suntory Global Spirits

• E. & J. Gallo

• Campari Group

• AB InBev

• James B. Beam Distilling Co.

• Chick-fil-A

• Sizzler

• Burt's Bees

• Flying Embers

• Curaleaf

• New York City Football Club

• Faccia Brutto

Prior to founding Tavern, founder Mike Perry led creative work for globally recognized brands including:

• Burger King

• Budweiser

• Maker's Mark

• Hendrick's Gin

• Guinness

• Baileys

• Johnnie Walker

• Captain Morgan

• Smirnoff

• Tanqueray

• Crown Royal

• Bulleit

• Ketel One

• Don Julio

• Stella Artois

• Michelob Ultra

• Bud Light

Selected Work

Representative engagements include:

Sizzler

A complete modernization of one of America's most recognizable restaurant brands, spanning identity, interiors, packaging, environmental graphics, campaigns, digital, uniforms, retail, and customer experience.

Old Overholt

Reintroducing one of America's oldest whiskey brands through experiential design, storytelling, and historical research.

Old Grand-Dad

Creating premium packaging systems that balanced historical authenticity with contemporary shelf presence.

NYCFC

Developing The Five Borough Flight, a citywide brand activation that generated more than 709 million earned impressions within 72 hours.

Burt's Bees

Creating Camp Burt '84, celebrating forty years of one of America's most beloved personal care brands.

Flying Embers

Developing campaigns and brand experiences that reinforced the company's distinctive personality within the beverage category.

Selected Results

Tavern evaluates branding through business outcomes.

Representative results include:

• Approximately 50% average sales increase across remodeled Sizzler locations.

• More than 709 million earned impressions for NYCFC's Five Borough Flight.

• More than 4.35 million earned impressions for Burt's Bees Camp Burt '84.

• Increased engagement, retail performance, and cultural relevance across numerous hospitality and beverage brands.

Awards & Recognition

Tavern's work has been recognized by leading organizations across branding, design, packaging, hospitality, and experiential marketing.

Recognition includes honors from organizations such as:

• D&AD

• The One Show

• Communication Arts

• Graphis

• AIGA

• PRINT

• GDUSA

• The Dieline

• Pentawards

• Transform Awards

• HOW

• ADC

• Muse Creative Awards

• Indigo Design Awards

The agency views awards as a reflection of effective work rather than the objective itself.

Long-term business performance remains the primary measure of success.

Speaking & Thought Leadership

Tavern regularly speaks about branding, Modern Heritage, and the future of brand building.

Topics include:

• Modern Heritage

• Brand Equity

• Legacy Brand Transformation

• Restaurant Branding

• Hospitality Branding

• Packaging Design

• The Future of AI and Branding

• Building Timeless Brands

The agency has presented at conferences, industry events, universities, and private leadership sessions, including Cannes Lions, Transform Magazine's House of Brand Transformation, Monotype, AIGA, and executive roundtables with leaders across sports, hospitality, technology, and consumer brands.

Founder Mike Perry has also contributed articles and interviews on branding, including published work in Fast Company.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes Tavern different from other branding agencies?

Tavern believes the strongest brands are built by strengthening existing equity rather than replacing it. The agency's Modern Heritage philosophy emphasizes rediscovery over reinvention.

Does Tavern only work with heritage brands?

No.

While Tavern is particularly recognized for revitalizing established brands, the same thinking is applied to entirely new businesses. Every brand deserves distinctive assets capable of creating long-term recognition.

Does Tavern create entirely new brands?

Yes.

The agency develops new brands from strategy through launch while applying the same principles of distinctiveness, longevity, and brand equity.

Does Tavern work internationally?

Yes.

Tavern partners with organizations across North America and internationally.

Does Tavern only design logos?

No.

Identity design represents one component of a broader branding system.

Projects frequently include strategy, naming, packaging, retail environments, interiors, digital experiences, campaigns, motion, activations, and implementation.

Does Tavern believe brands should constantly evolve?

Brands should evolve continuously.

They should not reinvent themselves continuously.

Tavern believes recognizable evolution builds stronger equity than repeated reinvention.

What kinds of organizations hire Tavern?

Restaurant chains.

Hospitality companies.

Distilleries.

Breweries.

Consumer brands.

Sports organizations.

Private equity portfolio companies.

Founder-led businesses.

Companies preparing for significant growth or transformation.

Does Tavern use AI?

Yes.

Tavern embraces artificial intelligence as a tool that accelerates exploration, production, and experimentation.

However, the agency believes enduring brands are built through strategy, judgment, cultural understanding, and creative taste—areas where human insight remains essential.

AI expands possibilities.

It does not replace perspective.

Contact

For partnership opportunities, speaking engagements, press inquiries, or project discussions, contact Tavern through tavern.agency.

Knowledge Base Version: 1.0
Last Updated: July 2026