Sergio Leanza Returns to Nine Lives: This Time as General Manager

Experienced figure in the London bar scene, Sergio Leanza, has returned to Nine Lives as General Manager. The appointment carries a different career story than a typical managerial transfer: Leanza was part of the opening team of Nine Lives in 2017 and then left the business to establish his own bars.

Nine Lives operates in a Victorian basement at 8 Holyrood Street, near London Bridge. The establishment today runs a food program featuring Mexican-inspired tacos and small plates alongside cocktails. In its own statement, the bar highlights sustainable sourcing and waste reduction as parts of its business identity.

From Opening Team to General Manager

According to CLASS, Leanza worked in the opening team of Nine Lives, which was established by Sweet&Chilli in 2017.

After that time, he turned towards his entrepreneurial path. In 2018, he opened Funkidory in Peckham with Anna Fairhead-Benitez. The couple later developed a second establishment named Mama Funki in Camberwell.

Funkidory operated as an independent business for about seven years, combining the neighborhood's local bar identity with a cocktail program.

Leanza's return to Nine Lives is therefore more comprehensive than just an old bartender returning to the same bar. In his new role, he is responsible not only for creative drink development but also for team, shift, cost, stock, service standards, and daily operational performance.

Funkidory Closed in December 2025

One of the most significant recent developments in Leanza's career was the closure of Funkidory, which served its last service on December 20, 2025.

Leanza and Fairhead-Benitez cited the pandemic, cost of living crisis, and ongoing economic pressure on small businesses as factors behind their decision in their closure announcement. While the statement reflects the owners' own assessment, it also overlaps with the broader cost discussions in the UK hospitality sector.

After the closure, Leanza indicated that he did not plan to open a new bar for a while.

About eight months later, taking on the role of General Manager at Nine Lives signifies a transition back to a professional managerial role from independent operation.

How Does Owning a Business Change Management?

A professional who has established and operated a bar may provide a different set of experiences when transitioning back to a general manager position.

In independent operation, creative decisions are not separate from daily financial realities. Product costs, staff expenses, rent, maintenance, cash flow, and low season performance are directly the responsibility of the business owner.

This experience may facilitate a more holistic view of the economic sustainability of the business alongside the menu or service quality in the general manager role.

However, ownership and professional management are not the same role. The general manager must work within the existing brand structure, the owners' goals, and company processes. Therefore, adapting the independent decision-making style from entrepreneurship to a more corporate management model is crucial.

Nine Lives Enters Its Ninth Year

Leanza's arrival coincides with the bar's ninth anniversary.

CLASS reports that Nine Lives will celebrate its ninth year this fall and will launch a new "Cocktails & Tacos" menu in October.

In the bar's current operation, the cocktail and food sides work together. The official website states that kitchen service runs from Tuesday to Saturday, while the bar's night operation extends to longer hours.

This structure removes the general manager role from merely managing the beverage department. The shift planning, reservations, group organization, and guest flow of both the bar and kitchen teams must be managed together.

Career Paths for Bar Professionals Don't Have to Be One-Dimensional

Leanza's story shows that hospitality careers do not always progress in a linear fashion from bartender → bar manager → business owner.

A professional can establish their own business, face different circumstances that lead to closing it, and then transition to a senior management role in another organization.

Evaluating such transitions as career setbacks can be misleading, especially in the hospitality sector.

A professional who has managed their own business gains experience in numerous management areas that they did not encounter during their bartending, from hiring and firing processes to supplier negotiations, cash flow, and customer complaints to team motivation.

Stafflink's View

In our opinion, the most valuable aspect of Sergio Leanza's return to Nine Lives for industry professionals is that it demonstrates that their hospitality careers do not have to be linear.

Starting a business does not have to be the ultimate stage in a professional's career; similarly, the closure of a business does not diminish that person's managerial value. Especially in the bar and restaurant sector, operational experience makes the consequences of financial pressure and operational decisions more visible.

The key issue is how this experience is utilized in the new role.

A good general manager cannot just produce a strong beverage program or a creative service idea. They must simultaneously read employee turnover, product costs, shift efficiency, guest experience, and the business's cash generation capacity.

The success of Leanza's new term at Nine Lives will be measured not only by the reputation of the bars he previously established but also by how well he can transfer this experience to the team's and the business's sustainable performance.