Photo by Star Sabroso I Shot on location at Artifact
Beckaly Franks
Co-founder of Hungry Ghost, proprietor of Artifact and Call Me Al
Beckaly is a name that needs no introduction. She’s a powerhouse and a vanguard, one of the most influential figures in the drinks scene. She co-founded one of the longest-running bars in Hong Kong, was hailed as the Best Bartender in Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2023, and, together with her life partner, award-winning bartender Ezra Star, established the hospitality company Hungry Ghost, which is the proprietor of popular Hong Kong hotspots, neighborhood bar Call Me Al and hidden bar Artifact.
Watch the video for her full interview:
For our Women & Tipple series, celebrating inspiring women in the world of drinks, there was no better way to revive the series than by shining a spotlight on an entrepreneurial woman that many in the industry aspire to emulate. Beckaly Franks is an unstoppable force. Standing six feet tall with striking blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, she doesn’t just enter a room—she commands it. On the day of our video shoot, she effortlessly balanced a busy schedule packed with business meetings and interviews. While most would feel stressed in her shoes, Beckaly slipped into our shoot, perfectly glam, all smiles, and ready for action, as if it were the only thing she had to do that day.
“There’s a lot of really strong female representation out there.
If I’m in any way part of that, then I feel,
outside of talking about monetarily, that’s what I consider successful.”
Being part of the hospitality industry has always seemed to be her calling as she grew up seeing how bars operate at their family-owned bar in the United States. She started her bartending career in her early 20s at the bustling Dixie Tavern in Portland before focusing on craft cocktail making at the gastropub Clyde Common, where she participated in and won cocktail competitions. Her encounter with Michael Callahan, co-owner of Singapore’s famous 28 HongKong Street, sparked her move to Hong Kong. In 2015, she co-founded The Pontiac, an American dive bar that has since made its mark on Asia’s 50 Best list. Though she stepped down as the bar’s creative director in 2024, her influence and vision will always be part of its story.
Why did you choose to move to Hong Kong?
I’ve always felt drawn to Asia. Living abroad was something I knew I wanted, regardless of the humble beginnings I came from. It was just always on my radar. I was surprised when I moved to Hong Kong at how inclusive the industry is. Despite the execution of hospitality being quite exclusive—like very VIP, with a ‘you can’t sit with us’ mentality in some luxurious, speakeasy-type spots—the bartending and hospitality culture here is incredibly welcoming. The Hong Kong hospitality community is much closer and more supportive.
What changes have you seen in Hong Kong’s bar scene since you moved here?
If you judge by awards—which I hope people don’t solely judge by awards—that speaks for itself in Asia, and it’s grown a lot. I moved here in 2015 and watched a decade of progression. There’s this sense of survivalism for anyone who sticks it out in Hong Kong, or just like Hong Kong in general. There’s so much survivalism here—through demonstrations, through COVID—you still see people digging their heels in and trying to, again, go back to creating more community and more exposure for Hong Kong. For sure, arguably, the bar scene is oversaturated, but still, it is growing. People continue to diversify what they can experience in Hong Kong. For example, my wife and I have had more than two venues, and between these venues, they’re all completely different. The extension of the DNA is the same because we’re the ones that run them and we built them, but even if you look at Call Me Al and Artifact, and Ezra’s Mostly Harmless, they can coexist in this town with the same proprietors and be completely different, and the city understands that, welcomes it, and warrants it.
“Nobody’s perfect. I still have nothing but lessons to learn.
I’m out here on the streets, just like everybody else.”
How has the representation of women in bartending evolved during your career?
It’s hard to speak for it in general because I can only speak from personal experience. In one of the bars that I moved to Hong Kong to open [The Pontiac], I primarily hired women, and of those women, a lot of us were LGBT as well. I intentionally and primarily hired women because there’s always a place for that. One of our team members, Arlene Wong, now owns her own bar, is a mother of two kids, and is a brand representative— so there is space for it. I think Hong Kong facilitates it as well. You see it around the world, too. For many years, the world’s most influential bar person has been a woman. If you look at the Monicas [Berg] and the Kate Gerwins of the world, there’s a lot of really, really strong female representation out there. If I’m in any way part of that, then I feel, outside of talking about monetarily, that’s what I consider successful.
What changes do you want to see for the next generation of women in the bar world?
I don’t want to change the topic because I always want to try to have the opportunity to have these conversations. So, thank you for the opportunity to talk about women and what we do. The fight is forever, and it is; it truly is. So we do have to keep having these conversations. But my goal is to keep creating spaces or continue building the spaces we already have into being much more communicative, reliable, and understanding equal atmospheres. None of my bars are mostly female for now; we’re all just in it. Not one person is more valuable than the other person. We all respect each other. We all learn and grow from each other, and it’s just a melting pot of human beings. And that’s what progression looks like to me, and that’s what we try to create.
What legacy do you wish to leave behind?
Nobody’s perfect. I still have nothing but lessons to learn. I’m out here on the streets, just like everybody else. I’m not pretending that I know what the fuck is going on. I keep trying, and I hope to continue teaching the lessons I’ve learned. But it goes back to authenticity. If there is a legacy, or if there is a way that we are looked at, it is that we were honest, we tried our best, and we’re very kind. We need to be strong and kind in order to create a stable foundation for the next generation.
Stay updated on Beckaly’s adventures and be the first to catch her next guest shift by following her on Instagram @beckalyfranks. Catch her on March 14 at 6pm as one of the speakers at the 21st Edition of the Women of Influence Awards‘ Ignite Talks, where she will share her insights on the WOI 21st theme, ‘Beyond Boundaries: Accelerating Transformative Leadership.’
Read more inspiring stories of women in the world of drinks.
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