Singapore gastropub Escobar had to revamp its branding after Colombia complained

A newly opened gastropub in the heart of Singapore's business district wanted a trendy name; owner Stan Sri Ganesh says the pun, not the man, was the point — he chose it 'simply because it had the word bar in it'.

Name the gastropub after Pablo Escobar as a pun — the word 'bar' hides inside it — and put the kingpin's face on the wall by the door.

The name went up with a decal of Escobar's face beside congratulatory bouquets. After Colombia's embassy protested to Singapore's foreign ministry and abusive and threatening messages flooded the pub's Facebook page, the gastropub posted an apology and announced it was revamping its logo.

The story ran on the AFP wire; the pub received abusive comments and threatening messages, apologised publicly ('never our intention to glorify or condone the actions of Pablo Escobar') and put its branding through a redesign within days of the letter.

Escobar, a gastropub in the heart of Singapore's business district, opened in early 2018 with bouquets by the door and a decal of Pablo Escobar's face. Owner Stan Sri Ganesh said he chose the name 'simply because it had the word bar in it'. On 2 February, Colombia's embassy sent Singapore's foreign ministry a three-page letter expressing 'serious concern' that the eatery was paying tribute to 'the worst criminal in the history of Colombia'.

The embassy argued the name induced confusion: 'Colombia is not what Narcos-Netflix portrays anymore', it wrote, pointing to the drug addiction Escobar promoted and 'the war he declared', and saying Colombia could not 'tolerate any more tributes to that criminal'. When AFP visited on 6 February, patrons at about a dozen tables seemed unaware of the controversy.

By the evening of 7 February, after users posted abusive comments and sent threatening messages to the gastropub's Facebook page, the pub apologised 'to any community or individual who was offended', reiterated that it was never the intention to glorify or condone Escobar's actions, and said it was revamping its logo with an unveiling to follow.

Branding decisions made for wordplay alone carry historical baggage that never shows up in the naming spreadsheet.

The complaint came not from consumers but from a foreign embassy — place-flavoured brands have diplomatic constituencies.

Narcos-era pop culture made the name feel trendy locally while reading as grief and trauma in Colombia; the same decal meant opposite things in different markets.

A name can be a pun to you and a memorial to someone else: screen brand names against the history they drag along before the sign goes up.

The pub said the revamped logo would be unveiled soon; the source does not record whether the name itself survived. Patrons AFP interviewed during the controversy had mostly not registered it.