Start Your Own Bar and Club

by Liane Cassavoy, Entrepreneur magazine

Overview

An updated edition of the fifth best-selling book of the successful Startup Series, Start Your Own Bar and Club is a comprehensive guide that shows aspiring entrepreneurs how to create the perfect blend of passion and profits within the bar industry. Updated with the latest industry trends, news, and resources, readers learn about the hottest bar and club opportunities including sports bars, night clubs, neighborhood bars, wine bars, and more. The experts at Entrepreneur take aspiring business owners step-by-step through start-up basics including scouting locations, researching their market, and licensing requirements. Eager entrepreneurs learn first-hand from industry experts how to research their market, design an attractive atmosphere, create policies and procedures, woo their patrons and keep them coming back. Also covered is the latest equipment such as new cash register systems and HDTVs, and expanded information on the Special Occupancy Tax, liquor liability insurance, and third-party liability insurance.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781599185194
Publisher:	Entrepreneur Press
Publication date:	12/24/2013
Series:	StartUp Series
Edition description:	Fourth Edition
Pages:	196
Product dimensions:	6.80(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Entrepreneur Media, Inc. is the premier content provider for and about entrepreneurs. Their products engage and inspire with advice, solutions, and resources that fuel the bold and independent way entrepreneurs think. After 31 years, nobody reaches more growing businesses. Entrepreneur Press, based in Irvine, CA, is a leading small-business trade publisher, providing aspiring, emerging, and growing entrepreneurs with actionable solutions to every business challenge — ultimately, leading them from business idea to business success. Liane Cassavoy lives in Boston.

Table of Contents

Preface xi

Chapter 1 Cheers! L'Chaim! Salud!: Industry Overview 1

A Look Back at History 2

The Competition: Other Entertainment Options 4

What You Can Expect 5

What's Your Bar Type? 6

Neighborhood Bar 7

Sports Bar 7

Brewpub or Beer Bar 8

Specialty Bar 9

Club 10

Creating Your Concept 11

Chapter 2 Deciding to Open: How Committed Do You Need to Be? 13

On the Path to Ownership 14

Buying an Existing Bar: Patience or Profits? 16

Do Some Digging 16

Building Your Own Dream 17

Remodeling: The Middle Ground 18

Buying a Franchise: The Package Deal 19

Strap on the Weight or Divide It 19

Developing Your Own Mission 20

Creating Your Business Plan 21

Chapter 3 Who Are Your Customers? 25

Profiling Your Customers 26

Scope Out Your Competition 28

Market Research Companies 29

Using Your Research Effectively 32

Chapter 4 Housing Your Dream: Location 33

Unearthing the Right Location 34

Your Bar: The Place to Be 34

The Space Case 35

Inside, Outside, Upside Down 36

Thematically Speaking 37

Please, Sir, May I? 37

Should You Lease or Should You Buy? 38

A Bar by Any Other Name 38

What Was that Place Called? 40

Making It Legal 40

Putting It All Together 43

Chapter 5 Climbing a Mountain of Paperwork 45

May I See Your License, Please? 46

State, County, and Local Requirements 46

Food-Service Licenses 50

The Feds 50

A Matter of Record 51

Did Someone Say "Fire"? 51

Miscellaneous Permits 54

Protecting Yourself and Your Bar 54

Alcohol Awareness 56

Sexual Harassment 56

How to Get Your Favorite Paper: Money! 57

Spending That Pile of Cash 59

Chapter 6 Everything In Its Place: Bar Layout 63

From the Outside In 64

Lights, Camera, Action! 65

All the Colors of the Rainbow 65

Sound Check 66

Deciding What Goes Where 66

Finding a Place to Sit 68

Flexible Layout 70

Menu Planning 101 71

Chapter 7 If You Equip It, They Will Come: Equipment 73

Buying New or Used? 74

The Core: Bar Equipment 75

The Front Bar: For Your Guests 76

The Back Bar And Under Bar: For Your Bartenders 76

Glassware 78

Equipping the Back of the House 79

Chapter 8 How Many Bottles on the Wall?: Inventory 83

What's On Tap? 84

Creating Bar Cuisine 85

Working with Suppliers 88

The Quantity Question 89

"Par" for the Course 91

Chapter 9 From Dawn to Dawn: Operations 93

Rest Peacefully 94

The Road to Success 94

Communication Is Key 96

Getting Through Each Day 96

Settling Into Your Office 97

Open for Business 98

Maintaining Guest Relations 99

Preventing Theft 100

Keep a Close Count 100

99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall 102

Maintaining Your Draft Flow 104

Wine Can't This Be Love? 105

Controlling Your Liquor 105

Chapter 10 People Serving People: Human Resources 107

How's the Service? 108

Who's on First? 109

The Team Captains 111

Front-of-the-House Staff 112

Bartenders 113

Servers 113

Hosts 113

Back-of-the-House Staff 114

Front and Back: Swing 114

Setting a Salary Cap 115

Drafting Your Team 116

Job Descriptions 116

The Application 116

The Interview 116

Testing 118

Rules of the Game 120

Writing the Playbook 123

Training Camp 127

Basic Training 127

Set for Success 128

Flagrant Fouls 129

Theft 129

Turnover 129

What Have You Learned? 130

Chapter 11 Let Us Entertain You 131

Finger to the Wind 132

Nonperformance-Based Entertainment 133

Television 133

Video Games and Pool Tables 134

Jukeboxes and Background Music 135

Performance-Based Entertainment 136

Live Performances 136

The DJ/VJ 136

Interactive Trivia Games 138

Lights! Camera! Sound! 139

Dancing the Night Away 139

Sound Choices 140

Hey, You! What Are You Looking At? 140

Smile, You're On 140

Everything Looks Great! 141

Chapter 12 Creating the Buzz for Your Biz: Marketing 143

Don't Go It Alone 144

Hitting a Grand Slam 145

Reaching the Right People 146

Fanning the Flames 147

Special Events 148

It's All About Strategy 150

Corralling All Your Resources 152

Get the Ball Roiling 153

Chapter 13 The Numbers Game: Financial Management 157

Crunching the Numbers 158

Finding the Control Zone 159

Size Can Make a Difference 160

Patrolling Your People 162

Automated Pour-Cost Policing 163

From Preventive to Proactive 163

The Benefits of Upselling 164

Chapter 14 Words of Wisdom 167

The Obstacle Course 168

Mistaking Yourself Out of Business 169

Maintaining Steady Control 169

Coaching Your Team 170

Who's In Charge Here? 170

Spreading Yourself Too Thin 171

Being a Cockeyed Optimist 172

A Hard Day's Night 173

Avoiding Starting Over Again 174

Triumphs of the Trade 175

Appendix: Bar/Club Resources 179

Alcoholic Beverage Control Agencies 179

Associations 187

Books 188

Education 188

General Resources 188

Online Resources 189

Publications 189

Successful Bar/Club Owners 190

Glossary 191

Index 196