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Raising the Bar
Charles Pillion As a hospitality worker, I'd like to offer an 'inside perspective' to any prospective bar owners. If you're thinking about starting your own business, and are going to include a liquor-licensed area somewhere on the premises, then there are a few things you might want to consider. The basic equation for any new business is simple: form follows function. Please be sure to keep this in mind at all turns throughout your enterprise, because I've seen far too many owners decide that it was the other way around. This frequently results in bankruptcy. I remember one such instance where the owner decided that everything had to be imported, at great cost. A 'spare no expense' approach left the place looking like an Arabian harem, four stories high filled with bars, concession stands, a club, kitchen, conference and party rooms, and a massive staff roster...unfortunately, the advent of console games made this rather uneconomical for an arcade. Because of the high overhead and low sales, (let's face it, how many people are going to consistently drop $50+ for a few hours of game time) that outlet of this unnamed franchise was forced to close. But I digress - that's just a general example of straying from the formula. This principle, while important to any business, goes double for licensed areas; there's a whole world of legality issues that can bite you in the ass if you're not careful. Consider the function of any bar: you have a product, 'alcohol', which you need to get to your customer. The customer then gives you money, and gets drunk, and everybody's happy. You'll want to minimize serving time and overhead, and maximize profit and quality control. Simple, no? The basic form of a bar follows the basic function: you need to make sure you always have enough product to meet your demands, enough glasses to put it in, people to serve it, tables to serve at, seats to sit in, bathrooms, food, and security. Much of that is required by law; the bathrooms and food, for example, are mandatory for licensed areas. Bathrooms are even more important than food, actually - your legal capacity is directly linked with the number of stalls you have, and you also don't want your customers waiting 20 minutes in line for a tinkle. ..They get awfully irate when that happens. Food is a requirement anywhere that alcohol is served - that's also part of your license. Of course, you can get away with bowls of peanuts or a jar of pickled eggs, since that's technically food. Security is optional, but it's still highly recommended; your staff and customers will feel safer and intoxicated/violent guests can be dealt with quickly and quietly. When all's said and done, it's a smart precautionary measure that reduces the likelihood of liability issues later on. Of course, you can decide for yourself if you want 'bouncers' or 'hosts'. Advanced form is still based on the primary function of a bar, but involves thinking ahead a little: depending on the volume you're shooting for, you need to think about entrances, exits and structural design carefully; or you'll hit snags later on when you're 30 people over capacity and your servers can't make their way through the room. We call that the flow - the movement of customers from the entrance of the building, through the building, to the bar or a table, to the dance floor, to the bathroom, back to their table, and then back to the exit again. Then there's what I call the underflow, the movement of your staff through service areas, on the floor and behind the bar. You'll want to facilitate the flow as much as possible, because higher turnover means more customers for your business. The underflow is equally important; if your staff don't have what they need to do their jobs quickly and efficiently, service will suffer and so will your customers...and so will you, when you read your balance sheet. One of the most intelligent things I've ever heard anyone say is "take good care of your staff, and your customers will be equally well looked after". I'm paraphrasing, but this is a concept that I highly recommend to any business owner in any industry. If your staff actually look forward to coming in to work, you've succeeded. Naturally, you'll also have to do your homework, since there are so many legal issues surrounding the serving of alcohol - for example, getting caught serving minors (wittingly or otherwise) will result in whopping fines and even having your license suspended/revoked. If someone gets drunk at your bar and then gets into their car and hits someone - you're liable, because they got drunk at your bar and it will be argued that you should not have over-served them. These are two extreme examples that illustrate how important it is to think ahead and plan around the basics: you're serving an intoxicant - so you need to control service carefully, and be ready to deal with intoxicated people. There are, of course, other considerations - some customers like dancing, or music, or performers. Some customers like Gothic decor, others like a 'Starbucks Loungesque' feel, with an expresso bar and fireplace. Different customers like different drinks, too. These are the 'frills' that help create a comfortable, social atmosphere, and flesh out the design aspect of your bar; but you can't please everybody, so you need to decide right from the start which demographic you're appealing to. Whatever design you choose for your watering-hole, always remember the basics and plan ahead; and you'll have all the success you can handle. - C. |
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