Screwed up the link . . .
NTN Trivia
I’m probably telling you what you alredy know but here goes…
Being largely a cash business you must choose employees you would be willing to let hold your wallet or borrow your car. A few bad ones can rob you blind.
Also, when I was tending bar I found it was a very good idea to be on freindly terms with the other bars in the area. At some point you’ll need a favor.
Wow - now THAT’S helpful! Thank you!
Will talk to the hubby about the video game thing, too.
In addition to the board games mentioned above, a couple of cribbage boards, card decks, and (if it’s legal in your area) dice cups would be nice.
And I’ve always thought it should be mandatory for a bar to have a small reference library behind it. Pocket encyclopedia, baseball encyclopedia, football encyclopedia (is there any such thing?), atlas…You wouldn’t believe how many stupid arguments break out over silly things like what was the name of the guy who scored the hat trick in the 1961 Stanley Cup.*
Don’t forget salted-in-the-shell peanuts!
And you may want to re-think your ‘won’t serve bad beer’ plan. I know you wish to avoid attracting young, 20-something posers, but they could be your bread and butter. Maybe just sell the good stuff on tap in nice big mugs and keep the cheap stuff in cans in the cooler.
You mentioned you didn’t want to serve food, but perhaps you could contract with a local deli to keep you supplied with ready-made, wrapped sandwiches? Add chips and a pickle spear and a lot of people would be happy with that…
- Or whatevver. Example only. I made that up. I don’t know who, if anyone, scored a hat trick during the 1961 Stanley Cup.
That reference book idea may well be one of the best ideas I have ever heard. I think I will add to it one of those Leonard Maltin video guides, too – I know I’m forever trying to remember which actor was in that movie… you know, the one with the guy?
Who was doing the thing?
I think the bad beer thing is pretty much wishful thinking on my part anyhow, but you’ve presented me with a potential solution. Perhaps we’ll stock crappy beer in much the same way we’ll stock well liquors. If someone asks for it, we’ll sell it to them, almost-but-not-quite making faces all the while 
AND… I’ll add the deli sammiches to my list of “maybes”.
COMFY COUCHES AND CHAIRS! I went to a bar a while ago - it was kind of a livingroomish kind of place, but the furniture was SO uncomfortable! The patio chairs were pretty, made out of iron, but hard as a rock (or iron, I suppose!) and had a back at an awkward angle to lean back in (which drunk people do). The couple of couches were sagging and lumpy - not too much fun. It didn’t make you want to just settle in and order another beer, you know?
And a slighly silly suggestion - get a fish tank. I know a pool hall with a medium-sized fish tank and some pretty fish, and its located as a bit of a divider between seating areas - its AMAZING how long you can stare at that with a few beer in you!
Would you get pay-per-game or pay-to-play pool tables? Pay-to-play is, IMHO, a billion times better. Where we go, its about 8$ per hour, regardless of number of players, 12$ for a “private” walled-off table. Just something to think about.
check local law re. deli - I suspect you will find that the rule is “you sold it - it’s your fault”. not good if someone claims a sandwich made him/her sick.
pool tables take up large amounts of space - just what kind of rent are you looking at?
can a bar which dislikes both liquor AND young males be profitable?
I’d think you would have to move a lot of beer (young males) or high mark-up booze (expense-account types) to make a bar work (of course, I’ve never worked the books, either)
Heres a thread wiht the basic story
I dont knowwhat happened at the end but thats what i was warning of
Well, if stock is rotated and she deals with a reputable deli this shouldn’t be an issue. Although now that I’ve thought about it, I’m not sure it’s even legal.
But a few more ideas re food:
Many workplaces cater in lunch - hire local restaurants to bring in food. Perhaps you could do this via a nightly happy hour? Another idea would be to have a healthy stack of delivery menus on hand at all times (although this would depend on your location).
To add to my earlier reference library suggestion, what about an internet terminal or two? You could stick 'em right next to those bar-top solitaire/trivia/test-your-reflex/whatever they’re called games.
I’m not really certain what nightshadea’s point is, but to put words into his/her mouth:
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I used to frequent a bar near Andrews AFB [sub]any DC-types know the name of the place? It was a country bar, but its name completely escapes my memory…[/sub] that had a Breathalyzer on the premises. Completely voluntary, full of disclaimers, yadda yadda yadda. Just a nice service for guests who may imbibe a bit too much…
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If you’re not familiar with the restaurant/bar scene you’d do well to hire a bar maid/bar manager/head waitron with extensive knowledge and experience. Partly for his or her knowledge of dramshop laws mentioned in nightshadea’s link, but mostly because…well, I love your idea, LifeOnWry, and I hope you can pull this off. You haven’t mentioned whether either you or your husband have any experience in the business, so slap me down if you feel the need. The fact of the matter is that start-up bars and restaurants have a very high failure rate, and it’ll take a lot of work, money, and sacrifice to get this off the ground. Your best bet might be to take over an existing business and, over time, alter it to fit your vision.
You’ll do fine, I know, and I’m sure you’ve thought of this already…just sticking in a dose of reality. Let me know when you open 
happy heathen - it’s not that we dislike liquor/young males. It’s that we personally are not drinkers, and that we’d like to cater to an older crowd. In our area, there are plenty of singles bars, sports bars, chain restaurants and just-plain-dives. What there ISN’T: a comfortable pub with good music and friendly, unobtrusive service. We’re gonna try and fill that niche.
mnemosyne - last week, we went out to a pretty decent pub a few suburbs away, and DAMN was their furniture uncomfortable! I dunno about couches, but we’re definitely aware of the necessity of keeping our patrons reasonably pain-free!
chique - fear not. I am the daughter of a bartender, and I worked in restaurants/bars for over 15 years, as a hostess, waitress, cocktail waitress, bartender and manager. I’ve worked in family-type places, meat market bars and chains, so there’s likely not TOO much that’ll come as a shock to me. And I have a good working knowledge of dramshop laws. The hubby is a business-minded guy, and he nicely balances my impulsiveness and lack of general business acumen. With my husband in the picture, avoiding reality is SO not an option!
At this point in time, we’re very much in the discussion and research phase. What we’re trying to do is form a solid idea of the hows and wherefores, weighing possibilities, sketching out business plans and exploring avenues. The idea of buying something that already exists is one that’s very much in the forefront - for one thing, we wouldn’t have to build from the ground up!
Stupid coding. I hate it when that happens.
Big second-hand leather sofas (so the inevitable damage doesn’t look too bad) around low wooden tables to encourage groups who just want a quiet, ‘warm’ place to converse in. Dim red lighting; low ceiling fans. TV kept low volume when on. Candles in tinted glass holders on the tables to create a bit of an evening atmosphere. Keep the bar simple but classy and you can maintain a welcoming atmosphere that doesn’t encourage rowdiness.
If you had; bass and guiness on tap, a bent spoon, and a glass, I would be yours forever. Add a pool table and let me wear my house shoes and I will never leave.
I’m assuming “house shoes” are slippers? And I’m not catching the bent spoon thing - can you enlighten me?
The bent spoon is the only thing I have ever seen used to layer a black and tan, perhaps we are backwards here though. The general shap looks like _/\ with the bowl of the spoon upside down.
Ahhhhhh. OK. That’s one drink I’ve never made, nor seen made. I’ve heard people talk about them recently, so I had sort of an idea what they were. This was not a popular drink where I was working.
I have a friend who, along with his wife, used to own and operate a roadhouse in suburban Maryland. I could see if he’d be willing to pass along some pointers.
They make special spoons for layering drinks (primarily black and tans). That should just be standard bar equipment.
What I look for is $2 pints, a complete lack of dress code, and bartenders that know me by name. Well, really I don’t look for these bars, I just go to the same one bar repeatedly, and these are the features that I like. Plus, it’s the only place I know of that sells Hoops (little ring shaped snack food from England). And I know they’ll take me back after I get drunk and embarrass myself.
I’m probably not your target client, though.
Please and thank you! I welcome any and all advice.