The Five Steps of Opening a Bar

If you’re a fan of the night life and like meeting new people, then you might want to consider opening a bar. It takes a lot of work to get a bar running, even though it can be really fun to own one. Here are the five steps of opening a bar and carving yourself a niche in the nightlife.

 

Choose the Format

There’s a whole host of different clubs and bars out there, and so you’ll have to decide which format you want to run yourself. Maybe you want to open a dance club, a music or sports bar, a bar and grill, or just a friendly neighbourhood bar. The kind of bar you open up can depend greatly on how much money you have going into it, which affects how much equipment, liquor, and staff you can afford.

 

Name your Bar

The name of your bar needs to be something that can be remembered easily, and gives the customers an idea of what they can expect of your bar. Don’t be tempted to just name the bar after yourself because this is just a marketing issue. “Jack’s Bar” is pretty easy to remember, but it doesn’t’ give off an idea of what the business is al about. Going with a name like “Jack’s Bar and Grill” is a better choice; it tells people who you are and that you’re running a bar and grill.

 

Create the Business Plan

In your business plan you’ll be outlining just how the bar will be run. This includes the amount of money you need to lease or rent your property; any renovation costs; the costs of any upgrades or repairs; the utilities bills; your starting food and drink inventory; labor; licensing; marketing and, of course, insurance. Do proper research on how much you have and how much everything will cost so you can create a great – and highly detailed – business plan.

 

Find the Location

Get together with your town’s zoning board to find the best location for the bar. If you’re planning on building a bar in a residential area then you should take the time to talk with the residents and make sure they don’t have a problem with it. Find out how they would feel about having a bar near them. It would be a waste to spend all the time and money it takes opening the bar, only to have people complaining every night and trying to have the bar closed down.

 

Get Your Liquor License

Every state has a department that manages liquor licenses. In Washington state, for example, this entity is called the Washington State Liquor Control Board. Contact the office of your state senator and get the information of the liquor control board for your state. Then you need to contact the licensing department and tell them information about your bar, including if you are opening a new bar or acquiring an old one, the kind of alcohol you’ll be offering (which could affect the requirements of the license), and whether you are going into business on your own or with a partner. The board will then send you a liquor license application for your business. The process can take up to 60 days to complete, but when you’re done you’ll have a license to sell liquor and your bar will be good