How to open a bar

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A bar is a broad concept that comes in many shapes and sizes. Regardless of your exact business profile, issues related to formalities, equipment or marketing will be very similar. What should you to pay attention to at the planning stage of opening a bar?

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A bar is a broad concept that comes in many shapes and sizes. Regardless of your exact business profile, issues related to formalities, equipment or marketing will be very similar. What should you to pay attention to at the planning stage of opening a bar?

Types of bars

There are currently no strict divisions when it comes to types of catering facilities, so a given venue can have a very varied offer. A fancy restaurant with waiter service can be set up to function like a bistro, while pubs often offer much more than just snacks, sometimes even employing professional chefs.

However, there are certain elements that are similar in every bar. They are usually self-service venues offering drinks at affordable prices. In addition, they usually serve fast food. What are the main types of bars, and what should you pay attention to when choosing your business profile?

How to open a fast food bar

Fast food bars offer food that is available on the spot. They often have a wide choice of main courses, including both meat and vegetarian dishes. Customers choose their own portions, which are then weighed at the cash register.

What should you pay attention to when opening a fast food bar? First of all, you need to find a venue that can fit a relatively large number of people in peak hours. Good locations could be office buildings or student campuses. You will usually be offering simple dishes, but in large quantities. It is extremely important to control your food cost in the case of fast food bars.

How to open a diner?

Diners are classic catering facilities, and although they may seem quite an old-fashioned concept, they are currently coming back into fashion.

They mainly serve breakfast and other types of fried food.

How to set up a sushi bar?

Sushi restaurants stand out from other bars due to their specific profile. They mainly serve specialist Asian dishes.

Unlike other bars, the location is not so important in this case. A location in a housing estate or in a shopping mall will make it easier to target regular as well as new customers, but the quality of the food is usually the key to success. Sushi lovers will be willing to pay more or go out of their way if the food is worth it.

How can you make sure your sushi bar is a success? First of all, you will need an experienced sushi chef. You will also need to find suppliers of good quality ingredients, as take-away and delivery orders make up a large part of the business of sushi bars.

How to set up an alcohol bar?

An alcohol bar can either be a separate facility or in a restaurant or hotel. Before deciding to invest in one, you should decide what kind of drinks you want to offer: whether they will be mainly beer (then it will be more of a pub), or also other drinks, such as cocktails, with beer as an additional offer.

How to open a pub or an alcohol bar? In such cases, food is often of secondary importance, with the key to success being your offer of beer or other alcoholic beverages. A very important aspect is the location – either as the only such place in the area, and thus with no competition, or on the contrary, as part of a cluster of pubs where you can count on endless numbers of customers looking for somewhere to spend a good time in the evening.

Opening a bar – what should you consider?

How to open a bar and be successful? Much depends on your experience, the location and your opening times. A fast food bar or diner will be open mainly for breakfast or lunch, while a pub will be popular in the evenings.

Adapting the premises into a catering venue

When looking for a venue, the best option are places that were already used for catering. This can significantly reduce the costs of adapting the venue. Regardless of your basic offer, every bar should be adapted to health and safety requirements in catering, have separate routes for ‘clean’ and ‘dirty’ dishes, appropriate food storage conditions, be easy to keep clean, have separate toilets, staff cloakroom, etc.

Marketing and your brand name

First of all, the name of your bar should be simple, easy to remember and also pronounce. When it comes to venues serving food, a self-explanatory sign or logo will make things easier. There is nothing wrong with names like “John’s Diner”, as the name can also suggest what types of food you offer. For example, “Go Vegan” suggests that vegan food is mainly served.

When it comes to pubs or bars with alcohol, there is more room for creativity. Such premises are supposed to be unique, attract customers with their décor, atmosphere, and therefore also with their name.

But before you decide on anything, do some research and make sure that the name is not already in use, so that you don’t have a problem setting up a website or profile on social media.

While social media will not be so important in the case of diner or fast food bar, it can be an important marketing tool for a sushi bar, pub or other type of bar with alcohol. You can use a social media profile to inform about special deals, new dishes, organise competitions etc. If you plan to have a take-away or delivery offer, a website with an interactive menu and a wide range of online payment methods would be great, although of course classic forms of promotion can still be effective. Boards, banners or leaflets can attract customers to your venue, especially first-timers who had not specifically been looking for your bar.

Opening a bar – formal issues

You must make sure that all legal aspects of opening a bar are taken care of, to avoid any problems with the local authorities later on. When preparing your business plan, consider the costs associated with:

If you have five or more employees, you must have a written health and safety policy that describes the arrangements in place. And if you plan to open an outdoor patio during the summer season, you may need to get additional permission. For premises preparing food, separate sinks must be provided, where necessary, for washing food and cleaning equipment in food preparation areas. Every sink must have an adequate supply of hot and cold water for washing food and be of drinking quality. These facilities must be kept clean and be disinfected.

Bar equipment – what should you choose?

The equipment needed in your bar will vary depending on the type of venue, but many basic requirements will be universal. You will definitely need refrigeration equipment (for storing semi-finished products and temporary cooling of ready-made meals), sinks, tables and catering cupboards.

In the case of a fast food bar, you will also need equipment for streamlined production and monitoring your food costs. These include slicers, toasters, hamburger presses or grills, burger makers, as well as dishes, pots, cutlery and pans. Small accessories are also important and greatly improve the functioning of your bar. These can be bill rails, various displays, napkin holders. Items such as ice cube makers, bartender containers, ice buckets, bartender measuring cups and shakers will come in handy in a pub.

Opening a bar – summary

How to open a bar and be successful? Start off by researching the market and finding your niche. If there are no diners or fast food bars in a residential area, this could be your chance. In the case of a pub, an interesting beer offer and unique atmosphere can both influence your success.

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