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• Introduction
• About This Book
• Foolish Assumptions
• Icons Used in This Book
• Beyond the Book
• Where to Go from Here
• Part I: Cheers! Getting Started in the Bar Industry
• Chapter 1: Bar Business Basics
• Deciding Whether the Bar Business Is Right for You
• Why do you want to be in the bar business?
• What do you expect to get out of your place?
• Starting Fresh or Taking Over an Existing Bar?
• Location, location, location
• Getting in with the right people
• Staying on Top of the Latest Bar Trends
• Figuring Out Your Financial and Legal Obligations
• Setting yourself up to succeed
• Hiring other people to help you steer the ship
• Bringing In the Crowds and Keeping Them Coming Back
• Chapter 2: Understanding What It Takes to Own and Operate a Bar
• Social Skills 101: Do You Really Like People (And Their Problems)?
• Considering your motivation
• Mastering the key traits of a successful bar owner
• Checking your expectations
• Staying on the Positive Side of the Success–Failure Rate
• Why do so many fail?
• Figuring out why others succeed
• Understanding the Financial Ramifications
• Preparing yourself for personal guarantees
• Accepting the worst-case scenario
• Looking at the upside
• Balancing Your Bar Life with Your Personal Life
• Combining your professional and social lives
• Celebrating holidays, birthdays, and other special times with family and friends
• Getting support from your family
• What if you really need a vacation?
• Chapter 3: Minding the Money and the Law
• Figuring Out Your Start-Up Costs
• Financing Your New Business
• Contacting a bank
• Beg, borrow, or sweat: Finding partners
• Familiarizing Yourself with Liquor Laws and Other Legalities
• Obtaining a liquor license
• Other legal requirements
• Getting to Know the Health Inspector
• Establishing a regular cleaning schedule
• Avoiding cross-contamination
• Keeping critters out
• Bringing In the Big Three: Accountants, Insurance Agents, and Attorneys
• Hiring an accountant
• Working with an attorney
• Protecting yourself with insurance
• Taking Over an Existing Bar: Some Things to Watch For
• Looking Closely at Contractor Paperwork
• Getting your Certificate of Occupancy
• Fire codes and capacity
• Chapter 4: Deciding What Type of Bar to Have
• Determining Your Bar’s Potential Market
• Conducting your own market research
• What type of clientele do you want?
• Using competitive analysis
• Scratch that niche: Identifying an opportunity
• Exploring Your Options: What Kind of Bar Do You Want?
• Sports bar
• Local drinking establishment
• Upscale lounge
• Martini bar or lounge
• Wine bar
• Bar and grill
• Live entertainment venue
• Remembering to Choose One Theme and Be Good at It
• Part II: Gearing Up to Open the Doors
• Chapter 5: Putting Your Business Plan Together
• What’s a Business Plan and Why Should You Create One?
• Considering the Benefits of Having a Business Plan
• Looking at the Parts of Your Plan
• The cover page and table of contents
• Your business concept
• A sample drink and food menu
• Market analysis and clientele demographics
• Your management team
• Putting Your Financial Forecasts on Paper
• Forecasting your sales
• Forecasting your expenses
• Forecasting your cash flow
• Generating an income statement
• Creating a balance sheet
• Chapter 6: Selecting Your Bar’s Site, Décor, and Name
• Finding Your Bar’s Ideal Location
• Is location truly everything?
• Identifying possible areas
• Knowing what to avoid
• Considering traffic and parking in the area
• Thinking about a location’s security
• Comparing an apple (martini) to an orange (whip): The final choice
• Choosing and Establishing Your Bar’s Name
• The name: A few words about your bar
• Protecting your bar name and trademarks
• Picking Out Your Bar’s Décor
• Finding furniture
• Looking at lighting
• Figuring out flooring
• Working on the walls
• Considering environmental branding: Sights, sounds, and smells
• Fun and Games: TVs, Video Games, Pool Tables, and More
• Tuning in with TVs and programming
• Considering games for your bar
• Music, Professor! Jukeboxes, DJs, and Live Tunes
• Getting your jukebox
• Finding and signing live performers
• Hiring a DJ or karaoke company
• Chapter 7: Stocking Up on Smallwares and Equipment
• Picking Out Your Bar Equipment
• Getting your glassware
• Touching on basic bar tools
• Stocking up on smallwares
• Stocking the table
• Acquiring Bar Appliances
• Selecting Kitchen Appliances
• Leasing versus Buying, New versus Used
• Looking at leasing
• Negotiating for new equipment
• Evaluating used equipment
• Chapter 8: Setting Up Your Bar’s Inventory
• Creating Your Storerooms
• Tracking your day-to-day inventory
• Securing your inventory
• Keeping Your Inventory Well Stocked
• Stocking your drink items
• Stocking your basic food items
• Items for the Back of the House (Like Restrooms!)
• Chapter 9: Planning and Creating Your Menus
• Planning Your Food Menu 101
• Figuring out what kind of food to serve
• Considering what hours to serve food
• Determining the size of your menu
• Analyzing your kitchen space
• Thinking about signature dishes
• Establishing good-quality recipes
• Planning Your Drink Menu 101
• Selecting beers for your menu
• Creating a signature cocktail menu
• Planning your wine list
• Including nonalcoholic drinks
• Pricing Your Menus Right
• Using food cost to price your menu
• Pricing your drinks
• Designing and Printing Your Menus
• Experimenting with layout
• Menu engineering basics
• Writing the menu text
• Passing along the costs to your vendors
• Placing your menus in the bar
• Making Changes to Your Menu
• Part III: Employees, Customers, and Products: Managing the “Right Stuff”
• Chapter 10: Hiring, Training, and Keeping Your Employees
• Identifying the Players on Your Team
• Front of the house: Bartenders, servers, hostesses, and security staff
• Back of the house: Cooks and dishwashers
• Managers
• Finding the Right Employees
• Sourcing potential employees
• Interviewing candidates
• Testing bartenders and servers before hiring them
• Selecting the best applicants for your bar
• Making the job offer
• Must-have forms for hiring staff members
• Training New Employees
• Creating standards and keeping them up
• Providing on-the-job training
• Developing a mentoring program
• Improving Employee Performance
• Growing employee skill sets
• Motivating your staff
• When It Doesn’t Work Out: Dismissing Employees
• Looking at causes for immediate termination
• Considering the legal issues involved
• Changing staffing levels during a business slowdown
• Chapter 11: Rule #1: Practicing Good Customer Service
• Why Customer Service Is So Important
• Making people feel important
• Building customer loyalty
• Training Your Team in the Art of Customer Service
• Hiring people with a service mind-set
• Answering the phone
• Establishing service standards
• Empowering your staff to make things right
• Keeping your employees in the loop
• Dealing with Difficult Customer Situations
• Handling unhappy customers
• Handling intoxicated patrons
• What to do with troublemakers
• Chapter 12: Boning Up on Bar Beverages
• Knowing the Bar Basics and Then Some
• Wondering about wines
• Appreciating beer
• Demystifying distilled spirits and liqueurs
• Musing over mixers
• Mixing and Pouring the Best Drinks in Town
• Choosing your pouring strategy
• Pouring the perfect beer
• Maintaining your draft beer equipment
• Considering the importance of ice
• Shaking versus stirring
• Prettifying Drinks with Garnishes
• Having fun with citrus fruit
• Other must-have garnishes
• Rimming: Why, when, and how to do it
• Chapter 13: Getting Ready for Your Grand Opening, Step by Step
• Figuring Out How Much Time You Need to Prepare
• One Year Out: Planning!
• Nine Months Out: Finding Funds, a Location, and POS Systems
• Seven Months Out: Signing the Lease and Setting Up Finances
• Six Months Out: Getting Organized!
• Five Months Out: Building and Buying
• Four Months Out: Manuals and Menus
• Three Months Out: Supervisors, Suppliers, and Vendors
• Two Months Out: Preparing to Hire, Attending to Details
• Six Weeks Out: Finalizing All Paperwork
• Thirty Days Out: Navigating the Final Month
• Ten Days Out: Fine-Tuning
• Three Days Out: Dress Rehearsal!
• The Day Before: Relaxing before the Big Opening
• Part IV: Managing Your Inventory, Revenue, and Future
• Chapter 14: Controlling Expenses and Operating Efficiently
• Perusing the Power of Purchasing
• Putting together your list of supplies
• Finding the best suppliers for your bar
• Using purchase orders (POs)
• Reordering your supplies
• Maintaining Your Bar’s Inventory
• Par levels: Consistently keeping enough product on hand
• Taking your bar’s inventory
• Paying Attention to What Goes On in Your Bar
• Reducing waste
• Battling breakage
• Reducing and eliminating theft
• Watching out for your staff’s sticky fingers
• Chapter 15: Keeping Your Bar’s Bottom Line from Hitting Bottom
• Reading Your Income Statement
• Deciphering Your Balance Sheet
• Analyzing Reports in the Bar Business
• Using a daily business review
• Controlling cash flow
• Creating a cost of goods sold (COGS) report
• Setting Up Your Payroll System
• Determining your payroll period
• Doing payroll yourself or outsourcing it
• Keeping and Protecting Your Records
• Preventing identity theft
• Hackers be gone! Protecting your computer system
• Chapter 16: Building and Keeping Your Bar Crowd
• Generating Word of Mouth
• Making sure everyone knows your name (and logo)
• Whipping up a website
• Getting your employees excited about your place
• Making the most of community involvement
• Getting New Customers in the Door
• Handling your first customers: The grand-opening crowd
• Promoting your, uh, promotions
• Drink and food specials
• Making the most of music
• Using Social Media to Build Your Business
• Trying out Twitter
• Finding friends on Facebook
• Understanding Yelp
• Figuring out Foursquare
• Giving Your Customers a Reason to Come Back
• Ensuring good customer service
• Making changes to your business as necessary
• Maintaining Your Success
• Researching your competition
• Staying marketplace savvy
• Part V: The Part of Tens
• Chapter 17: Ten Ways to Run a Safe Bar
• Hiring Safely
• Practicing Fire Safety
• Using Video Cameras
• Using Locks and Alarms
• Preventing Slips and Falls
• Installing Lighting
• Checking IDs
• Serving Hot Food
• Keeping a First-Aid Kit
• Following Handicapped and Discrimination Laws
• Chapter 18: Ten Myths about Running a Bar
• The Hours and Days Are Short
• Free Drinks All Day, Every Day
• There’s Not Too Much Paperwork
• Your Family Will Want to Work for You
• You Can Hire Good Help in a Snap
• You Know Everything about Everything
• Nobody Would Steal from You
• Everyone Is Trustworthy
• Everyone Loves the Boss
• Anyone Can Run a Bar or Tavern
• Chapter 19: Ten Bar Owner Sins Not to Commit, Ever
• Depending on Your Friends and Family
• Extending Lines of Credit to Customers
• Allowing Gambling or Betting
• Not Taking the Keys from an Intoxicated Patron
• Believing the Customer Needs “Just One More”
• Lending Money to Anyone
• Becoming Romantically Involved with an Employee
• Drinking and Working
• Last Call Is Last Call. The End. No More!
• Not Paying All Your Taxes
• Appendix: Useful Websites for Every Bar Owner
• Bar Supplies and Equipment
• Beer
• Spirits
• Wines
• Logo and Menu Design
• Trade Associations and Industry Information
• About the Authors
• Cheat Sheet
• More Dummies Products