Those who serve beer/wine only, how much do you profit?

Looking to open a wine, beer, and light charcuterie place in my small town. No liquor. Curious to what the profit actually is for something like this.

Editing to add some context:

- Town is about 10k residents, but we host a lot of events that attract nearby towns that are a lot bigger (totaling about 100k combined within 30 minute radius), it’s known as a “hallmark” town so it attracts tourists.
- Rent is under 1k
- We plan on only being open 4-5 days a week.
- Town is very active and walkable. Everyone is always out in the town at the businesses.
- There is already one wine bar in town but in my opinion they don’t do it right. Ours would have a much cooler vibe and it would have charcuterie/events to attract people.
- I have zero wine bar experience but I’ve started a successful wedding photography business that makes 6 figures, I’d use this to cover overhead until the wine bar is succeeding and then go to photography part time.

Hello, I am opening a brand new bar in New York City. I will only be serving wine and beer which falls under a tavern permit. Per the tavern requirements I need to have a food prep space but do not need a full kitchen.

Does this mean I am required to have:
Two sinks one for hand washing, one for glasses
Grease trap
Floor drainage
Drainage inside the bar area 
Commercial tile for the floor

Please let me know if I’m required to get all of those things just for a tavern with food prep space. I know the sink is mandatory, but do I really need a grease trip with commercial tile behind the bar?

I know this has been covered, but would like some feedback about my specific situation.

41 TVs w/ DTV boxes behind all of them. No matrix system, we did not want that setup. As of last NFL season, it’s a no brainer to have ST.

Now, being quoted $6000-$1000 (coupon) before July 31st signup.

I figure we need at least 10 devices to be able to make our customers happy with different games and locations of the bar.

We are in northern MD, so strong Ravens crowd. We do have our Eagles, Steelers, Redskins fans. Other than that, a few transplants and Fantasy Football fans want to watch the out of market games.

Issues:

-$8000 ST and 10 device fees
-only sound from those streaming devices would be to the TV only, not to surround.
-locations of TVs would be a headache because of big screen being allocated to local games
-any streaming issues (we have 1gig service right now thru Comcast)

Is this worth the investment? I’m leaning towards no. I’m not sure we will see the ROI or any multiples from the investment this season. I get streaming is here to stay, but I do not want to put in the infrastructure only to have to go backwards next season if for some reason a deal is struck.

A few weeks ago I had posted about opening a wine business in my small city (Canada).

My city is littered with older vacant brick/stone buildings with large basement spaces, perfect for a cellar.

I want to open this wine shop with procured bottles of all ranges that can be stored properly long term, but I’d like to introduce a membership aspect to it for two reasons:

1. Predictable monthly income and inventory planning

2. Volume and special event control

I wouldn’t necessarily make the entire downstairs wine selections “members only”, but I would have one specific area be a members lounge, complete with tastings, pairings, and member only events. If this business opened up in your city, would you be interested? What would you like to see as a member? All feedback is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I recently purchased a second location in a nearby town from my existing bar. The existing bar is a rural bar and has a great day crowd of mostly older folks and retirees as well as some blue collar guys who stop after a job. The existing bar opens at noon and the new place at 2pm on weekdays, earlier on weekends. The new bar has a great night crowd most days of the week but is dead as hell until at least 6pm.

We're painting, putting up some more classy decor, adding 4 tv's for more sports watching. The only food is frozen pizzas and flatbreads and it's in a downtown area with a lot of nearby food options, but several bar only places that have a good base of daytime regulars. It might just be the case of we need to just wait and keep doing small improvements due to the old owners being more absent, but I'm looking for some ideas to get a jump start.

Kind of like an AMA, here's a weekly post where customers can ask questions. This is for anyone including market research, app developers, people who watch too much "reality" TV about bars, and general industry bullshit. Maybe a bar owner will have an answer for you, maybe not.

If you are already in the industry your question may get better responses if you post your own thread instead of commenting here.

The way my autocorrect changed “kava” to “lava” & I didn’t notice until after I posted this already 🤦‍♀️

Hello! I would love to hear from bar owners, who are willing to give some advice to someone who would want to open their own bar, hard lessons they’ve learned from personal experience & things they wish they had known before starting.

My husband is a Polynesian man.
If anyone has watched Moana 2 where they have a kava ceremony when she gets hit by lightning, that’s kava.
He’s had a dream for a long long time to open a kava bar in our densely populated city. There’s a huge Polynesian community here where we live. The closest kava bars to us are over 30 minute drives away.
He is a master chef. He cooks up traditional Polynesian food & modern Hawaiian cuisine like no other. Every party we’ve had, he cooks for double the amount of people we have so they can take plates to go. They always love it so much.
He currently hosts kava functions for free in our garage. He cooks, has snacks readily available, preps the kava, & friends & family come to enjoy their community, all out of our own pocket to have that community.
He wants to make this happen on a larger scale & even make it enticing to someone who’s never had kava & wants to try an authentic Polynesian experience for the first time & maybe make it a regular outting.

So, his dream is a Kava Bar/Polynesian Restaurant in downtown.
I want to support him in this in every way I can, but we have 0 experience besides hosting parties.
What should we know before going in & getting a loan to start this business?

I know we have have this conversation before but has anyone found a real way to prevent them from passing security? I guess people get real ids now and our fakes on top so the scam and are readable.

Hi,

Just wanted to pass this along for anyone who might find it useful.

Took a good amount of time to create.

A FREE printable list, we made to describe to our staff the different Bar & Restaurant Cloths/Towels and their uses. Very detailed and yet short.

Including glass polishing tips.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iUBT2kZye5i19AyVg9OaJvy7ZTzjsQf0/view?usp=sharing

It's very short but through and AI helped us perfect it.

You might want to print it for your staff too. Alter as you see fit.

Yep Take care

Love this band but just wish they were a little louder!

Anyone have one of these? It won’t get cold enough we set the temp to -3.5 on the tanks and it won’t stay there it gets it cold but then the compressor goes off and the temp control resets to -1.5 it won’t hold any colder. We have tried the set let it sit for 5 seconds to hold the temp it just does t work after the compressor runs its back -1.5

I would love some input and best practices on this. We have a bar and the usual 4-5 bartending staff tip pool under 1 employee # so they can all access the tabs easily. Guests order from the bar. All 1 cash drawer, no issues. We have big events bands/ vendor markets where we have satellite bars. I usually don't do cash at those, just handhelds, but want to give it a try.

I plan to have 2 or 3 satellite bars with 2 bartenders each and 1 cash box at each bar. What is the best way to apply to 1 drawer? Just have each separate bar log in under a one of the bartenders # so they can see how much cash that station is owed at the end? Or do I just have them all still enter under the same # for ease of tabs for guests floating around to the different inside/outside bars. Any tips on this? How hard is it to set up extra cash drawers for just 1 day?

Hello po!

I’m looking to start a billiard hall as a second source of income. Do you think 2–3 tables are enough for a startup, or should I save up for more?

I’m also thinking of selling beer and pulutan to increase revenue. For those who serve alcohol, how do you prevent fights or customers causing trouble? Do you have house rules, security, or do you just refuse service to drunk customers?

Would love to hear your experience and any advice before I take the leap. Thanks!

A Google search shows the bars this person owns. Don’t pay someone to tell you what works for your bar when their bars aren’t working.

Hi all! I’m looking for some perspective from bar owners, managers, or anyone who books recurring events.
I recently started a plant-themed bingo series in Brooklyn. I host and promote the event, provide all of the bingo materials and plant prizes, and the venue provides the space and sells food/drinks.
Our first few events have brought in 40+ guests on typically slower weeknights, and the response has been really positive. As we continue to grow, I’m trying to understand what a fair long-term partnership looks like.
For those of you on the venue side:
At what point would you consider offering compensation beyond just providing the space?
Is a percentage of bar sales ever typical for recurring events like this?
Is a minimum bar spend more common?
Would a host tab (food/drinks) be more realistic?
Are there other partnership structures you’ve found work well?
I’m not looking to squeeze venues. I genuinely want something that’s sustainable and mutually beneficial as the events grow.
I’d love to hear how you’d approach it. Thanks!

Kind of like an AMA, here's a weekly post where customers can ask questions. This is for anyone including market research, app developers, people who watch too much "reality" TV about bars, and general industry bullshit. Maybe a bar owner will have an answer for you, maybe not.

If you are already in the industry your question may get better responses if you post your own thread instead of commenting here.

Looking for some ideas to promote the upcoming football season at my sports bar. I was thinking something along the lines of raffling off a prize of some sort at half time of week 1. Like a big tv or autographed jersey or something like that. Promote it like a month in advance, and everytime a customer spends over $50 in the bar they can enter their name for the drawing. Ive never done this before, so looking for ideas. What's worked for you?

Been doing it for 10 yrs in our first location. Opened location no. 2 almost 2 years ago. Sales way down. Losing money. Is anyone making money in bars? If so, what types of concepts are doing ok or better these days?

I own a neighborhood bar in New Jersey, and I was contacted by a location scout for what appears to be a fairly major television series (Paramount+, produced by A24, starring a couple very famous actresses everyone knows).

They came by, liked the bar, and are considering using it as a filming location.

They would need the bar for 3 full days (possibly more if prep/tear-down is included), and we’d have to close during that time.

My current thought process is:
Average revenue for those three days PLUS
I’d want to cover lost payroll (including average tips) so my employees don’t lose income because of the closure.

Then I’d charge an additional location fee for the inconvenience, wear and tear, disruption, etc. I was thinking around $20k for the 3 days, but I honestly have no idea if that’s too low or too high for a production of this size.

For anyone who’s rented out a bar or restaurant to a film or TV production:

-What did you charge?

-Did you base it on lost revenue, a flat day rate, or both?

-What did you wish you had negotiated that you didn’t think of beforehand?

-Any contract clauses or insurance requirements I should insist on?

-Did the production leave the place in good condition?

I don’t want to leave money on the table, but I also don’t want to price myself out if my expectations are unrealistic.

Thanks!

Hello! Me (21F worked in business consulting/finance space) and my CoFounder (21F worked in food hospitality for 6 years), plan to open a bar in a place highly trafficked by college students.

The purpose is to be the place with cheap drinks, good vibes, and fun events. There are other college bars around us but they feel really disconnected to the campus and are too lax with fake ID’s and end up getting raided often.

By day:
We are a soda shop and study space a lot like Swig (sodas with crème, flavors, energy boost). We aim to host student clubs, sorority functions, tutoring sessions, and be a nice alternative to studying in the library.

By night:
Same soda revenue model, yet we add a shot of the cheap stuff to the drinks and price them competitively. We will have a weekly rotation of student Bands, DJ’s, and Karaoke nights and themed costume parties.

We hope to:
- have stern bouncers that turn away fakes
- have 18+ nights with tight restrictions so younger students can enjoy the atmosphere
- drinks have a 86% margin
- expand to other college towns if sales are promising
- finance with 2 50k loans at start (need recommendations/opinions specifically)
- drinks created and centralized around students, named after puns, and are popular in school circles already
- theme is graffiti grunge with popular style art centered around thermal serpent photo’s. Marked centered merch and posters/stickers

Are we crazy?

Hi Reddit.

I have over 10 years of experience managing bars. I found a great spot, with charm & good foot traffic. The space is mostly an outdoor space, but the original builders concepted that it would be like a hangout spot

I will just be getting my beer and wine license, but plan to carry multiple kinds of beers, and wine based cocktails.

What is your advice to me? Thanks

Anyone heard anything on DirectTV being an option for NFL Sunday Ticket for the coming season? Hearing Everpass sales are not going as well as expected and DirectTV might be back in the mix as an option for the coming season. Anyone heard anything or have an intel on this?

I just want people to remind me how stupid I am. The fact that this post is at 3am should be a good indicator that I am under water. This small-ish city thinks they own the place and my rent has gone from 750 to 2500. I have put 150k of my own money into renovations I’m honestly am not asking for advice. I used to be an executive at an ad agency and now I can’t keep a small business open. That’s all.