THE BAR AND BEVERAGE BOOK
Fifth Edition
Costas Katsigris and Chris Thomas
© 2011 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
CHAPTER 3
CREATING AND MAINTAINING
A BAR BUSINESS
© 2011 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
THIS CHAPTER WILL HELP YOU
• Develop an overall concept and tailor it to meet the needs and desires of a
particular clientele.
• Study the market, choose an appropriate location, and determine financial
feasibility.
• Plan an atmosphere and décor suitable to a concept and its intended
clientele.
• Plan the efficient use of available space.
• Analyze the design and space needs of the bar itself.
• Weigh the pros and cons of hiring professional design consultants.
• Examine the major factors before investing in a specific location or
building.
© 2011 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
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TARGETING YOUR CLIENTELE
• Types of Customers
– Diners at restaurants where drinks are served.
– Drop-in customers who are on their way
elsewhere.
– Meet-and-go customers.
– Entertainment seekers.
– Sports fans.
– Regular patrons.
© 2011 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
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TYPES OF CUSTOMERS
SUBGROUPS
•
•
•
•
•
Women
Latino Customers
Baby Boomers
Generations X and Y
Connoisseurs and Sophisticates
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SELLING HIGH-END SPIRITS
• The experienced entrepreneur concentrates
primarily on a single, definable customer
group, or market segment, whose members
will have similar reasons for visiting a bar.
© 2011 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
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PLANNING SERVICES TO DEFINE
YOUR IMAGE
• Much of what will set your bar business apart
from competitors’ is your overall image.
• Make an effort to define whatever special
character your bar exudes that will entice
people to visit your establishment instead of
your competitors’.
© 2011 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
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PLANNING SERVICES TO DEFINE
YOUR IMAGE
• Some components of image involve very
practical decisions.
• What services will you perform for your target market,
and how?
• What kind of bar do you envisage?
• What kinds of drinks will you serve?
– An integral part of any bar’s image is the
bartender or mixologist.
© 2011 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
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LOCATION AND MARKET
FEASIBILITY
•
•
•
•
Choosing an Area.
Estimating Customer Potential.
Sizing Up the Competition.
Selecting a Site.
– Consider the Structure.
– Determine Financial Feasibility.
© 2011 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
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LAYOUT AND DESIGN
• Trends in Bar Design
– The gastro pub, a bar that also offers world-class
lunches and dinners.
– The concept bar, where the goal of the décor is to
whisk patrons away to new or exotic locales.
– Another trend is participatory bars, where
customers are part of the action.
© 2011 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
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BASIC ELEMENTS OF LAYOUT
•
•
•
•
Available Space
Activities and Traffic Patterns
Furniture
Utilities, Codes, and Licensing Restrictions
– The room layout must accommodate persons with
disabilities; they must be given equal access to public or
commercial buildings, according to the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA).
© 2011 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
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PARTS OF THE BAR
– The front bar is the customer area, where drinks are
ordered and served, is typically 16 to 18 inches wide.
– An armrest along the front edge, adds another 8 inches to
its width.
– The last few inches of the back edge are usually recessed.
This part of the bar is known variously as the rail, glass rail,
drip rail, or spill trough.
– The vertical structure supporting the front bar, known as
the bar die, is a wall that separates customers from the
working area.
© 2011 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
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THE BACKBAR
• The backbar has a dual function: as a
decorative display area and as a hard-working
storage space.
• The backbar is a good place to display call
brands as a subtle form of merchandising.
– Multiple facings are used, meaning several bottles
of a known brand are displayed side by side.
© 2011 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
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THE UNDERBAR
• The underbar is where most of the equipment
and supplies for the products you are selling
must be arranged compactly and efficiently, to
facilitate speed of service.
• The area where individual bartenders work is
called a pouring station.
© 2011 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
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THE UNDERBAR
• Most operations use an automatic dispensing
system.
– Such a system has lines running from bulk supplies
to a dispensing head with multiple push-buttons.
It has several nicknames:
• A handgun or six-shooter (it is aimed into the glass and
buttons are pushed to dispense liquids).
• A cobra gun (it has snaking lines that connect to the
head).
© 2011 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
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THE UNDERBAR
• When drinks are served from the main bar for
table service, the bar must always have a
pickup station.
– A section of the front bar near the pouring station
where serving personnel turn in and receive
orders and return empty glasses.
© 2011 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
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PARTS OF THE BAR
•
•
•
•
The Bar Floor
Materials and Upkeep
Bar Size, Shape, and Position in the Room
The Bar as Control Center
© 2011 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
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SMALLER, SPECIALTY BARS
• The term service bar refers to a bar that pours for table
service only in conjunction with foodservice. It does not serve
customers directly; it deals only with filling drink orders
brought by wait staff.
• The same goes for the portable bar, a typical extension of a
hotel’s beverage service where banquets, meetings,
receptions, conferences, and conventions are being held.
© 2011 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
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WORKING WITH A DESIGNER OR
CONSULTANT
• Choosing Design Assistance
– Working Arrangements.
– Smaller-Scale or Remote Projects.
– Make a Checklist of Bar Design Essentials.
© 2011 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
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SUMMING UP
• The first step for turning a building, room, or space
into a popular and profitable bar is determining your
target clientele.
• The next step involves choosing the products and
services you will offer to this clientele, or market
segment.
• The third step is defining a unifying concept with a
special character or identity.
© 2011 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
All Rights Reserved