Who has any experience in the bar/restaurant biz?

[gorie]

i played restaurant empire for awhile, so i'd say i'm pretty knowledgeable.

[oneeye13]

i've closed plenty

[STLantny]

Durs, thank you very much for the link.

[KyleC]

im currently in a culinary program and through stories from my teachers/chefs i've learned a rough guesstimate of failure rate of restaurants/bars is around 85 - 90% which is why you hear alot of stories of failure ..so basically you truly need to be an entreprenuer risk it all and reap the benefits or risk and fail [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] ..also alot to consider like keeping your books straight inventory is a huge factor etc. and generally when you do start this it will be your life literally and if all your income is put into this bar you'll have to live off the profits and at first it'll be almost nil...so theres alot to consider i apologize for grammar but im tired and [censored] [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] any more questions feel free to ask i've learned quite a bit about all this stuff

[KyleC]

also another fyi i believe the 1 mil quote that was mentioned is a bit high well depends which city and [censored] but you could buy a mcdonalds frachise or 2 subway frachises for that kind of money

[cbfair]

[ QUOTE ]
i've learned a rough guesstimate of failure rate of restaurants/bars is around 85 - 90% which is why you hear alot of stories of failure ..so basically you truly need to be an entreprenuer risk it all and reap the benefits or risk and fail.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management and I knew before I left school that while it had previously been my dream, I would never, ever own a restaurant or bar. I've managed restaurants (mostly back of house) and my wife has managed bars, we've both been out of the industry for several years and have promised each other that no matter how tough it gets, we will never return to restaurant/bar management. Substance abuse and multiple divorces are the norm in the industry.

It's verifiably true that something well north of 50% of all startups fail in the first year and that the vast majority of those survivors (probably 85%-90%) are out of business inside of 5 years. No matter what your well-healed clients tell you, you will likely not see a profit for 3-5 years with a new startup so you'd better be prepared to pour money and time into the place and don't leave it for more than a few hours until you have solid management in place working under rigid guidelines. Even good, "trustworthy" managers will steal from you unless you make it very difficult to get away with or offer a significant profit sharing plan.

You've got some time between now and when you want to start so I'd recommend spending time researching the industry to learn what the true day to day experience will be. I'm not saying that the industry sucks for everyone; it's been very good to alot of people, just make sure you're one of the few who can hack it.

[James Boston]

My friends and I have had a similar idea. Hearing all these horror stories is troubling.

To clarify, are we talking about bars that serve no purpose other than food & drink, or "clubs?" We're looking at it more as an entertainment venue that serves alcohol. Are we crazy?

[STLantny]

[ QUOTE ]
My friends and I have had a similar idea. Hearing all these horror stories is troubling.

To clarify, are we talking about bars that serve no purpose other than food & drink, or "clubs?" We're looking at it more as an entertainment venue that serves alcohol. Are we crazy?

[/ QUOTE ]

Thats what I was mullling over myself, which way to go. I think hte 1 million mark is grossly over estimated at least for St. Louis. A good location would be about 300,000 here. STL is a weird town, as a lot of smaller (non -club) bars have big dance floors after hours, when the restaurant closes, and most if not all do huge volume at least 2 nights a week. I will definetly be absorbing everythig I learn frmo servicing/installing the POS equipment, and I will be also know how to stop theft etc, when I hire a manager (who I assume will be one of my best friends). I assume that my bar wont open until 12 or 1, and wont get busy until 5, so basically, I was planning on selling/servicing the POS equipment from 8am-4 or 5pm, go into the bar, run things until things slow down etc. So I will always have income to fall back on. The other point is, my last name, EVERYONE in the restaurunt business knows it, because of my uncle is basically the top "industry" guy here in town, plus I know a ton of people just from living here, and meeting people at my various jobs, I think that should help out. Is there anything in the mean time that I should be doing, besides absorbing how places run things efficiently, and figure out how to improve on that?

[KaneKungFu123]

what are you going to college for? seems like you will use your diploma for dog paper.

[STLantny]

Uh ya, most people use their diplome for dog paper. But Im going for a degree in IT, BS-information systems security. I had a contract job, at a huge co-lo downtown, for experience, and after playing poker for a living, there is just no way I could EVER EVER work for someone in an office type enviroment, Im just way to social, and talented at selling to do that. This sales/tech position I have now is great, but Id like to keep going with this, and invest hte money I make in a bar, as t odo both.