Any cafe/bar owners?

[AndyT77]

I'm thinking I may be interested in opening a café/wine bar kind of place, and interested in any owner/proprietor comments.

The type of place I would like would be a modern, contemporary sort of place, with posh sounding snacks, fancy coffee, cocktails etc, not a greasy spoon type of place.

[krallicious]

AndyT77 said:

I'm thinking I may be interested in opening a café/wine bar kind of place, and interested in any owner/proprietor comments.

The type of place I would like would be a modern, contemporary sort of place, with posh sounding snacks, fancy coffee, cocktails etc, not a greasy spoon type of place.

First of all, you need a VERY clear concept of what you want. What sort of clientele, will you need a small kitchen, where is this bar going to be located, will there be table service, how big do you want the bar to be, upmarket and trendy (god, I hate that word) or orientated towards a more mature crowd etc.

I do not own a bar or cafe (I'm a chef) but I have have worked with owners who thought they had had a clear plan of what they wanted but, in reality, simply did not have a clue.

[sherman]

If your not willing to muck in and do anything it takes even down to cleaning up the sick or the toilets for the first few years you are not going to get respect from your staff and will fail quickly no matter what poncy bar concept you come up with.

[King Cnut]

sherman said:

If your not willing to muck in and do anything it takes even down to cleaning up the sick or the toilets for the first few years you are not going to get respect from your staff and will fail quickly no matter what poncy bar concept you come up with.

You never know, maybe he's going for the 'failed poncy bar concept'...?

[BoRED S2upid]

Not a poncy wine bar but i've owned a bar / pub before. Don't think you can sit back and relax your going to be working some seriously long hours. Staff costs are high, margins are low food is where the money is to be made so you have to get that right from the start.

[coopedup]

I used to co-own a bar on a small island off the cost of Thailand. We did not serve food, had many other bar owners rocking up around 8 in the morning for a sneaky one away from their Thai wives and it was just a nightmare. Sometimes still open at 3 the following morning, constantly knackered, and then got ripped off by my business partner and ended up back here without a pot to piss in, would not touch one with a barge pole again!!

[geeks]

krallicious said:

First of all, you need a VERY clear concept of what you want. What sort of clientele, will you need a small kitchen, where is this bar going to be located, will there be table service, how big do you want the bar to be, upmarket and trendy (god, I hate that word) or orientated towards a more mature crowd etc.

I do not own a bar or cafe (I'm a chef) but I have have worked with owners who thought they had had a clear plan of what they wanted but, in reality, simply did not have a clue.

This!

sherman said:

If your not willing to muck in and do anything it takes even down to cleaning up the sick or the toilets for the first few years you are not going to get respect from your staff and will fail quickly no matter what poncy bar concept you come up with.

This!

BoRED S2upid said:

Not a poncy wine bar but i've owned a bar / pub before. Don't think you can sit back and relax your going to be working some seriously long hours. Staff costs are high, margins are low food is where the money is to be made so you have to get that right from the start.

And this!

From someone who used to run a bar and be a chef while the landlord and land lady worked there asses off!

I have also been on the otherside of the coin, running and chefing while the owners did sweet fk all!

Guess which was the more rewarding place to work, had the best team, survived and thrived?

[V8A*ndy]

As an retired Pub/restaurant owner I will give you my 2p.

Go and work in such an establishment. Offer your services for free in exchange for some training for a couple of hours a week and see what it's like.

Trust me you will get your eyes opened to the hours, problems and hard work making a success of a venture like this takes.... You need to be able to do all aspects of the job yourself from cleaning to cooking before you can staff and market the place properly and if it's a boozer remember you have to be prepared to deal with drunk people.

And above all Location! I certainly believe a café with lots of passing trade/footfall is much more viable and simpler to run than a gaff that is dependant on regulars.