5 ms·

I worked bar and restaurant for 25 years. I would never, ever open or own a restaurant voluntarily. The margins are minuscule and require huge up-front costs wi

by every 6y ago

I worked bar and restaurant for 25 years. I would never, ever open or own a restaurant voluntarily. The margins are minuscule and require huge up-front costs with micro-managed inventory, labor and quality control to break even. Bars however are a dream. Inventory control is simply tracking portions and comps. Outside of garnishes nothing rots or goes bad. And assuming tips are good, labor is no worry either. We had a saying: "In good times the bar business is good. In bad times it's even better because everyone needs to cry into their beer..."

kyuudou 6y ago
>Bars however are a dream. As long as the location is good and the clientele are don't fight, get unruly or drunk drive. Ideal would be somewhere like NYC that's mostly walkable. Can't just open up a bar at the end of the universe. Unless talking cow being served.
- every 6y ago
  I once worked for a chain of nightclubs. We used a poor man's form of demographic analysis. We looked to see where the major franchise food operations were building and would shop for a property there. People eat and people drink...
  - scarface74 6y ago
    This isn’t a poor man’s analysis. This is what major business do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jILgxeNBK_8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jILgxeNBK_8
- asdff 6y ago
  Most cities are developing at least a couple bars clustered together, and they are pretty universally well attended by millenials. Previous generations might feel guilt or shame about spending a night at the bars. Modern parents are much more sensible and hire a sitter and rideshare to a brewery every now and then. Some bars and brewerys have a more substantial meal service as well, and it's not unheard of to bring your kid in tow during dinner hours. To me, its a business that will only get more profitable as younger generations become much more sensible adults around social drinking. Outside of a pandemic, that is. Even my parents generation seems to be seeing a resurgence in going out to bars now that kids have grown up and moved away. My mom now frequents tequila bars with her friends. It doesn't even matter if it's a cold climate. Throw on the game, buy a few heat lamps, and have a special on pitchers. Drinking culture is seeing a huge resurgence in the 4 U.S. metros I've lived in the last few years imo, although I don't have any particular data to point to off hand. Given the increasing secularization of american culture, and the acceptance of the fact that you can indeed have a bender with your friends on a weekend and still pass your medical school exams, I see no reason why bars aren't the best bet in
JackFr 6y ago
Yeah it’s funny that she ever mentions booze, where the markups are 200-500%. If you can use your tables and food to sell bottles of wine, you can really improve your bottom line.
- nullc 6y ago
  Ah the benefits of selling an addictive substance in a market with a large base of addicts and a legal environment that largely shields you from liability for even the fairly direct consequences of your product (such as drunk driving after serving at places and times where the non-availability of alternatives guarentees that most of your patrons will be driving).
  - _ph_ 6y ago
    Most customers who have a glass of wine or beer with their dinner don't qualify as addicted. Also, the restaurants make the same (or even more profit) when selling alcohol-free beverages with their food.
    - smabie 6y ago
      Yeah, but I don't generally sit down and drink 3 cokes in one sitting. Alcohol is a great money maker because there's a large standard deviation to how many drinks a given person might order. It would be very rare for a customer to drink 3 cokes with dinner but not uncommon for someone to order 3 beers.
      - _ph_ 6y ago
        When I am out in larger groups, the number of drinks varies little with what was ordered, be it beer, alcohol-free beer or other beverages. This is one medium to large sized glass of beverage for a lunch and several in the evening. Coke might be an exception, but it is very rare, that someone orders coke in a restaurant. Usually you have fruit juices of many variations, often as a "Schorle", that is fruit juice mixed with sparkling water. Or just water. And the prices differ only little between a glass of beer and of juice.
dba7dba 6y ago
So I know (not personally) this guy named Ian McCollum. He's kind of well known on youtube, filming/writing/presenting on a topic that is personally very interesting to him. He graduated from Purdue with a degree in mechanical engineer. But he didn't want to settle with a 9 to 5 job and a normal life, just to pay his bills. So instead he earned some extra small pile of money after college and set up a low cost life style in Arizona, with off grid house etc. And now he doesn't have to spend life in 9 to 5 job but instead travels around filming/interviewing/presenting on a passion project of his. So how did he get that bit of enough extra money within 2 - 3 years (I think) after college to pay to get himself set up with that life style? He went to a bartender school and worked as a bartender. That earned him enough chunk of money that he could set up an off grid house in AZ and get on with his passion project. If you listen to Ian McCollum presenting on his topic, you can tell he would've been a very good bartender. Calm, articulate, polite.
- smabie 6y ago
  Why didn't he just get a engineering job for 2 or 3 years? Presumably he would have made lot more money.
  - rjsw 6y ago
    I don't know anything about the profitability of the area of engineering that he is interested in. Perhaps you could look into it and report back. I'm sure he was a very good bartender.
  - dba7dba 6y ago
    Knowing a few other mechanical engineers myself, finding a decent paying job as a mechanical engineer was nearly impossible. At least 10 - 15 years ago. So the revelation from his story is that working as a bartender can bring in quite a bit of money due to high margin of alcohol and bigger tip.

by every 6y ago

kyuudou 6y ago

>Bars however are a dream. As long as the location is good and the clientele are don't fight, get unruly or drunk drive. Ideal would be somewhere like NYC that's mostly walkable. Can't just open up a bar at the end of the universe. Unless talking cow being served.

every 6y ago
I once worked for a chain of nightclubs. We used a poor man's form of demographic analysis. We looked to see where the major franchise food operations were building and would shop for a property there. People eat and people drink...
- scarface74 6y ago
  This isn’t a poor man’s analysis. This is what major business do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jILgxeNBK_8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jILgxeNBK_8
asdff 6y ago
Most cities are developing at least a couple bars clustered together, and they are pretty universally well attended by millenials. Previous generations might feel guilt or shame about spending a night at the bars. Modern parents are much more sensible and hire a sitter and rideshare to a brewery every now and then. Some bars and brewerys have a more substantial meal service as well, and it's not unheard of to bring your kid in tow during dinner hours. To me, its a business that will only get more profitable as younger generations become much more sensible adults around social drinking. Outside of a pandemic, that is. Even my parents generation seems to be seeing a resurgence in going out to bars now that kids have grown up and moved away. My mom now frequents tequila bars with her friends. It doesn't even matter if it's a cold climate. Throw on the game, buy a few heat lamps, and have a special on pitchers. Drinking culture is seeing a huge resurgence in the 4 U.S. metros I've lived in the last few years imo, although I don't have any particular data to point to off hand. Given the increasing secularization of american culture, and the acceptance of the fact that you can indeed have a bender with your friends on a weekend and still pass your medical school exams, I see no reason why bars aren't the best bet in

JackFr 6y ago

Yeah it’s funny that she ever mentions booze, where the markups are 200-500%. If you can use your tables and food to sell bottles of wine, you can really improve your bottom line.

nullc 6y ago
Ah the benefits of selling an addictive substance in a market with a large base of addicts and a legal environment that largely shields you from liability for even the fairly direct consequences of your product (such as drunk driving after serving at places and times where the non-availability of alternatives guarentees that most of your patrons will be driving).
- _ph_ 6y ago
  Most customers who have a glass of wine or beer with their dinner don't qualify as addicted. Also, the restaurants make the same (or even more profit) when selling alcohol-free beverages with their food.
  - smabie 6y ago
    Yeah, but I don't generally sit down and drink 3 cokes in one sitting. Alcohol is a great money maker because there's a large standard deviation to how many drinks a given person might order. It would be very rare for a customer to drink 3 cokes with dinner but not uncommon for someone to order 3 beers.
    - _ph_ 6y ago
      When I am out in larger groups, the number of drinks varies little with what was ordered, be it beer, alcohol-free beer or other beverages. This is one medium to large sized glass of beverage for a lunch and several in the evening. Coke might be an exception, but it is very rare, that someone orders coke in a restaurant. Usually you have fruit juices of many variations, often as a "Schorle", that is fruit juice mixed with sparkling water. Or just water. And the prices differ only little between a glass of beer and of juice.

dba7dba 6y ago

So I know (not personally) this guy named Ian McCollum. He's kind of well known on youtube, filming/writing/presenting on a topic that is personally very interesting to him. He graduated from Purdue with a degree in mechanical engineer. But he didn't want to settle with a 9 to 5 job and a normal life, just to pay his bills. So instead he earned some extra small pile of money after college and set up a low cost life style in Arizona, with off grid house etc. And now he doesn't have to spend life in 9 to 5 job but instead travels around filming/interviewing/presenting on a passion project of his. So how did he get that bit of enough extra money within 2 - 3 years (I think) after college to pay to get himself set up with that life style? He went to a bartender school and worked as a bartender. That earned him enough chunk of money that he could set up an off grid house in AZ and get on with his passion project. If you listen to Ian McCollum presenting on his topic, you can tell he would've been a very good bartender. Calm, articulate, polite.

smabie 6y ago
Why didn't he just get a engineering job for 2 or 3 years? Presumably he would have made lot more money.
- rjsw 6y ago
  I don't know anything about the profitability of the area of engineering that he is interested in. Perhaps you could look into it and report back. I'm sure he was a very good bartender.
- dba7dba 6y ago
  Knowing a few other mechanical engineers myself, finding a decent paying job as a mechanical engineer was nearly impossible. At least 10 - 15 years ago. So the revelation from his story is that working as a bartender can bring in quite a bit of money due to high margin of alcohol and bigger tip.