OT: any club/bar owners on here?, thinking about taking over a club ... Options

[SirAndy]

so i've been thinking about opening a bar/club here in oakland for a while now and yesterday i was offered what i would consider the ideal venue.

the club has been at the current place for 25 years, comes with full inventory, liquor license, venue license, got a large outside patio where people can smoke & drink, full bar, full kitchen (!), large stage for shows. about 3000 sf of inside space.
the current owner has simply been burned out and wants to retire.

now i have run my own bar back in germany and i'm friends with several club owners back home, so i know the business side of it, but it would be great if i could pick someone's brain who has run a bar/club here in the US.
i'm sure there'll be quite a few differences.

if you know anything about the club/bar business, please PM me so i can annoy you with lots of questions!
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Andy

[Madswede]

Hey Andy: Liz and Nico Ortiz are the owners/operators of a brewpub (Turtle Mountain) where we had the Atomic Ramble here in Rio Rancho. I'll ask Liz to PM you. Nico is about to open a full liquor bar at the old place where we spent the night / partied / BBQ'd / got good 'n (IMG:style_emoticons/default/drunk.gif) So he's going through the setup of the exact same biz that you're looking at getting into. Not sure what more he could tell you, you seem to have it down pat. But I'll see what I can do to put you two in touch.

I'll be sure to stop by next time I'm in the Bay area at all ... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ar15.gif) Sounds like it'll be a kick ass joint!

Cheers!

-Nelson