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

[Carlitos Way]

Here's my experience as an entertainer for a few bars in Souther California.

Yes, karaoke qualifies as entertainment, even if for some it is a form of cruel and unusual punishment.

I've seen clubs started/ended. I've been hired and I've been fired. The one thing I've noticed is... people really hate change. If this is a "neighborhood" bar, the majority of your patrons are probably locals and regulars. People who don't want to drive anywhere else... but who are SO married to the place, any change will send them to the next closest bar, even if they bitched about it for years on end before you took over.

So, the first question is do you plan to keep the same clientelle? If you do, then you have to be VERY careful to make changes small, and slow. Keep running things as they are for at least a few months. When you make DRASTIC changes, people get pissed and they go elsewhere.

If you plan to bring in a different crowd... advertising and promotion is expensive, costly, and slow to show returns most of the time. Unless you have a trustworthy promoter, and he is willing to work for just the door to promote your bar.

Sounds like you're leaning toward a "punk" not "local" bar. That, in my experience, seems to attract a YOUNGER crowd. Younger crowds typically attract trouble, so as others have stated above, you will have to invest in security. Whatever that means. My experience has also shown that younger people tend to consume less alcohol. Not sure if it's applicable all over... but the "older people" bars I've worked at did better per check with older clientelle.

You will also have to make sure everyone gets carded on their way in, especially if you're offering entertainment. If not, everyone needs to be carded at the bar. Those exceptions get costly. Most servers know the consequences... but even the $500 first time offender fine gets clouded on most servers with the promise of additional tip revenue.

I've seen owners drink themselves into stupidity in front of their guests. It happened at the last bar I worked at. It wasn't pretty. Middle aged woman, wrinkled from a hard life, appearing more than 10 years older than she was, hanging out all over the younger clients in her drunken stupor.

My suggestion is NEVER to get THAT drunk in your own bar. It's flat out bad for business. People will lose respect for you... and stop showing up at your bar.

Last but not least... entertainment is key. And as much as I know ONLY the karaoke aspect of entertainment, I will share my experience and suggestions. Nobody likes to go to an empty bar. No atmosphere leads to drinking depression, rather than drinking socially.

I think successful bars understand that you need to offer a variety of entertainment. Have a DJ night, a couple of band nights, and a karaoke night. If the place has a PA, work on getting a JAM session where people just go in a plug in to have a good time.

Running a bar, in my opinion, is not a short term endeavor. It should be considered a LONG TERM INVESTMENT.

That's my $0.02

[SirAndy]

Sounds like you're leaning toward a "punk" not "local" bar. That, in my experience, seems to attract a YOUNGER crowd.

there hasn't been a "scene" club/bar here in the east bay in a long time. the next best thing, the "silver lion" is closing it's doors in a week. the owner sold the building and the new owner does not want to keep a bar in the building.

the "crowd" here is much older than you'd expect. this is not santa cruz (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)
mostly old punk rockers and old bikers. and they tend to spend a fair amount of money on booze.

there really is a void here for that kind of establishment. i know there would be a good number of "regulars" every day and the place would be packed when you put on shows.

security is no problem, there's two big motorcycle clubs here in oakland, the Hells Angles and the Easy Bay Rats. Both are on good terms with each other and the EBR provide security for quite a few bars/clubs around here. I know all of them personally and they would be more than happy to work the door.

i've already got two reliable bartenders lined up that have been in the "scene" for 20+ years and one of them is manager material. i also already have the money lined up to go forward with this.

now it all depends on the current owner and the terms he going to offer. i have another meeting with him next week ...
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) Andy