How do i open a pub/bar

[Casey Jade]

Me and a friend have been talking about opening a pub together. I have experienced working in a pub/bar and know a few landlords of existing pubs as well! But me and my friend have no clue where to start? Could anyone give us any tips?

 

[finleydesign]

Don't wish to pee on your fireworks, but if you have no clue how to open one, how on earth do you expect to survive in such a competitive and complex market.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Me and a friend have been talking about opening a pub together. I have experienced working in a pub/bar and know a few landlords of existing pubs as well! But me and my friend have no clue where to start? Could anyone give us any tips?

Well, you could do what lots of struggling or failed operators do, find premises, have an idea what you want to do, discover things like licences & planning consent after you sign the lease. Blow your cash. Open well behind schedule. Wonder why things aren't working. Fall out. Go to war with eachother. Go personally bankrupt. Blame supermarkets/tax/the location/ anybody else

Or, you could do what the successful operators do.

LOTS of market research around your customer demographic.

Good legal & technical advice (which costs money)

Implement solid systems throuhout the business.

A solid partner / shareholder agreement

A clear vision on who your customer is, what they are prepared to pay for - repeatedly, how you will deliver it, what your respective roles will be etc, etc...

 

[Casey Jade]

Don't wish to pee on your fireworks, but if you have no clue how to open one, how on earth do you expect to survive in such a competitive and complex market.

Hello thanks for the reply and i dont expect to open until im well aware of everything that goes along side it! Im not in any rush to do anything just trying yo find out where to start

 

[Casey Jade]

Well, you could do what lots of struggling or failed operators do, find premises, have an idea what you want to do, discover things like licences & planning consent after you sign the lease. Blow your cash. Open well behind schedule. Wonder why things aren't working. Fall out. Go to war with eachother. Go personally bankrupt. Blame supermarkets/tax/the location/ anybody else

Or, you could do what the successful operators do.

LOTS of market research around your customer demographic.

Good legal & technical advice (which costs money)

Implement solid systems throuhout the business.

A solid partner / shareholder agreement

A clear vision on who your customer is, what they are prepared to pay for - repeatedly, how you will deliver it, what your respective roles will be etc, etc...

Thank you for your response

 

[WendyThompson]

I'm guessing you already know about alcohol licensing? It will be a condition of purchase from the bank if you're getting a bank loan. Different licenses in different parts of the UK.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/alcohol-licensing

 

[Paul Norman]

The start is, I am afraid, a lot of really tedious research.

You need to:

1. Find out exactly how licensing rules work, including how to obtain a license.
2. Obtain one.
3. Find out how relationships with breweries work, and develop one or more such relationship
4. Look at available locations - there are more than average just now as many pubs won't be reopening after the lockdown.
5. Understand, for your preferred locations, who your customers will be.
6. Develop a clear idea of what your pub will look like, why people will go there, what their experience will be, what your pricing will be like, what kinds of things will you stock.
7. Research, and gain and understanding of, recruiting and managing people.
8. Build a business plan to validate your ideas. You will also need one if you require finance of any kind.
9. Put together a robust shareholder or partnership agreement with your friend. Make sure you cover the severance arrangements should one of you want to quit.
10. Consider contingency arrangements - what will you do if there is another lockdown.

Those will be a starter. It does sound all a bit heavy, but that kind of groundwork solves many challenges later. It will either put you off the whole idea, or begin to clarify in your mind how you might make this thing work.

 

[Casey Jade]

The start is, I am afraid, a lot of really tedious research.

You need to:

1. Find out exactly how licensing rules work, including how to obtain a license.
2. Obtain one.
3. Find out how relationships with breweries work, and develop one or more such relationship
4. Look at available locations - there are more than average just now as many pubs won't be reopening after the lockdown.
5. Understand, for your preferred locations, who your customers will be.
6. Develop a clear idea of what your pub will look like, why people will go there, what their experience will be, what your pricing will be like, what kinds of things will you stock.
7. Research, and gain and understanding of, recruiting and managing people.
8. Build a business plan to validate your ideas. You will also need one if you require finance of any kind.
9. Put together a robust shareholder or partnership agreement with your friend. Make sure you cover the severance arrangements should one of you want to quit.
10. Consider contingency arrangements - what will you do if there is another lockdown.

Those will be a starter. It does sound all a bit heavy, but that kind of groundwork solves many challenges later. It will either put you off the whole idea, or begin to clarify in your mind how you might make this thing work.

Thank you so much for your response! It is very helpful.

 

[IanSuth]

Around where i am in Berkshire there are a few types of licenced premises

1. Local boozers - unless they have a very very loyal clientele/are miles from any others these struggle, you need clubs/groups meeting on dead nights like Mondays to keep taking up (this includes the few remaining social/working mens clubs

2. Gastro Pubs - generally used to be a country local but too far from enough customers given modern drink drive laws so they only survive by being food led (I have a mate who runs one of these, he says the min figures are fixed costs can be no more than 40% of takings to break even and that is with an owner doing the cooking and family behind bar). Depends on the quality of the chef and competition locally as to whether you will do well

3. Town centre vertical drinking establishments (the councils definition not mine), these seem to last about 2 years then shut refurb and reopen under a new name with the same mgt, basically a clique /social; group forms in a new bar, drinks there for about 18 mths, moves on to next big thing and bar has to reinvent itself for the next wave. Always seem to have promotions on (so guess lots of sweet deals with suppliers), have to have lots of cctv and security to meet council regs and I am amazed they make any money (nearly all are part of chains)

4. Brewery Taps - the latest and I think only one making nay money, generally in an industrial estate. Brew beer and sell it on premises, no distribution costs and generally sell for at least the same as a pub price - BUT really depend ona good product which generates a buzz with the local either CAMRA drew or Hipsters (think treble brewed, marshmallow infused quad hopped Citra IPA pretentiousness)

There is no crossover between the above and the only exception i can think of is Wetherspoons which is basically a supermarket of pubs and you are not going to be able to compete with them on buying power so don't try

Decide which of those you are thinking of being and plan/research accordingly

 

[NorfolkGuy]

Hello,

I’ve not been on here for a long time but the vitriolic comments haven’t ceased I see! To be constructive....sign up with find my pub and talk
To them at length, there are many different options available with pubs (even more so now!) sounds to me, if you’re serious, is talking to them about taking on a pub owned by a brewery because the support is excellent!

We’re half way through taking a pub on! It’s exciting! Don’t be put off by the bureaucracy, there’s support there.

Ben