considering opening a pub

Smurray23

Hi all..... just dipping my toe in... New to all this...
I am in the early stages of looking into opening up my own pub and just looking for advice/input from people with experience in this field.
I'm looking at renting rather than buying.
Small town place.
Does anyone know if a premises advertised as fully licensed does this mean I don't have to shell out for one personally??
Would like to look into craft beer and micro brewery's. ....
Also is the best suppliers will do is COD or do any operate on credit??
All these and many more questions need answering.... so please don't hold back... just lay off the negativity
Thanks in advance. ....

paul7g

I don't know much about this area at all... but the very best of luck with it, fair play to you.

I would recommend popping into several different bars similar to what you desire and speak with the managers, the bar staff, and the owner if possible. Get as much feedback as you can in terms of running the bar on a day to day basis and the background mechanics of such a business.

You don't have to tell them that you are thinking of opening a bar but you'll get a good feel for what's involved and any surprise costs etc...

Best of luck.

thecommander

Have you ever worked in a pub before?

D Hayes

There was a similar topic here around a year ago - may be of use:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=93082090

ironclaw

thecommander wrote: »

Have you ever worked in a pub before?

Unless you have this or someone who has, then don't even get started. Its a very unique business. And footfall, you need it by the bucket load. No point having craft and microbrewery if your clientele want a Guinness and a turf fire. Its really about the market around you. Many pubs in Ireland can't turn a profit as its a industry very much in decline from cheap drink at home booze and, to some extent, the smoking ban. If a pub is for sale, I'd be asking why. A good pub is a nice little money earner.

If you are in a town, you'd probably want to be serving food. If you are, the town will need to support you as if you are bypassed by a major road, people won't stop. Plenty of smaller pubs serving great food went under when the likes of the M4 opened. Failing this, you'd want to be sitting in a tourist spot and again serving food. There are some obscure pubs well off the beaten track that people track to for food, I'd suggest reviewing this avenue. In my opinion, craft beers etc won't draw people if they have to drive, you'd want to be in a large town or city for that to work, and near the centre to boot.

Bicky

Does anyone know if a premises advertised as fully licensed does this mean I don't have to shell out for one personally??

You wont need to buy a license. This is on the property. You will need to make an application to the district court and have fire clearance certs etc. Then you will need to renew the license which will cost you court fees plus solicitor fees.
Fully licensed means the property is licensed to sell beer and liqour, both to the on, and off trade, as opposed to say a restaurant license which only allows for the sale of beer and wine with strict and specific conditions.

Also is the best suppliers will do is COD or do any operate on credit??

If you own the premises you will get credit from Diageo, Heineken, Gleesons, Counterpoint etc with a settlement discount on prompt payment. However as a lessee you will be expected to pay COD and roughly ten euro extra per keg from a cash and carry.

Would like to look into craft beer and micro brewery's. ....

You requested no negativity but i have to say craft beers are not really the nuts and bolts of the publicans business. They have a high cost price and small suppliers simply cannot match the promotional offers of the larger distributors. Craft certainly has a place in the market and a growing share, but "small town place" needs to focus on the diageos and Value segment(carling,fosters etc). A rep told me last week that 1 in 5 lagers sold in Ireland now is a "value product"

Anyway you can do it if you put your mind to it, its not rocket science, but it takes dedication for relatively little financial reward. Any more specific quesitons just ask

Ubbquittious

How much is a pub license these days to buy?