Taking on Bar Lease - are we crazy?!

Bandara

You need to stand back and take the emotion and excitement and fear out of his.

You don't know what your doing. Thats fine, once you realise that you can move to rectify it.

Your being offered this bar because the previous experienced bar operator couldn't make money in it. And its now on your lap as everyone else has refused it and t it's rolling downhill looking for someone to take a punt on it.

Your lack of a grasp of the business side of it is coming across very strong here. You say you know the bar business ? It really doesn't come across like this.

The people trying to let this place are desperate to get rid, they are lying that there is no accounts done as if they showed you the actual accounts you would run a mile. To get an increase of 15% on a business is incredibly hard to do.

You need to stop, think of the overall picture.

Take it by all means, but take it on your terms. Insist on a lease with a one year no penalty break clause, insist on three months rent free, front loaded.

Insist on the fire certs, all applicable licenses, etc etc being in place and up to date.

If they waver on anything just walk away. It doesn't sound like a business you should be going into to be brutally honest. You can't give one single positive about the place so far. Imho your trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, but give it a go if you want, but have your exit plan firmly in place.

Good luck either way. It takes balls to make the leap, well done

beertons

I wouldn't take on a bar doing 1k a week. You'll be working for free, then will have to dig into savings for the shortfall. That's €142 a day. Find a bar doing 5k minimum. You'll pay more rent, but be a lot busier.

EndaHonesty

catman77 wrote: »

thanks again for all the feedback - much appreciated

Is the pub the Hamlet in Grange?

http://www.daft.ie/limerick/commercial-property-for-rent/restaurant-hotel-bar-for-rent/the-hamlet-grange-kilmallock-limerick-346037/

A good rule of thumb would be paying a rent of approx. 10% of net turnover.

So to pay €1,200 per month you'd have to be taking in €12,000 + VAT per month.

€3,400 per week gross.

The proposed new laws about drink driving are going to hit rural pubs hard.

catman77

No but will have a look, thanks for info

jennyhayes123

I live rural, the local do lifts home at end of night, if possible do this, makes us go and no arguing over who has to drive. Means both of us get to have a drink

jennyhayes123

P.s good luck. Hope it works out

Jodotman

Sky Sports/BT etc would be around 10K a year for a rural pub.

If you didn't mind running people home if witnghin a few miles at closing would be a big help.

jimd2

Sorry OP but I think that you are letting your heart rule your head with this one. As others have said the lack of accounts is a big red flag.

All i could suggest is to e facilitated with rent free for the first 3 months to allow you to get on your feet and invest in building up the trade.

Miaireland

catman77 wrote:

Thanks for the reply's - the bar is not set up for food but hoping to do sandwiches / platters for the customers when games are on - maybe get some good coffee and do scones / cakes to temp some people in Plan to do quiz / darts / pool / cards nights - I've played music in pubs before so I can hop outside the bar sometimes the bar is only open a few hours a week at the moment, but have see the sales for 2015 - no proper accounts from the past few years Have been hoping to do this for years and this place ticks many boxes for us - but scary being so close to taking the leap!

I am not trying to be negative but the first thing I would do is research how much it would cost to bring the kitchen up to a standard that it complies with regulation to serve food to customers. Also investigate how much Sky Sports (as a business package) will cost.Add on light, heat, insurance, tax, stock etc And remember this is before you take a wage for either of you.

commonsense.

Apart from the economics of the situation, this will likely involve a lifestyle shift for both of ye. So there will be major quality of life issues to be considered.
You both will be working evenings and weekends. Every evening and every weekend.
FInancials aside this needs careful consideration.

54and56

clintondaly wrote: »

Encourage any local groups or clubs to use it too,get involved in the community if not already.
If they see you making an effort with regards some support for the community people tend to return the favor

Build a genuine relationship with the local community. Build a Facebook page and offer a free coffee/tea to people who "like" the page. That will quickly build a very useful database of customers you can market directly to e.g. special offers for rugby/GAA matches etc.

Also, you'll be able to see when "friends" of the page have birthdays etc coming up so you can treat them to a drink or reach out and offer them a free platter of sandwiches if they want to host a party with friends for their birthday.

Find out what local groups and charities are active and reach out to them. Offer to host their coffee mornings. Frozen par bake muffins and croissants etc can be very good. They are easy to make (whack them in the oven for X minutes) and are very profitable.

Put on interesting talks/presentations by local historical society on quiet weekday nights, have an open music session the first Thursday of every month where all musicians are welcome.

Put signs up on busy nearby roads (legally, ask farmers for permission) highlighting that there is excellent coffee, pastries and sandwiches just X hundred metres that way ->

Make sure your toilets are genuinely clean and comfortable to use. I'll frequently use a bar for coffee on my travels but if the toilets are smelly and dirty I won't be back, no matter how good the coffee/food is.

ironclaw

The family has been in the pub trade for many years and we have one location on a main road via the midlands. Before you consider signing a lease, go work in a pub for at least a year. Do you know how to clean beer lines? Can you make drinks? Can you negotiate with drink company reps? Can you keep conversation with a local farmer who's only interest is hay bales? Can you deal with someone who is drunk and disorderly? Have you a good raport with the local Gardai? Whats the security of the location like? How will you deal with cash if you have a busy night? Are you ready to go to bed at 3am, nigh every night, and get up at 8am to clean the place and be ready to open for the passing trade you want to capture with coffee etc? Can you afford the food safety standard requirements? Have you ever lived over a noisy pub and tried to get some sleep?

Can't stress enough not to work with your wife or any family member for that matter. Especially in a pub. Its a really bad idea. Business is between partners. You might be friends but you want the ability to have a strong disagreement and shake hands the next day, you can't do this with family, wives or siblings.

I could go on but those are what come to mind straight off the bat and there are a million more questions. The only rural pubs doing well are those offering entertainment and good, proper food. You could do a decent trade in the summer if you had a large car park (Another requirement) and perhaps a place for kids to play while the parents had lunch. But do you see the common theme? Food. Thats all well and good in the summer, but what about a cold, dark January afternoon? You'll be empty unless you build a rep as somewhere that is worthwhile to go to for lunch. People will travel for good food, I can name at least 4 multimillionaire turn over locations in our direct locality, but you won't survive just opening your doors to offer a pint, sandwich and tea. Sorry, you just won't.

irishgeo

Does the local A have a gaa or soccer club. Maybe try and get in touch and offer some sponsorship. The clubs players might stop on the way back from a match etc. Don't forget to setup free WiFi.

BLACKEN

ironclaw wrote: »

The family has been in the pub trade for many years and we have one location on a main road via the midlands. Before you consider signing a lease, go work in a pub for at least a year. Do you know how to clean beer lines? Can you make drinks? Can you negotiate with drink company reps? Can you keep conversation with a local farmer who's only interest is hay bales? Can you deal with someone who is drunk and disorderly? Have you a good raport with the local Gardai? Whats the security of the location like? How will you deal with cash if you have a busy night? Are you ready to go to bed at 3am, nigh every night, and get up at 8am to clean the place and be ready to open for the passing trade you want to capture with coffee etc? Can you afford the food safety standard requirements? Have you ever lived over a noisy pub and tried to get some sleep?

Can't stress enough not to work with your wife or any family member for that matter. Especially in a pub. Its a really bad idea. Business is between partners. You might be friends but you want the ability to have a strong disagreement and shake hands the next day, you can't do this with family, wives or siblings.

I could go on but those are what come to mind straight off the bat and there are a million more questions. The only rural pubs doing well are those offering entertainment and good, proper food. You could do a decent trade in the summer if you had a large car park (Another requirement) and perhaps a place for kids to play while the parents had lunch. But do you see the common theme? Food. Thats all well and good in the summer, but what about a cold, dark January afternoon? You'll be empty unless you build a rep as somewhere that is worthwhile to go to for lunch. People will travel for good food, I can name at least 4 multimillionaire turn over locations in our direct locality, but you won't survive just opening your doors to offer a pint, sandwich and tea. Sorry, you just won't.

You come across as someone who knows their ****. If i knew who you were i'd buy you a pint. :-)

Pivot Eoin

Considering your Rural setting, to be a financial success, you're going to have to think outside the box.

In the short term I would make your goals:

- Knock on door of every house within a few KM and personally invite them to the opening.
- Undercut any competitors price on the Pint of Guinness at least for a while, and make this known!
- As someone suggested earlier, align yourself with a transport company to ferry people home.

Medium term:

- Not sure how savvy the area is but Push for Google Reviews so your Bar looks like the best one with most reviews when people look for a bar in the area

- Develop your own USP - What will your bar offer that no other bar's close by will offer?

- Make it gimmicky, and slowly build it into somewhat of a tourist attraction, build on it's strengths (It's a farm Pub basically, maybe Farm animal Museum kinda thing?) make it visible on places like Trip Advisor and Irish tourist info websites, dont make it a Place for people to come to in the area, Make it THE REASON people come to the area.

Best of Luck - please keep us all up to speed on progress.

Bandana boy

If your not working now then it might be worth taking on to get yourself back to work but you would need to do a business plan of what activities you are planning to do , the cost of each and what volume of business you hope each will bring in.

It is 100 Euro profit per week needed to pay the rent.
What wage are you willing to work full time for per week ?
What wage will your partner need to justify working part time in the pub on top of her current job?
Are you planning on working 7 days a week 52 weeks a year ?
If not then you need to factor in wages for staff.
What cost will it take to get the Pub kitchen compliant for serving food ?

All of this can seem daunting but a good robust business plan will guide you in your decision.

sword1

Op has not posted in nearly two months, so I guess they are either leasing a bar now or not.