Opening a new bar is a big undertaking, and there’s a lot for prospective bar managers to consider. From writing a business plan and purchasing the right equipment to investing in technology and hiring staff, you’ll have a lot on your plate. With this essential checklist for opening a bar, you can rest assured that you’ll be ready for your grand opening.
The first step on any checklist for opening a bar should be writing a business plan. This itself can act as your bar checklist, providing a complete roadmap for your new business and setting out your financial goals and objectives.
If you’ve never written a business plan, don’t worry — you can use online templates and software to plan the structure and layout. As a starting point, your business plan should include:
An executive summary: This brief overview of your business plan will summarize everything you want to say and provide a rundown of your operations.
Your bar’s concept: You need to set out your plan for what kind of bar you want to create — will it be a sports bar, a wine bar, a craft beer bar, or something else? This will form the basis for your overall branding, including your bar’s name.
Your target demographic: Use your bar concept to sketch out an idea of the potential customers you want to attract. It may be helpful to conduct market research to help you — think about who you want to drink at your bar and how you can adjust your business structure to ensure your bar appeals to them.
A detailed budget: List all the startup costs and ongoing operating costs you’ll have to pay and consider what prices you’ll have to set to ensure good profit margins.
A marketing strategy: Marketing your new business is essential if you want a successful bar. Your marketing plan will likely change over time. Still, it’s a good idea to include some preliminary advertising and marketing ideas in your business plan to ensure you have customers on opening night.
When you’ve compiled a thorough business plan, you can use this to form the basis of your own checklist for opening a bar. The business plan might change as you progress, but you can easily update it later to reflect your new ideas and vision.
Business owners have so much to consider when opening a new bar; it can take a lot of time to organize yourself before your opening day.
We’ve put together a pre-opening checklist to help you stay organized. You can adjust it to match your business needs or use it as a step-by-step guide to opening a bar.
You won’t be able to open a new bar without funding, so start by looking for investors or applying for a small business loan. Search for loan providers with the US Small Business Administration (SBA) or find an angel investor to provide the necessary funds.
Choosing the right location for your new bar is a crucial step. You’ll want to find a high-footfall area — accessibility is vital as it makes it more likely that new customers will pop in on a whim. You’re less likely to attract customers if they have to drive out of the city center and find somewhere to park.
When you’ve rented or bought your business premises, you’ll need to kit it out with equipment. Your bar inventory list should include the following:
Glassware
Cocktail shakers
Blenders
Coolers
Straws
Napkins
Kegs
An ice machine
Refrigerators and freezers
Dishwashers or glasswashers
In addition, you’ll need to purchase the drinks themselves, including alcohol, mixers, and any garnishes.
If you plan to offer food service, you'll also need kitchen equipment, like appliances, pots, pans, plates, and cutlery.
It’s also a good idea to work with an interior designer to install decor that matches your bar’s concept or theme. Try to create an atmosphere that your future customers will love!
You must apply for a business license before you open your bar. If you fail to do this, you could be liable to pay a large fine and risk losing your business before it starts generating a profit. Check your local regulations to ensure you comply with any legal requirements in your area.
In addition to a business license, you’ll need a liquor license to serve alcohol, plus a health permit. You’ll also need a food handler’s permit if you want to offer food.
Another critical stage of your bar checklist is developing a system for receiving customer orders. The simplest method for taking orders in a bar is often verbal — customers can directly ask the bartender for the drink they want. However, if you run table service, you’ll need to set up another system. A simple pen-and-paper system could work if you’re on a tight budget, but mobile point-of-sale systems offer a more comprehensive solution.
You can use a point-of-sale system (also known as a POS system) to help simplify your ordering system and process customer payments. A bar POS system is like a high-tech cash register that can also keep track of sales data and inventory. Your staffers use it to process cash, card, or contactless payments, and the software automatically collates your sales data.
POS systems can also work with self-service software like KioskBuddy. Self-service could be a great option if you don’t have the budget to hire multiple staff members. Customers can place and pay for their drinks orders at the self-ordering kiosk, leaving bartenders free to make and serve drinks. It’s easy to set up self-service orders with KioskBuddy — you just need a tablet, the KioskBuddy app, and any Square payment hardware like the Square Kiosk to get started.
Finding the right staff is another important step on any checklist for opening a bar. You’ll want to hire experienced bartenders who are knowledgeable about the drinks you serve. For example, if you specialize in craft beer, ensure your bartenders know about different types of beers. If you open a wine bar, consider hiring a sommelier to develop an appealing wine list.
As a bar owner, you’ll also want to ensure you have a good management team to keep things running smoothly when you're not there.
Marketing is a crucial step for any new business, and you’ll need to drum up some interest in your bar before you open your doors to customers. You can easily use social media to start getting people interested in your new venture, but it’s a good idea to employ local advertising channels to spread the word better and boost your bar profits more quickly.
Remember to continue marketing your bar once you’re open. Most bars run happy hour promotions to encourage customers at less-busy times. You could also set up a loyalty program or run special promotions for holidays or weekends.
Opening your own bar involves juggling a lot of different tasks, but writing a thorough checklist can help you plan for what’s coming. Following our essentials checklist should ensure you have the equipment and tools needed to deal with anything that comes your way before your bar opening.
To simplify your payment processes and ordering system, you can use KioskBuddy to set up a self-service kiosk in your bar. Turn your tablet into an easy-to-use self-ordering device that lets customers order and pay for drinks in just a few taps.
Sign up for KioskBuddy today and enjoy a 30-day free trial.