Buying a bar??? Thoughts on this??? (credit, lawyer, license, financial)

[GiantRutgersfan]

Property media


This is a link to pictures of it.

$160,000 and comes with liquor license.

Is there anyway that this could be a bad investment? I mean a bar of that size would only take 1 or 2 employees at a time to operate. Bartenders dont need to make that much money either since they make their $ in tips.

1700 square feet. $4000 in taxes annually.

I have a BA so I could get a good paying job besides the bar if necessary.

I dont mind working hard, but I dont see how it could backfire at all.

[Waterlily]

A lot of it may depend upon the location. We don't know if it's in a big city or an out of the way area.
Can you get a look at their books for the past couple of years to see how much money the business made?

[wankel7]

I guess things to think of are .... run a search for the old bar name. See what kind of customer reviews you can find for the old place. That could give you a good basis of what went right and wrong there.

I would also check out the area at night, quiting hours, and especially on the weekends to see what kind of foot traffic you have around that bar. Also, it would not hurt to knock on some doors and ask questions about what they know of the bar. What is the parking situation there? Is parking easy? Can you smoke in a bar in NJ? No? Is there a good place outside people can light up and stay warm? Maybe heat lamps.

There are plenty of things that can go wrong. But mainly it would start with the people you hire. If you don't hire good people to pour the drinks nobody will want to come back. You need to find some really good folks or just some hot girls. But if you can find both How are you going to price the drinks. How much does it cost to buy the booze? Are you going to have tap beer or just bottles?

I would make sure you have some good cheap food to get people in and then they will take to the boozing with a full stomach so they can drink more before they get blitzed.

Maybe stuff like good happy hour specials and maybe some weekday texas holdem tournaments or some live music.

I would try to figure out what type of customers you want. Young, old, or come one come all. So you can focus on advertising or just in decorating the place to suit your target customer. I guess you can find out what the average age of people are in a couple mile radius to start off.

Also, it could not hurt to check out bars yourself on a weekend in the area to see what is working and what is not working.

Anyways good luck with it!

[GiantRutgersfan]

Originally Posted by wankel7

I guess things to think of are .... run a search for the old bar name. See what kind of customer reviews you can find for the old place. That could give you a good basis of what went right and wrong there.

I would also check out the area at night, quiting hours, and especially on the weekends to see what kind of foot traffic you have around that bar. Also, it would not hurt to knock on some doors and ask questions about what they know of the bar. What is the parking situation there? Is parking easy? Can you smoke in a bar in NJ? No? Is there a good place outside people can light up and stay warm? Maybe heat lamps.

There are plenty of things that can go wrong. But mainly it would start with the people you hire. If you don't hire good people to pour the drinks nobody will want to come back. You need to find some really good folks or just some hot girls. But if you can find both How are you going to price the drinks. How much does it cost to buy the booze? Are you going to have tap beer or just bottles?

I would make sure you have some good cheap food to get people in and then they will take to the boozing with a full stomach so they can drink more before they get blitzed.

Maybe stuff like good happy hour specials and maybe some weekday texas holdem tournaments or some live music.

I would try to figure out what type of customers you want. Young, old, or come one come all. So you can focus on advertising or just in decorating the place to suit your target customer. I guess you can find out what the average age of people are in a couple mile radius to start off.

Also, it could not hurt to check out bars yourself on a weekend in the area to see what is working and what is not working.

Anyways good luck with it!

The bar is in a town of about 20,000 people in Warren County which is somewhat rural. Its specifically in Phillipsburg, which is on the PA border near the city of Easton PA.

$160,000 for the building and liquor license isn't much in my opinion. I would have fun running the bar as well. looks like it is in good shape too and wouldnt require much improvements or anything like that.

[killer2021]

If you have a passion for the business I'd do it. There will always be plenty of drunks to give you business.

Only advice to you is to add a good sign to it. Looks like a church right now lol

[cpg35223]

The only advice I'd offer are the following:

1) Have a real-deal inspector go through the building, not your brother-in-law who does contracting on the side. It's no bargain if there are structural problems that aren't apparent to the naked eye.

2) Make sure the corporate taxes are paid up fully. Perform your due diligence with a D&B. In fact, to avoid any issues like that, I would have it be an asset sale only (If you could get the liquor license anyway without having to actually buy his company), so that you don't inherit the company's credit problems, etc. etc. etc.

3) Don't skimp on a lawyer or an accountant. Trust me on this. They'll save your bacon if something goes wrong.

4) One other thing. If you own a business like a bar, you have to be at the bar at all times, unless your wife works there. Bars have the nasty tendency to go out of business because the inventory is so hard to measure and so much of it is cash only. So, unless you have a very, very honest bartender as an employee, you're likely to experience money going into his pocket rather than in the till. That's why really successful places have a person who does nothing all night but watch the bar. In fact, I was friends with a successful bar/restaurant owner years ago, and she showed up every night, and sat at the end of the bar with an adding machine--lest somebody try to steal her blind. She fired more than one bartender for sticking the money in his pocket.

[8 SNAKE]

Originally Posted by GiantRutgersfan

Property media


This is a link to pictures of it.

$160,000 and comes with liquor license.

Is there anyway that this could be a bad investment?

There's absolutely no way that anyone here could tell you whether that's a good investment or not, given the information provided. Pictures are nice, but financial statements and a comprehensive review of that specific market are needed to make any educated statements about the business.

Have you ever worked in a bar or run a business before?

[8 SNAKE]

Originally Posted by GiantRutgersfan

I dont mind working hard, but I dont see how it could backfire at all.

This statement worries me a great deal. If you can't see any downside risk at all, you're either not looking for one or you don't fully understand the business. Either way, it's a very, very dangerous position to be in. I'm all for being passionate about a business and working for success. At the same time, you've got to be a lot more realistic and objective in your approach.

[GregW]

My wife's grandfather foreclosed on a bar in the 1930's when his bank failed. The family made it through the depression on the profits from general misery.

If you buy a bar in NJ think about who you would really be working for. IMHO this is a run away while you still can investment

[Padgett2]

A bar with only 1 or 2 employees is just asking for trouble.
Are you physically able to stop two drunks from fighting and breaking up things?
Bars are favorite prey for the beginning hold-up hoodlum. Do you think you could face down a gun?
Someone has to watch the bar while you grab a meal, take a leak, check in new stock, keep track of inventory.
Who will clean up restrooms, vomit, and urine? Drinkers get the trots and can't aim worth a hoot.....are you prepared to clean up after them? You can't leave it until a cleaning crew comes.

Running a bar is a lot more than pouring drinks and smiling at the customers.