buying a bar

[allanjustallan]

Am just about to close on a small bar in Northern Cali, no big price tag its going to run about 100,000 for land and building along with onsale and offsale licence.

So far dealing with the abc has been a real pleasure, they have been very helpful and useful, and the investigator that I have got is a really nice guy as well.

Just talked to the guy who owns the pool table plus juke box and other assorted entertainment in the bar, its a fifty split with the exception of the juke box which rents for 320 a month.

why dont bar owners simply buy their pool tables and other entertainment facilities, does anyone own theirs and does it make more sense to purchase?

Thinking of putting tile into the restrooms and behind the bar, have been in old bars before where the only thing still new looking was the tile floor, any thought or suggestions on flooring for restrooms, behind bar and in main area, where people also dance, no formal dance area in other words.

Many more questions but dont want to ask two much at once,

Allan.

[wygk]

If you go with tile, try to get the kind that has pigment throughout the clay, rather than just a surface glaze color. That way, the inevitable chips won't show as much. Even more important, ask your tile setter about grout sealer, and mix a fungicide with the grout, to avoid the grout getting stained or mildewed.

[ministry]

for alot of guys ( including me ) when we were building there was not alot left over to spend 2500 on a pool table or 10k on a video game. it is alot cheaper to go the way of a split. there really is no down side to letting someone else buy it for you. now if it is a very busy table, simply have them pull it out after you are open a while and have some cash flow going and buy it yourself.

[Falcon]

I own my pool tables but work a split on everything else the technology in bar tops and Jukes and the like changes too fast for me to want to keep up with upgrades and repairs keep your floors in high splill areas simple and swabbable I like a cement floor behind the bar with comfy mats for the tenders that can be pulled and cleaned once a week. for the bathrooms, what ywgk said. oh and (I think you could do better on the Juke unless its gonna be doin a thousand a month) good luck

[Baudtender]

Part of this, at least, I have some thoughts about:

The 50% (and I have a lot to say about that number a bit later) of the coin-op split you are giving away to an operator pays for:

1) Repairs and maintenance (not trivial: how much does it cost to re-felt a pool table and do you have a source that can get that sucker back up in a day or two (don't forget that you also have to provide sticks and cue/hand chalk, bridges, stand for the cuestics, etc?)) Ever priced a touchscreen for a Megatouch when some jerk punches it?, Do you know how to troubleshoot a classic Pac-Man motherboard or re-cap the monitor? The latest machines get more rugged, but I'm confident your customers will prove themselves worthy of representing thermodynamic bothers concerning entropy and decay.

2) Moving them in and out. Depending on your physical layout, this can be a GIANT pain. Come to think of it, even on flat ground, moving coin-ops is a GIANT pain.

3) Replacing stale machines with fresh ones, and providing updates (you should see what they pay to make a Golden Tee 2004 into a 2005, or update to the latest ang greatest Megatouch version) to existing moneymakers. Go price a Dance Dance Revolution. Price a Golden Tee 2005 and the latest Megatouches. For jukes, this also means updating the music.

4) Dealing with the other coin-op guys in the business (depending on where you live, this ranges from Sopranos to just-plain-cutthroat.)

5) Providing and renewing any and all local, state and/or government stickers, and ASCAP/BMI/SESAC royalties for music boxen.

6) Expert advice about in-house location. We've had machines that got moved from one corner to another that picked up better that 200% income in one month. They worry about that stuff at night, you don't. Don't get me wrong - a lot of coin-op venders would love to put a Megatouch/Poker/Cherry bartop in front of every barstool, but these things have big footprints and are exceptionally intrusive to what the people behind the bar are trying to do.

Before you start pricing machines on eBay or local auctions (and they are both plentiful and disceptively CHEAP,) recognize this: lots of amusement companies will flat out refuse to service you if you try to work both sides of the fence with them (exceptions: gumball machines and bathroom medicine/condom machines can usually be worked out as being non-competitive.) If you're thinking about bringing in your own machines, clear it with them first.

My advice:

1) By yourself a 3-brand or better gumball machine off of eBay, buy the junk to stock it with from a local Sam's Club. Put it right next to the front door or real close to the exit route from the bar. Price it at 25 cents and sit back and prepare to be amazed at how fast it pays itself back with very little interaction from the owner. LISTEN: NO BUSINESS OWNER SHOULD EVER ALLOW A THIRD PARTY GUMBALL MACHINE IN THEIR BUSINESS. (These machines are generically known as "gumballs", but can also dispense Peanut or regular M&M's, Runts, Mike & Ike's, etc. - AND SHOULD.) I have never in any property I own made less from one of these machines than to pay for one really nice vacation.

2) If you have a guy who will re-felt it and can move it (they are deadly heavy) then the next machine you want to own is a coin-op pool table. Beware that many amusement folks will NOT tolerate you competing with them. Some will. Do NOT buy one brand new - as long as you aren't shopping in the Christmas season you should be able to pick up a gorgeous table for less than half the price of new (my local guys told me yesterday they pay $1795 direct to Valley (the Cadlillacs) and less for a Dynamo.) That's for brand new with shipping included.

3) Foosball, Super-Chexx Hockey, and soft-tip darts (Arachnid brand is the only I'm familiar with) are then the next three things (in order) that I would tell you to buy, based on how easy they are to fix when things go wrong and how easy it is to buy parts online, if not local. Of course, you don't buy anything if they aren't bringing in big bucks. Route operators spread out their investment over many places, some hot, some not, and by rotating games when they get slow. You don't have that luxury unless you own several (ummm...many) stores.

4) Never, ever, ever buy a video game (this is easy advice since most of the hot cutting-edge money movers START at $6K-8K and quickly move to $15K-$20K+) unless it's a very popular classic, and you have a source set up to fix it for you. I can count the qualified of these on my fingers: (to wit: Pac-Man, Centipede, Galaga, Donkey Kong, Tempest, Gauntlet, Star Wars, Marble Madness, Asteroids.) This is my hobby (I own over 150 classic arcade games and wished to hell I collected stamps instead) and I can tell you these are a giant PAIN for a non-electronics-geek bar owner to keep running long enough to make them worthwhile.

5) Never let a coin-op guy hassle you for less than a 50/50 split on any machine, with the sole and ONLY exception of a cigarette machine. Cigarette machines you generally provide as a convenience to keep your customers in-place, and most of you would be smarter paying for a license (if required in your state) to sell a very few brands from behind the bar anyway. If you ever take less than 50/50 in the U.S.A., you are being played for a Rube. If you don't believe me, then spend a few bucks for a subscription to Replay magazine. There is simply no other machine, NOT the latest jukebox, NOT the latest bartop, NOT the latest golf game, nothing, nada, that you don't get 50% for. If they won't budge and they're the only game in town - tell 'em to F.Off because your uncle in Missouri owns a coin-op business and wants you to take it over and set it up in your new town, but you're thinking against it because your hands are full with your bar/club business -> the only thing that scares a coin-op company more than a savvy operator is new competition. Yes, and I say this quietly - that also goes for cherry and pokers.

6) As you contract with a company, part of your negotiations is how the money is to be counted. This is how it should work:
A) Collections are to be done on specified and agreed upon days and hours - do NOT let them come in on a whim or because "they're in the neighborhood" without notice and agreement.

B) Counts are to be done in full view of the owner. Counts are to be done for each machine individually (see D) below for the audit trail)

C) Coins are to be rolled, and bills are to be strapped.

D) There are to be mechanical play-counters (look like odometers) inside of each machine: DO NOT rely on video screen displays which can be easily adjusted by the machine owner - the owner should write down the play count each collection period to resolve their split as well as establish which machines are worthy of the real estate they are occupying.

E) Recognize that some machines (e.g Golden Tee and Megatouch) have national league capabilities (if you hook them up to a phone line or Internet connection) and these require payments to the machine developer that isn't part of your split. Go over this and understand it.

F) Don't be shy - ask your coin-op vender up front what the process is for you to have an off-night "Free Pool" or "Free Jukebox" promo. Mine says paint an "X" on the quarters and they separate those out and return them to me before the count-split. Hardasses may tell you no-way/no-how.

G) Recognize how much money your vender is spending on machines and be his buddy. Clean them, do not allow people to abuse them, treat them as if they're your own. BUT... do you REALLY need the latest internet-downloadable-jukebox that costs him $7000+ wholesale or do you just want one of the fifty wall or floormounted CD jukeboxes he has in his shop gathering dust? I don't like the internet downloadable boxes and wouldn't have one of them in any of my properties simply because I <----I <-----ME <-----OWNER decides what kind of music gets played here.

H) NEVER be afraid to tell the operator precisely what music you want and won't tolerate on your jukebox. NEVER allow new music to be put in your box without your approval (hint: NOT the daytime bartender's approval.) Ambient and active music has a HUGE effect on how customers perceive your business.

I) Take good advice from your coin-op venders about contests, tournaments and leagues, but be wary (wary, that is, not dismissing them out of hand) about those that are run by them. I've seen more than one league self-destruct that was run by the coin-op vender simply because they wouldn't settle disputes for fear of losing an account. Leagues run by coin-up venders mimic cheap bottle rockets - promising beginning, dissatisfying end. Sponsored contests or tournaments can be very profitable AND have legs.

O.K. - I say this with reservation - how much does a PlayStation 2 or XBOX cost with 2 or 3 good games and how much does an inFocus X1 cost to shine it onto an 8-foot diagonal screen? No quarters coming in (well perhaps, but that's up to you) but butts stuck on the barstools, eh? Strange as it sounds, many of us bar owners made lots of money from dart players long before the soft-tip dart machines started moving in.

I designed a concept where the pool, jukebox (my own mp3 touchscreen bar jukebox software), classic videos (some I owned plus some MAME machines) and pinballs, and home video arcade games were completely free. along with free broadband internet terminals around the bar and it worked on paper simply because most of us owners neglect to consider game income in our monthly budgets to begin with (unless were a big joint with lots of them or are running gambling machines.) Give it some thought. Sometimes I wonder just how much we owners know where our bread is buttered.

Give me 2 more beers and/or 2 more hours and I'll add another 25 paragraphs to the above. Meanwhile, I know that there's some smart operators here - what can you guys throw in?

And, oh yeah, I always do floor to ceiling ceramic tiles in my bathrooms - simply because it hits back. :-D

But never, ever, use the color white (including off-whites) in a bathroom anywhere except the ceiling. Bad strategy.

Think earthtones, black floor, dark colors low getting lighter as you go higher (and grout can and should be dyed, by the way.) Bathroom design is a subject for a different day. Whooeee could I write a few paragraphs on that...

Baudtender

[Falcon]

good info Baudtender I appreciate your indepth perspective and read every word since I have been coming here. I would like to say tho that I have a download type Juke It has over 2,000 tunes instantly available that I approved it also has 700,000 songs that can be down loaded within a matter of seconds, they cost the customer an extra credit. the juke box plays almost alla time these days and the proceeds have more than tripled

[allanjustallan]

I would really like to thank everyone who responded first of all, some really very interesting info.

Am just about to close, some minor/major things like sellers have more debts than the offering price and hope thats going to be ironed out in the next week.

Have met with local law enforcement, lucky enough the top guy here is someone I kinda knew long time ago when he was still new, but hes now in charge here and I really like and respect him and I got the message across that I intend to co-operate fully with them in getting problems reduced to a minimum.

Thanks for the restroom info, simply confirms my original thoughts about tile, its the best way to go I believe, and adds a touch of class at very little additional expense.

I believe ministry is right, owning ones own pool table is the way to go, but in the process I was offered an ultimatum, no private pool table or lose all the other machines which were in the bar, so now I have an empty bar and more time will have to be spent researching which machines to replace them with along with the additional expense.

Am going to get myself a gumball machine for sure, thanks baudtender, and I will explore further your other tips as well to see how they may fit into my current situation.

I would appreciate if you could give me more info on your internet jukebox falcon, sounds kinda interesting to me.

I also found out I have termites, yes indeed, just another small surpise along with the seller having a lot of outstanding bills.

Allan.

[Visual Magic]

There is boatload of good info in this thread concerning gaming tables. Some stuff I wasn't even aware of.
But the part about floors, I can turn you on to something really cool. It's called Acid Stain.
(First off though, I'm going to have to assume you are on a first floor or single story with a concrete foundation. You have to be on a concrete foundation for this info to be of any real value. If you aren't then this might be useful to others anyway)
This acid stain method is absolutely awesome. It started more in the residential market as an alternative to tile and/or carpet but has made a huge splash in the business industry. You can simulate all types of surfaces with this stuff on a concrete slab. You can even include logos and patterns permanently burned into the concrete itself. It is now being used for counter tops in homes and therefore could just as easily be used for Bar tops. That's where I want to go with this stuff. The grocery division of Wal-Mart is currently using it for a stone floor look. You can see some really good examples of its use at this link: www.acidstain.com
I'm learning more about how to do some of the higher end patterns and logos with this stuff so I can add it to the design elements I offer already. I'm really excited about the possibilities. Just thought you might want to look into it yourselves.

[allanjustallan]

Talk about plodding slowly forward, my quest to become owner of a bar has slowed to a glacial crawl.

The current owners have a negative net worth, and creditors with judgements against the bar total 12000 more than my purchase price. In order to close I was forced to send in an additional 12000 to pay their debts. My only justification is that 107 for a bar is still not all that much, but 95000 would have been soooo much better.

Have decided to buy much of my equipment via the internet to save money. Have settled on the top of the line sony speakers model save835, and augmented these with an additional two speakers from sony save831 which are simply carbon copies of the 835 sattelite speakers. This should work well with the sony reciever which has 5.1 or 7.1 output the model strde995.

Gonna call bigdealtv.com http://www.bigdealtv.com/policies.aspx on monday as a sign of my faith this bar deal will finally close after three tortourous months.

Have decided to get a pool table from global billiards manufacturing, the buckingham model seems just right for my bar decor. http://www.pool-tables.com/

Have also kinda decided on the top of the line pergo laminate flooring, pergo select, and buy it online as well cause the price seems very right at http://www.floorshop.com/Store/Subcategory.cfm?Pergo%20Select%20Planks&subcategoryID=234

Still researching vidio games and still not sure if I should demolish the bars old walk in freezer, its an electric hog and makes a whole part of the bar unusable.

Anyone having any ideas on freezers for bars and where to buy them I would love to hear from you please. Also if anyone has any better ideas about pool tables, flooring etc please let me hear your thoughts,

Allan.

[Falcon]

the fact that the sellers have run aground and owe more money should not be your problem. I bought my first business under simalar circumstances. if the owners could not sell at a loss they would have had to peice out everything at an auction just to satisfy their debts they made more money selling at a loss.

a walk in cooler is invaluable... if the refridge componants need up dating ("electricity hog") you will cut down on electric by making it more efficient at a lot less cost than demolishing replacing

next time I replace my pool tables I am going to try wranglers they are in all the trade mags and cost less than 2 grand shipped
that is if we are talking about coin ops... also pool halls that have been around for awhile know where there are great deals on used tables sometimes thay even have one or two stored... recovering costs anywhere from 200 to 350

Last floor I put in I used abs tiles cheap easy to clean looks great and relatively inexpensive. used a local guy who turned out to be a good man and brought me quite a bit of business this is true in a lot of the trades you will need to interact with... how much money is some internet salesman going to spend in your place?

if you have a 'touch tunes' rep in your area they supply your juke box and sound system with Bose surround sound at no cost to you... get your bar tops/videos from the same guy zero upkeep

money is an object

[Thomas]

Allen

Don't know the politics of cali bar life but a couple of points for you to ponder.

Do they have pool, dart, golf, foosball ect. leagues there?

Up here in the great white north we depend on leagues to fill up our slow times. A lot of these leagues are run by the vendors thus if you purchase these machines by yourself you could possibly be left out in the cold. Tournaments are also a big moneymaker. If I wish to run a pool tourny and need an extra table or two my vendor will make the arrangements. Same with dart boards. We're big on state dart and pool tournaments and to qualify league games must be played on vendor machines. The very wise Baudtender makes some excellent points. Develop a great releationship with the vendor and the return will more then makeup on the split. Remember this is a substantial investment on the vendors part. $30 - $40 k in equipment is an attainable figure on capitol investment of the vendor. Not sure of your finances but would rather hang on to the capitol for unforseen expinditures then spend foolishly at the beginning.

If it were me, I would let the vendor fill it with machines desired, keep count as Baudtender suggested and if you feel that you be better off owning your own profit centers, buy at that time. The vendor might even sell you the equipment instead of moving them.

Good Luck

Thomas

[Baudtender]

Some after-comments:

1) I really like that acid-stain idea - but I wonder how durable a polyurethane sealer would be in this environment. It only takes a nick or scratch in the sealer and any liquid is going to permeate the concrete and stain it from what I can see. Am I off-kilter here?

2) Over the years, I've used many different brands of coin-op pool tables and the only two that have held up exceptionally well are those made by Valley and Dynamo. A good investment (or part of the deal with the vender if one is placed on your site) is to get one of those table jacks with casters - makes it much easier when it's time to strip, wax, polish, etc your floors. On one smaller property, I used one of these to move the table out of the way on the nights we had entertainment or did banquets. It was a pain-in-in-rear to re-level the table after moving it, but at the time it was our best option. If it's fairly easy for you to move the light (e.g. drop ceiling) consider moving the table periodically - the feet will divet the flooring if it sits in one place for a long time.

3) Don't lose faith in your closing - I once made a ridiculously low offer on a property, and the first offer was accepted by a bank, rather than the owner, in 15 minutes (damn - wish I'd offered less!). It took 8 months to get everyone paid off (we got smart and used the same lawyer for both buyer and seller.) But it was worth it. My experience is that unless you have unlimited capital, profitable businesses are better made than purchased.

4) If you can get on Usenet or can figure out how to use http://groups.google.com (http://groups.google.com/groups?q=rec.games.video.arcade&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wg) (link goes to the relevant groups), check out the newsgroups:
rec.games.video.arcade
rec.games.video.arcade.marketplace
and
rec.games.video.arcade.collecting

There's a wealth of advice and counsel concerning oldie but goodie games (and more than a few moderns offered for sale) but of particular interest to you would be to inquire about coin-op auctions in your area. These guys know where they're at and you might just pick up a pool table, foosball, megatouch, jukebox, gumball, crane, classic vid or pinball at a fantastic price. I don't know why you don't see more plush cranes in bars/clubs (except for the large footprint) - these can be great money magnets for the rubes trying to impress chicks (and yes, sorry to burst anyone's bubble, but if you value your money, don't play these.) Reaction time games (such as Sports Arena (http://www.sammyusa.com/games/soldout/sports-arena.asp) are such a natural where alcohol is served it's nearly an embarassment. If you've got the space, a foldup good quality ping-pong table can also build up some devoted regulars. In spite of my original post warning, I have a Pac-Man machine that pulls in an amazing amount of money from the 35 years old and up crowd. Unless you're opening a bar in Berkeley, if you catch my drift, a shooting game (such as Police Trainer, Lethal Enforcer, or Deer Hunter) can also pull big bucks.

5) Make sure you know someone who can fix your machines. Realize that all pinballs are now classic, since they aren't made anymore.

6) Laminates such as Pergo or Mannington are expensive (compared to commercial vinyl tile,) but absolutely incredible how durable they are. On my last build-out, I got ahold of enough of a discontinued Mannington pattern for dirt cheap to do my restaurant floor and had enough left over to do a 30 seat bar. No one has yet found a way to stain (but I wouldn't try harsh chemicals or use it as a bathroom floor due to uric acid from urine inaccuracies), chip, dent, or cigarette burn it. The decision to use it was made after a carpenter let his freshly lit cigarette roll out of an ashtry onto the floor - it burned all the way down and it wiped up clean with just a rub or two - it's proven to be the best bartop surface I've ever seen (we just put it over the old wood with no pad and used a urethaned oak trim on the edges.) One caveat is that it probably wouldn't make a good dance floor surface. You're supposed to use a pad underneath the laminate - gives it a rather pleasant spongy feel - not sure how that would hold up to heavy equipment moving over it (bands, DJ, pool tables, etc.) One bonus is that when padded, glasses and bottles don't often break when dropped. Breakage is damned near a sure thing on vinyl tile over concrete - you get many years out of it, but stripping/sealing/waxing costs finally convinced me to invest in a highspeed buffer and do it ourselves.

7) Walk-in coolers are not designed to be frequently opened and closed - I do my best to limit access to no more than 3 times per day. If there's no way around it, make sure you install a plastic strip door inside to help out with the cooled air loss and humidity entry when the door is opened, or even better would be an air curtain blower. Perhaps you can get the cooler space out of your sales floor by moving the bulk of it outside so that only the door(s) are on your inside wall. If you can't move the sucker, have your carpenters build a new one to your specs (check out Thermax sheathing made by Celotex.) I'd sure recommend a stainless or thick aluminum sheet flooring with a 4" lip up the walls, but if that's too expensive for your budget, you can use a two-part epoxy enamel paint and resign yourself to repainting every year or so. The key to good performance and longevity with all refrigeration is to KEEP THE COILS CLEAN. I use a spray-on coil cleaner and do every coil in the building at least once per month (and more often in humid weather, when they have to work harder.) I've heard bar-lore about never cleaning dirty coils or the compressor will fail (it gets "used" to the dirt, so it goes) and can tell you that's utter nonsense, and at best a really bad and expensive excuse for laziness. Have a refrigeration tech come out and really service the compressor and evaporator units on ALL your refrigeration equipment and unless it's in really, really bad shape, you'll save a bundle in replacement costs.

I still agree with Thomas - except for a low-maintenance item like a gumball, I would much rather see you use a vender's equipment than buy it yourself out of the gate. Don't add any non-essential headaches to your opening year - trust me, you'll have enough. There's two ways I know to cure you of sleep - have a baby or open a bar (and God help you if you do like me and do them both simultaneously.)

Let us know of your progress!

Baudtender

[Visual Magic]

>>>1) I really like that acid-stain idea - but I wonder how durable a polyurethane sealer would be in this environment. It only takes a nick or scratch in the sealer and any liquid is going to permeate the concrete and stain it from what I can see. Am I off-kilter here?<<<

What actually colors the concrete is a chemical reaction. It burns in deep. You use wax inside. Just keep it mopped and waxed periodically and it lasts for years even in heavy traffic.

[allanjustallan]

Am just sitting here waiting for tomorrow to hear from Bret at the abc, todays his day off. Hope he tells me he sent in the final paperwork cause its now been close to 90 days and after sitting around now for a month doing nothing I am very ready to get back to a hard work situation.

You are a fountain of knowledge baudtender, and I also have appreciated all the other good advice as well from everyone else.

The walk in cooler I currently have has glass doors on side and the bartenders use this as their stock when a customer orders. Its old and uses up a lot of space as well. Was considering removing it and using something along this line http://www.bigtray.com/productdetails.asp!sku.TRUGDM72,catid.10120.html

Then using an underbar cooler like this as well http://www.bigtray.com/productdetails.asp!sku.TRUTD9538S,catid.10315.html

There is a possible place to put a walk in cooler that is out of the main customer area, would make the place look much better I believe and serve the same purpose.

I checked out the valley pool table, damn its so UGLY cant you reccomend something that looks better? but their foosball table looks good to me at first glance. I like the idea of a table jack, and am going to get one for sure.

Spoke to my accountant, he suggested I buy quickbooks http://quickbooks.intuit.com/ and this add on seemed kinda interesting to me as well.
http://quickbooks.intuit.com/commerce/catalog/category.jhtml?priorityCode=0273400000&categoryId=cat0000000000004331262&lid=ap

wonder if anyone uses point of sale software/hardware?

an update on the top of the line sony speakers, they are no longer available and it appears they are comming out with a new line called the save845 hope they become available soon.

Hey baudtender, I think your a really tough guy to be able to start a new bar and have a new kid at same time, lol, just hopes I dont get in the same sitaution.

I quit trucking and its 80 hour work week in order to have a life again, Money is not my real motivater anymore, just want to have something to do while I live in a really nice area, but being me I just love the mental challenge of learning something totally different.

All the best,

Allan.

[Falcon]

yer gonna need luck kid , here's wishin ya some

[allanjustallan]

When I became a stockbroker at 23 they, whoever they is said I would not succeed, guess what I stuck with it for 16 years and became a certified financial planner while working, when I got divorced and decided to become a trucker they said I would not last, four years later I quit on my own terms.

Thanks for your kind sentiments falcon I hope to make this succeed as long as I dont make any fatal mistakes. My financing is mostly cash, I have a huge credit line if need be, I dont depend on any of the expected cash flow from the bar for my personal needs.

They have said to me that I will either not make it or will lose my investment, I hope to prove them wrong, and try to have some fun doing it,

Allan.

[allanjustallan]

Just spoke to abc, gonna get my final go ahead sometime next week, boy am I ready for some hard work,

ON my agenda is termite extinction, sewage pipe removal and replacement, toilet replacement and new flooring, lucky my brother is a plumber. New bar equipment like pool table, sound equipment plus new computer and software.

Gonna be a steep learning curve for sure, about all I have going for me is its the only bar in town and I dont personally need any of the income which the bar generates.

I am getting excited but am also worried about the huge mountain I am going to have to climb,

Allan.

[Baudtender]

> ...about all I have going for me is its
> the only bar in town and I dont
> personally need any of the income
> which the bar generates.

The former is fantastic, the latter is presumptious. :D

If you take out your walk-in, where will you keep your working and/or staged draught beer kegs? Where will you stage (cool to stocking temperature) your bottled beer and takeout cans? Where will your bartenders sneak to smoke cigarettes. O.K., forget that last part. In a previous property, I had a self-contained draught box (refrigerated underneath for kegs and faucets on the top) and had to lug kegs and cases from my kitchen walk-in - IT SUCKED! But if you have no other better option, you do what you have to do. Knowing what I do now, I would never trade a properly designed and placed dedicated bar walk-in.

Now, I'll wisely defer to your aesthetic impression of the Valley pool table (notice I never said it or the Dynamo were particular good looking) - but I wonder, have you ever heard a fellow say "I ain't going there, their pool table is UGLY, man!" :)

I use two of the True glass door uprights (except mine are double door instead of triple, and are on either side of a 100" diagonal projection screen - neat layout for a horseshoe bar) - I use them mainly for my imports, microbrews, and to-go beer and use the deep bin beer coolers (like in your second link) for my fast-moving domestics (since I can stock a lot more of them at one time) and green/clear bottles.

Some suggestions:

First of all, on your glass door coolers, turn off the internal flourescent lights and leave them off - the blue spectrum skunks beer fast, ESPECIALLY clear and green bottles. In fact, beer hates light, so I never stock clear or green bottles in them at all, since ambient light is getting through the glass at all times. Bartenders can be lazy - make sure they practice proper stock rotation (new goes to the back) and placement (make a drawing or affix labels to the shelves) and they "face" the product (labels facing forward.) Watch out for the top shelves of these coolers - that's where the air from the evaporator blows and it freezes stuff easy - put your higher alcohol stuff on the top - never NA's unless you like cleaning up broken glass and beer muck from burst bottles. NEVER (and I mean post big signs on the glass doors) allow self-service from the uprights if you do to-go beer. Also make sure the doors close each and every time freely on their own (keep the rails clean and lubed) because these loose their cool real quick when a door is stuck open just a couple of inches.

Build a nice shelf or display case to show one of each bottle brand you serve, and print up a beer list (you can stick them in plastic table tents and distribute them around the bar and tables) to make up for the lack of customer view into the uprights (which ain't so good from behind the bar distance anyway.)

The deep-bin coolers:
I always save my cardboard beer cases and (flattened) use them to line the bottom of my deep bin beer coolers - they soak up broken bottle droppings and condensation and make removing broken glass and trash easier (amazing what you'll find down there.) At least once per week (and more often if I suspect theft or other shenanigans) during a stock-in, every bottle is pulled and counted (so I achieve true inventory counts - the rest of the week I'll just eyeball how much to bring in), the old cardboard is removed and the bottom is cleaned up, and new cardboard from the saved cases is put flat on the bottom (don't cover up the drain hole near the compressor or you'll get a real mucky mess on the bottom - this ritual will become clear some day when you have to throw away 6+ cases of really old beer bottles (per cooler) covered in ice and rust and sludge because everyone avoided dealing with the bottom rows.) New bottles are stocked in followed by the old, so I get proper inventory rotation. Keep to this ritual and you'll get many years of service out of these. Neglect them and the bottoms will rust out. Except for short rush periods and never on really humid days, I don't allow bartenders to run with the deep bin doors open - you don't lose cold air, but I notice a lot more condensation on the bottom when doing so.

Don't presume that your bartenders know how to properly stock a deep bin cooler - many don't and done improperly, you can't stock nearly as much in the same space and you get avalanches that cause broken bottles. If you're not sure how it's to be done (it varies as to the width you give a particular brand,) get someone knowledgable to show you (good daytime bartenders - the ones who usually have to stock - love to show off this skill, and it truly is one.) Likewise, train and insist that your bartenders completely remove each row before descending to the next. Short chicks hate deep bin coolers (hell, I'm 6'0" and it's a giant pain getting to the bottom row or two - if you have speed rails on the front of the cooler - a good idea - going deep can often mean a near nipplectomy from the pourers), unless they're gifted with cleavage/booty in which case their tips will increase with how far/deep they have to reach - don't shoot the messenger, it's science, dammit.

QuickBooks is just fine. A good POS system is not an option or a place to save money - it's an absolute necessity - PLEASE don't operate with a "glorified cigar box" type register with one key for Domestic Beer, another key for Imports, etc, and/or prices punched in by the operator. If you can't afford state of the art, see if you can grab some used Micros 2700's off of eBay (they're built like battleships, to the chagrin of Micros, because they have a helluva time upselling to the new expensive models to the people who own them) or from a refurbisher like this wonderful guy: refurbisher (http://www.nabgroupequipment.com/products.shtml).

Then have that sucker programmed so that EVERY product has it's own key so you can have inventory management that is actually useful (pay a CPA to train you in perpetual inventory and money handling/analysis - saves you a fortune later.) If you think all of your employees will be honest by nature, man are you in for a shock.

This ain't advice, it's gospel. There is no better way to sink your business faster than with crappy money and inventory management tools. Every bar/club owner that I've convinced to get rid of the cigar boxes and start practicing real inventory & money control has never seen less than a 25% increase in profits "magically" without increasing sales. I've seen 75% increases and wondered how the hell they survived beforehand. Now you say you don't need any of the income generated by the bar, but I'm confident (3 to 1 against you is a fair bet) that you'll never see any profit until you fight tooth and nail for it. If you want to be charitable and distribute that profit, that's up to you. Think about it - somewhere between 70% and 80% (depending on whose stats you buy) of new bar owners never see any income but instead bleed money to death. How many times will you need to put in another $25K to keep it afloat before you knuckle down? For my first bar/restaurant, the answer was twice in the first 18 months, and it HURT. Expensive education.

I appreciate the compliment, but I'm not as tough as you think - at 45 years old, my firstborn is now four years old and my second is 1 1/2 (by God, I am fertile, if nothing else.) I'm just now finalizing a lease with some new tenents for my last (and best) property - all the other ones were sold off. I'm still going to stay close and mentor them for at least the first year, but I want lots of time left in the day for going home, writing software (my first true love) and playing husband and daddy. Much easier getting a rent check than working for a living, at least until the boys are old enough to introduce to a commercial dishwashing machine - it's in my blood, man. :)


Good luck!

Baudtender

[allanjustallan]

You are a deep well of knowledge Baudtender, take some time off from writing software and write a book about running a bar.

You are smart to spend more time with your children now, once the hormones kick in(teen years) you can expect to lose them for six to ten years.

I usually think long and hard before I do anything irrevocable, so still thinking about the walk in, its not that big anyway and really destroys the ambiance of that part of the bar, as well as being wastefull of energy and space. Will make my final decision after more consideration but now leaning to keeping it.

Your info on keeping beer in top shape was right on the money, I came across this site and it mirrors what you said.
http://www.abwholesaler.com/eprise/main/SharedContent/BeerTender/beertender03.htm

Thanks for steering me in direction of micros unit, now I just have to find out how it interacts with quickbooks,

Allan.

[Baudtender]

As far as how the Micros 2700 interacts with Quickbooks - it doesn't directly. You can get an interface card (but it requires an ISA slot and Windows NT) and import the 2700's data into your PC, and there may be some third party software that will further massage into a format that Quickbooks will import, but there's little point as there are relatively few numbers coming from your POS that you need in your accounting software that would warrant more than hand-entering.

Now, inventory usage numbers are a different matter. Until I get the time to finish my own bar/restaurant inventory control software, I've been playing with a package called IPro (search for that in eBay - you can usually pick it up for around $50 and they do have an import module available for the Micros 2700 - I haven't done much with it yet, but it looks promising from an overview standpoint.)

What's behind the wall where the walk-in sits against? If it's outside, problem solved - most walk-ins can be easily converted to outside units, so you'd just flushmount the doors then on the inside wall.

Interesting idea about writing a book...I've read so many crappy ones that weren't worth the paper they're written on that I wonder if it would sell. Years ago, I worked as an editor and before that had a couple of books published (computer programming) so that may still be in my blood somewhere as well.
Thanks for the idea fodder!

Baudtender

[allanjustallan]

I am looking for something that logs drinks sold via pos and interacts automatically with quickbooks, will let you know once I get everything to work. Idea being to keep right up to date on invertory and also how productive each bartend is, perhaps this will also help keep theft low and finally will help with taxes. Anyway thats my idea, hope I can make it work if anyone reading this has similar setup PLEASE let me know.

cant put walkin cooler in side wall, but could perhaps move it however then it would lose its close proximity to bar, think I am gonna just sit on this one for while.

Writing a book will not make you much money, but it would be great to do I would imagine, writing a book may help you break into consulting, which I would say could make you money you certainly have the knowledge base baudtender.

Just got back from three hour seminar put on by abc here in santa rhosa, ca. It was kinda interesting and free. Their main push is against serving to minors and serving people till they are drop dead drunk. Lady called Carol gave it, she was way smart you could tell, seems to me this agency has a lot of really sharp female agents, which of course makes sense, lol. She more or less confirmed what I already suspected, if they want to shut down any bar they can, so good relations with local law enforcement and community a MUST.

Still waiting to get go ahead from abc, and of course the waiting gives me time to wonder what on earth I was thinking about when I decided to get into bar business.

Allan.

[allanjustallan]

Have finally got the licence transfer from abc, so bar is now mine.

Have been spending last number of days cleaning, my brother, as I watched with some concern, used a power pressure washer to clean the entire bar, you should have seen the accumulated nicotine dripping down from everywhere, place now smells much better. Have pulled out much of the old flooring, gonna put in that pergo select which I just ordered yesterday from www.floorshop.com and also ordered a pool table as well from http://www.pool-tables.com/

Found out that the sewer blockage is caused by a HUGE root, which is good news kinda, just remove root and the problem will go away, plus termites here are very mellow and relatively few, they have also stayed away from my main beams, which are redwood.

Ordered quickbooks from gateway computer, they have the cheapest prices for software so far, and got accupos point of sale which links up directly with quickbooks http://www.attitudepositive.com/foodservice.htm

Also ordered hardware bundle from http://www.posworld.com/newm1ser15lc.html to complete setup.

Have an appointment with accountant this thursday and I hope to have him set up the system, he already has two other bars which he takes care of so he knows what to do.

Also get to meet bud distributor today, eagle distributing installs all types of bar fixtures, and I have feeling they are gonna be big help.

Talked to bobbie fetzer of fetzer vinyard fame, he thinks a pool table in the bar is going to attract the same old bad crowd, and advised against it, however I simply find it really hard to walk away from such a huge potential money maker, hope I am making right choice.

Finally, was working with guy digging up sewer, and alarm sounded, I raced him to volunteer fire station just down the road, and upon finding out that I had current valid cdl the fire chief was very happy to have me play water tanker driver for a few hours, was kinda fun.

Hey baudtender, here are few web sites for self publishing, www.xlibris.com www.iuniverse.com www.fidlardoubleday.com www.cameopublications.com www.trafford.com www.parapublishing.com

I really have appreciated your input so far, hope you keep on giving me your thoughts, all the best.

Allan.

[allanjustallan]

I guess I am making this forum my personal diary site, anyway its been another great day.

I had just got to bar today, wondering where I was going to find someone to help me fix the wet rot flooring which I had uncovered while removing all the old non working fixtures from behind the bar, when this huge giant of a guy(must be at least 6.7) walked into the bar and asked if I needed any work done.

A group of them had come to Covelo in past week so that his friends wife could have access to a midwife who they knew. Anyway it turns out they are really good old Texas boys who just travel around the country in a huge old school bus, they look kinda hippie but really know how to work, boy did I get lucky, my old flooring is about replaced and ready for pergo select, which I have been informed is on its way. Painting is in its final stages and pool table and under bar cooler and draft beer dispenser are ordered and on their way.

http://www.galasource.com/prodList.cfm/1677,M,Deep%20Well%20Bottle%20Coolers,1,1,F,MX1

http://www.galasource.com/prodDetail.cfm/3754,90%22%20Four%201%20%202%20Barrels%20Beer%20Di spenser,MX2

Still have to check back with accountant about pos system, but finally hopefull I may open before end of month, or at least within a few days anyhow.

Sony save series speakers which I know from personal experence to be great are not available right now, and still researching jukeboxes but may go with this one

http://win.eagle-distributing.com/wurlitzerjukeboxes.htm

Allan.

[Baudtender]

Looks like some pretty good refrigeration you ordered. One very important thing I forgot to mention about the deep-bin bottle coolers:

One of the greatest sins behind my bar is to let me catch a bartender sitting (or worse standing) on a bottle cooler. The slide doors have rather flimsy rails that don't support weight (and a real pain to fix), and the doors themselves bend and warp easily. You will never hear such a profane cacophony as you will when I catch someone abusing the slides. Keep those rails lubed with food-grade silicone grease and baby them.

Am I to understand that you are buying your own jukebox, or is the vender allowing you to pick one out?

If you have a dropped ceiling (ceiling tiles and grids), these speakers are not cheap (vender's problem) but do sound very nice:
Dropped Ceiling Speakers (http://www.happcontrols.com/amusement/jukebox/50205600.htm)

Be careful if they want to put up bookshelf style speakers on wall brackets - make SURE if they do that separate safety chains are securely installed - I once had one of those 20-lb. MTX speakers come down on a female customer's noggin. Thank God she had a thick skull, a sense of humor and a belly full of cheap tequila.

Keep us up to date on your developments - I for one am very much enjoying your "diary."

Baudtender

[allanjustallan]

I have decided to buy my own jukebox, am fairly good with numbers and figure a healthy return via the ownership route.

Really like the idea of internet jukeboxes, but they appear to track every cent that goes into juke, and also I hate rap and heavy metal.

Am also going to have to fork out big amounts for mega touch machines http://www.meritind.com/index_ie.asp

These machines bring in the girls, who love playing them, and of course girls bring in guys who enjoy drinking.

I checked out the speakers, they go down to 40hz, I really want speakers which are full range down to 20hz, of course one option is to install these speakers then simply add a subwoofer to bring it down to 20hz. I must be honest, I have not heard any speakers which are better than the sony save line of speakers, just my bad luck that right now they are inbetween product introductions. Gonna have to make a decision really soon however, just hoping sony gets their act together soon.

Another good day at the bar, all the subflooring is now repaired, and those two hippie texas boys have allready demolished the bathrooms and tomorrow will start rebuilding them.

Next task I am going to research hd tv, probably lcd, low maintenance and now just about as good pic as any out there.

All the best,

Allan.

[allanjustallan]

Well right now I am really tireds. and my main crew who with me have been working 7 days a week are also wearing down as well.

However the pergo select arrived from floorshop.com, and all 1000 feet of it went down in one day, just a few finishing touches for the second day to complete the flooring, I am really happy so far with this choice of flooring. In addition the tile and marble combination really worked out well for the bathrooms, it looks very beautiful and was fairly reasonable as well.

Also have electrician making sure all electrical outlets are safe, and he is updating fuse boxs with modern equipment, which probably is waste of money but safety first in my prime concern.

Still waiting for my refrigeration equipment to arrive, probably will be friday and I intend to open fri no matter what cause its a very big weekend here, with rodeo and lots of tourists etc.

And I just got a call from the driver who is delivering my pool table, he is going to arrive here in covelo about 1am tomorrow and wants me to be at bar. If I had not been a driver for 4 years I would have told him to deliver first thing in morning, damn, I am sooooo tireds right now running on fumes but will be at bar 1am to try manhandle 850 pound pool table with only him and I.

Gonna order from the beverage guys tomorrow, and will have bar fully stocked by friday for big weekend.

Still lots of loose ends to tie down, especially for new guy like myself who is winging it, but I hope to make it a success by taking one step at a time and dealing with each situation as it comes up,

Allan.

[advancemellc]

sounds like you are in overdrive getting your bz going. in case you need an injection of working capital let me know. My company, AdvanceMe, Inc., can provide it-

advancemellc@aol.com

[allanjustallan]

Thank you for your kind offer Edward, however I have always felt that it is best to refrain from obtaining money from finance companies with their fairly high to really high finance rates.

Cost of capital is key to keeping overall costs down, and although much of my expenditure was done with cash, I have indeed had to dip into my equity line of credit at 5%, plus had the foresite to contact two of my credit card companies, one of whom has given me an interest free loan till march, the other has extended a 1.9% rate till sometime next year as well. In other words the cost of my loan capital is really very low and no help is needed.

The driver of the truck arrived at 11 pm last night, and with help from my brother and another friend we swiftly unloaded it into the bar. Was very impressed with Charles the driver, 69 years old and still going very strong, working I would say in excess of 60 hours a week, way to go is all I can say about him.

The pool table looks great, am looking forward to a game soon, also had two of the bartenders in, they will come back tomorrow to help set things up.

My accountant is lost somewhere I think, because I dont believe he will have my system up and running by friday, so going to do it the old fashioned way for now.

I asked the budweiser salesman to just deliver what he wanted to for the bar, I really like and trust him. I feel they are really professional in many ways.

The youngs market company guy had halitosis like you cant imagine, and I dont trust him for some reason, but he did travel 75 miles one way to see me and take my order for which I am gratefull, but I feel I will have to watch him in the future, lol.

Southern wines and spirits is awol right now, left a message and he did not get back, heck I have an empty bar which he knows, am kinda surprised no return call.

Also going to try get coke to let me pick up some supplies with my pickup if need be, they will let me know tomorrow. IF they dont come thru am going to go with pepsi just because.

Anyway all in all its been a fairly good day,

Allan.

[allanjustallan]

Well its been a very interesting and busy four days for me.

The southern wine and spirits guy came thru for me, driving more than 200 miles round trip to deliver, for which I was very gratefull.

Opening day was not announced, but living in a small fishbowl like Covelo the news soon spread that I was about to open.

I opened around 3.30 pm, and people soon started pouring into my place, before I knew it the two bartenders and myself were working flat out trying to supply what seemed like a tidal wave of people all wanting to be served now now now.

In the middle of this my order from www.galasource arrived, and it was really great to see 8 to 10 customers help me carry these 450 pound pieces of equipment into the bar and bodily carry them over the bar into their places.

To top it off, this is rodeo week here, and we got a lot of cowboys and girls comming into the bar as well. I think this must be the most diverse crowd in the world, street people mix easily with very wealthy educated people, along with cowboys and indians, yuppies and pot growers.

Anyway the police told me they expected two fights the first night, and they were right, but with help from my two texas hippie workers now turned bouncers no one was really injured and the night was a great success.

I have agreed to the police request to stop serving alcohol around about 1am, because in the past the most serious injuries like shootings and stabbings have occured betweent one and two. I came up with the strategy of serving an unopened beer for a dollar after 1pm(or thereabouts) as long as they understood it was not to be opened in the bar, or a six pack for six dollars or a twelve pack for ten dollars.

It seemed to work really very well, many people asked me why I was closing early, but fully understood the reasons why when I explained it to them.

However one of my bartenders was burnt out by the first night, she started to get argumentative with the customers, who then seemed to delight in taunting her further. Its the first person I have ever had to fire/let go, not a pleasant thing to do but the right way to go.

The second day I opened around about 10am, and once again the place soon filled up, and I got to tell two loud argumentative customers to leave, one rushed right up to me, but fortunately at the last second veered around me and left. Only one argument/fight this night, but because the customer threatened to get a gun and come back I called 911, police were great, arrived in under three minutes, caught the guy and he indeed had a loaded gun in his truck, so off to jail he went. However he bailed out next day, poked his head into the bar and asked me to step outside, then once I did he apoligised to me, seems he had not had a drink in ten years or so, but i found out he had shot up a bar in the past while drunk.

Also got to see two girls pouring tequila onto guys chest/nipples and then both attached themselfs to said nipples, I guessed it was legal cause hes a guy, hope I am right, was an interesting show.

Third night was very mellow, till the very end, then a female customer asked to use my phone to call 911, seems someone was being aggressive about letting them into their car. I walked her out to her car and then talked both guys out of fighting each other, lucky for me I guess because both these guys were really huge.

Cowboy rodeo crowd came back with the two girls, who then wanted to do the nipple treatment on me, with some reluctance I declined, because I know right up front if I descend to that level in public I loose my moral hight ground and respect, and without that I have no hope of controlling a potentially tough bunch of people.

Tonight was really very mellow, nice crowd and great mixture. I have started to attract firefighters because of my policy of giving any public safety personal 50 cents off their drinks.

Also had to fire my two texas boys, they were getting really high on pot while on the job, I dont care what anyone does on their personal time but to me its a major no no while working.

Anyway its really late here and am ways tireds, getting five hours or so sleep right now, too much work but I hope to make it all work out in the end.

Allan.

[Baudtender]

Yep, the latest and greatest Megatouches are indeed expensive, but they sure do bring in the money here. Our local vender is going to install a couple of the new LCD flat screen models - I have to say I really do appreciate the smaller footprint.

Now what I'm about to say is not real well known outside of the vending company circles, but since you're considering the ownership route (if you haven't bought them already,) you probably ought to know this. The main vulnerability of the Megatouch machines, according to my vending guy's technician, is that just a light touch on the touchscreen with a lit cigarette and the touchscreen is blown (and that's about a $200-$300 repair each time.) Don't have a clue why Merit chose the Microtouch capacitance style touchscreens - I would have though resistives would be the way to go if this is the case.

Keep your wits, never go outside without someone watching your back, and you'll get through it. And don't forget to stash some of that "honeymoon" cash away for leaner seasons.

Congratulations, best of luck, and welcome to the club!

Baudtender

[allanjustallan]

Thanks Baudtender,

My order from gala did indeed arrive, but the draft beer cooler was not working, finally got a repair guy to check it out, he suspects a slow leak and recommends replacement, going to be interesting to see how silver king responds to that, will let you know if they are indeed responsive but seems kinda strange to me that a brand new 2000 dollar cooler is sent out non functional.

My brother the plumber found out what the sewer problem was, some unnamed plumber in the past left a snake in the line, so thats now behind me, and I also had air dryers installed in bathrooms, no more paper towels.

Also having two or three young adults trying to get into bar on busy nights, sometimes its really hard to keep them out, especially when bouncers are busy somewhere else, but will attempt to tighten up security to control the problem.

Am still behind the eight ball, have not yet ordered my high definition tvs and game time is now, so going to lose a bit of business as a result, but should have them ordered by this monday.

Slowly getting together a good team of workers, I think if all goes well I may soon have a smoothly functioning organisation.

Anyway back to the bar I go, these long 16 hour plus hours are tough, but am going to stick with it for now,

All the best,

Allan.

[Baudtender]

My tenants just ordered an inFocus X2 DLP projector. I had given them my X1 (previous model) for behind the bar to shoot on an 8-foot diagonal screen, the new model is to shoot in an adjoining room on a 10 foot diagonal screen.

The only real differences I could see is that the X2 takes a slightly different pigtail-type adapter to get HDTV component inputs, and it also sports about 50% more brightness (1500 lumens vs. 1000 for the X1.)

I hooked it up today and was utterly shocked at how gorgeous the picture was. I have an HDTV digital converter box from my Comcast cable company, so I found the best combination is to use the component input for 16:9 HDTV channels, and the RCA composite inputs for 4:3 analog channels. For some bizarre reason, I could not make the S-Video output from the cable box work with the S-Video input on the X1 (didn't try on the X2.)

He paid $995 for the X2 at Best Buy, and they do have a return policy if you're not satisified. Bulbs are supposed to get 3000 hours. You need a bit of throw distance to get these sizes of pictures (there's an online distance calculator on inFocus's website), but judging how expensive even small plasmas and LCD's are, this is something you may want to check out. If you (or someone else reading this) decides to go with the X2, order the M1 to Component pigtail adapter from the inFocus website and you can also find cheap ceiling mounts on eBay.

The underager's (as well as the miscreants that have been barred from every other bar/tavern/club in the county) are a common problem for new establishments. My best solution was to post a sign on the front door that said "WE ARE LOOKING TO MAKE AN INCREDIBLY HARSH EXAMPLE OF THE FIRST PERSON UNDER 21 WE CATCH ATTEMPTING TO PURCHASE OR CONSUME ALCOHOL HERE. DON'T BE THAT PERSON." The problem solved itself almost overnight.

Another good sign: "WE DON'T CARE WHO STARTED THE FIGHT. IF YOU'RE INVOLVED IN IT, YOU WILL BE BARRED FROM THESE PREMISES FOR LIFE PLUS 20 YEARS."

Silver King will probably want a factory-authorized repair service to fix the machine (almost certainly they won't want to replace the whole unit.) If it's a gas leak, they'll find it using ultraviolet dye. In the refrigeration realm, gas leaks (slow or otherwise) are both common and an easy fix.

Did I mention how lucky you are to have a brother that's a plumber? If that's the worst thing he finds in your lines, consider it a miracle! :D

Short naps do wonders during sleep deprivation periods. I used to crawl under my desk and take catnaps during the slow(er) parts of the day since even my wife never thought to look there. I once slept on my roof during a cool autumn afternoon. Amazingly enough, the place managed to run without me for that hour or 2 I was AWOL. If you're expecting COD deliveries, leave signed blank checks behind the bar in the register with detailed instructions for the bartender (make sure they get a signed receipt, etc.)

The most important thing you can do during this period is absolutely abstain from drinking any alcohol - which, I know, is really tough after these long hard days. But doing that coupled with stress and sleep deprivation will burn your candle down faster than anything else I know.

One of the big pitfalls for new owners is to allow their business to encroach into their personal life. DO NOT ALLOW bartenders, entertainment, etc. to keep you there for hours after closing. In fact, keep all of your employees at arm's length, don't socialize with them or involve yourself in their personal lives. Run shut-down hour with a military discipline and efficiency. My rule is we are out of here 30 minutes after last customer exit. If the band/DJ ain't broke down by then, they can come back the next day and finish. The bartenders/servers should be busting ass on their end-of-shift duty list from last call service to clock-out 10 minutes before locked door.

Baudtender

[CCTVZak]

allan if you want that demo site link let me know

edit: for Baudtender, projector bulbs have a half life so that means that a 3,000 hour bulb will start to lose clarity/brightness at 1,500 hours

[allanjustallan]

Well its been a really interesting few days as usual, couple of nights ago Jeremy came in, he seemed sober so bar tender served him a drink, but he rapidly became obnoxious and very loud, I asked him nicely three times to quiten down, then told bouncer to watch him while I went to get ice, when I returned bouncer had quit leaving me to face the music, was threatened but finally got him to leave, but he returned then insulted his own brothers wife which resulted in a brutal brawl with brother before police arrived and arrested him. I found out then that regulars will indeed help out if they like you but highway patrol guy was kinda on my case about serving intoxicated customers, geesh its a tightrope we walk in this business.

I just ordered security system from these guys, http://www.cctvwholesalers.com/customer/product.php?productid=16188&cat=259&page=1

Told Zak about this website and he was very helpfull, they are based in New Orleans and facing a hurricane but did not seem very concerned as he walked me thru order process.

Thanks for your input Baudtender I truly appreciate all your thoughts as I climb this uphill learning curve.

No tv this monday ment slow slow business, got to get one asap but at least I got me a security system on its way, which is a start to stopping the evaporation of alcohol which you warned me about in advance Baudtender, and also it should be very helpfull in slowing down all the fights in this very very tough bar, according to local police perhaps the toughest bar in Cali.

Anyway slow night but uneventfull, so going to bed more relaxed than last night,

Allan.

[Cheek]

If the police are telling you that you are running the toughest bar in cali, this is defintely a bad bad thing. I would do everything in my power to correct that immediately. I don't know what context they said it in, but I know how I would take it. Believe me, if they consider your bar a trouble spot they will put an end to your business in a hurry.

[allanjustallan]

Yes Cheek, I agree with you 100%.

This place I choose to call home is a really special place, its also in some kind of time warp as well, you insult someone here and you will get punched, its that kind of place.

Dont get me wrong, its really full of wonderful people but the values here are something out of 18th century America in many ways.

The problem for me is that laws which are made for city people just dont work very well here, for the most part. Even the police have a similar attitude, they are quick to arrest someone who is violent but if they know them to be generally placid they are very slow to press charges, which by the way I agree with.

I have excellent relationships with the local police so far, my neighbour is one of the local police and he was the one who told me this bars reputation is not only state wide but out of state.

Not the previous young couple but the guy before them, Wayne Cox was reputed to have discharged his revolver into the ceiling one evening, and more than once locked up his customers inside the bar, anyway I was not a witness to this but can say he ran the bus for more than 20 years, and I met him before he died, was a real character no doubt.

My ice machine arrived from galasourse today, which was good news, but my walk in cooler is on the blink, thank God I have a deep cooler functioning or I would be in real trouble right now.

btw baudtender was right, walk in coolers are wonderful, am so happy I took peoples advice and kept it, would have been a huge mistake to have removed it.

Made local volunteer fire chief mad at me, he s the one who removes garbage from my six rentals and wanted to do same for bar, but wanted to charge me 10 dollars per week per can plus keep bottles plus charge me for his helper.

He told me today he will no longer work on my rentals, and also that he will soon do title 19 check on bar, fire and safety code I believe, hope its not going to be a big problem time will tell.

Yes I am feeling that I have spent about enough right now, time to get tv and then work hard reducing current debt levels, tighten up security and work hard to make sure no underage people get into bar.

Have cut off a bunch of people when I felt they were getting too tipsy, also sent a bunch of young people out of bar before they were served, but seems to me maybe that fewer incidents are occuring.

Biggest day of the year is approaching, Indian days this comming weekend I believe, and I am right next to the biggest Indian reservation in cali.

Gonna be interesting(stressfull) with all these people comming into bar to celebrate, but fortunatelly I have excellent relationship with the local Indian community, who btw are my biggest customers and also generally most enjoyable so far.

Of course my attitude is customer centric, I dont see anything but how to please whoever is there, within the confines of the law, as best I can, feedback from community has been mostly positive, they really really want the bar open,

Allan.

[allanjustallan]

Jeesh, five days without a fight, have been told by several locals that the word is out, you have to behave in the bar or get 86ed.

This being the only bar in 50 miles that means something. Indian days is this comming weekend, have been told to expect a massive crowd, kinda stressing me out just a little but I guess I can only try to do my best.

I give a 50 cent discount to firefighters and any emergency sevice personal, so have been seeing a lot of them in the bar, which makes for a much better mix of people, also many people who would not ever have come into the bar are now customers so am hopefull I can keep on a roll and change the character of this bar, time will tell I guess.

Just got my hd tv, a huge 61 inch model from samsung, going to have a platform built tomorrow and have it installed, my bus sucks when football is on, but am sure this will get the crowds back in.

Coke enterprises also let me down, ordered co2 plus mix for fountain thats supposed to be installed, I dropped in to make sure that it was comming tomorrow as promised, they changed the delivery here in Covelo and made it today, but forgot to put my order on truck, will take another two weeks before another delivery can be made, not sure if my co2 for draft is going to make it that long, also considering changing fountain installation to pepsi, not sure if thats going to make difference to customers or not ordering jack and pepsi but really not happy with cokes indifferent attitude towards me.

One things for certain, draft beer sells well, no doubt about it, my bottled beer orders have fallen drastically and customers are really very very happy to once again have draft after 20 years without it here.

I guess the next order is going to be megatouch machine, many people have said they want the bar to be more than just drinking, there is no entertainment here and they want something to do while in bar.

Allan.

[allanjustallan]

hdtv is in, its a beauty at 61 inches from samsung, bought it thru costco for just less than 4000. This should wow the sports fans.

Also still trying to get my security system from cctv wholesalers, they dont ship to alternate address and I have a po box number for billing being in the countryside, but finally spoke to superviser called Brian, he said if I change address to bar they will ship tomorrow and also overnight without charge, if I did not want their security system so much would say forget it, but really want it so hope they finally get my system shipped. Will let you know how well it performs.

Coke has also come thru for me, went up the chain and Gerald rattled someones cage, they are going to make special trip to get me set up for Indian days this weekend. One thing I know for certain from my stockbroker days, the higher up the chain you go the better the results you get, people in high up positions dont get many complaints and are way more responsive, moral of the story is keep going up the chain of command when you have a legitimate complaint.

Also got my posi pour 2000 with dust caps attached, should cut my overpours from sweetheart bartender who gets way high tips but who also pours way too much as well. Yes I love Michelle who is way cute and way great bartender just dont like overpours, lol.

Also noticed something really sweet as well, the Indian community really looks after their own, when someone gets too tipsy they make sure to get them home safely, something to be said about a community where almost everyone is related.

My relationship with the local police also seems intact and getting better as well, I think they know I am trying very hard to run a clean bar, I really like the fact that they respond within 2 or 3 minutes when I call 911, they are the ultimate bouncers in my opinion but I still try to settle problems before it gets to that point.

Allan.

[allanjustallan]

Almost broke my record of no fights for past week, but fortunately I saw trouble was brewing and nipped it in the bud before it got anywhere. The two guys were like water and oil, just seemed attracted and repulsed at same time, not a good mixture.

People here are very patriotic as well, some misguided guy from sf bay area was spouting about how bad America was, and Shane a cool indian guy asked me if it was ok to pop him. Anyway I spoke to urban guy and informed him he was about to be demolished, he thanked me and quit the bs talk, lol. Just another day at the bar, cept my unfaithfull walk in cooler is on blink again and Indian days weekend is now, going to be interesting weekend no doubt, very glad I had backup deep cooler saved my day for sure.

Am getting used to bar life, but its like going out on the town each night, really starts to run down ones body, not an easy way to make a living but I like it so far.

Allan.

[allanjustallan]

Been too busy to post for past few weeks, but am learning more about the bar bus as time goes on.

I had expected a really knockout weekend for Indian days, but two huge weddings(free alcohol) knocked my sales down to half what I expected(still good however). To top it off there was a fight in the bar, I helped push out the two guys and after a few punches they were seperated, however then the girls decided to duke it out outside the bar, one girl got stabbed and my weekend business has declined about 40% since then.

Minors here are often helped by their mothers to get into the bar, they are like waves approaching a beach, endless. Finally found and hired a good bouncer, he knows all the locals and has had a great influence on reducing the minor problem.

Its lucky for me that I have a close and very cordial relationship with the local police, they know I am going everything possible to run this bar in a clean manner, and have given me a few breaks when they could have nailed me to the wall if they had chosen to do so. They have expressed their satisfaction with my progress so far.

Now for some positive stuff, that system from cctvwholesalers.com is absolutely great, easy to set up and works like a charm, just having it running with a screen so bar patrons can see themselves has had a huge impact on customer behavior, in my opinion. Pity cctv gave me such a hard time charging it with my credit card, such a run around that it took a week of ph tag and changing my billing address to my shipping address before they would even send it, which ment it was not functional the night of the fight. That said for 3500 including 4 cameras and everything is a very fair price.

I bought seven athena speakers from best buy, could have got it cheaper online but wanted the improved sound system right away, and coupled with a new sony reciever delivering 110 watts and hdtv compatable I can say people are now bouncing in their seats.

Just a few more things to purchase and hopefully my major expenses will be out of the way. People have been hounding me about getting back the megatouch machines, so tomorrow will order one or two.

Cant say how glad I am to take baudtenders advice about keeping the walkin cooler, its absolutely indispensable in my opinion, dont know how I could do without it, thanks baudtender.

Also took his advice to check and clean coils, was really surprised to see how fast dust builds up in them, its now something I check biweekly.

The pool table is a real crowd drawer, really happy with how it looks and how it always seems to have a crowd of happy people around it.

The pergo select flooring is holding up, and using a mop and water nothing seems to stick to it, was a very good choice in my opinion. Bathrooms with marble and tile still look pristine, and people constantly tell me how nice they are.

Not sure but probably the combination of all the above has ment my crowd is changing for the better, a really great mix of many types of people, most of whom have told me they would not have come into the bar before.

On that positive note got to get back to bar,

Allan.

[Falcon]

never put two combatants out at the same time,

of course you now know why

good luck just allen

[Securitygeek]

Falcon nailed it on the head, try to keep the less aggressive in the bar for 10 or 15 mins. of course if they want to leave you can't legally stop them. But at least send someone (preferable 2 or 3 someones) to make sure they leave the property, a fight in your parking lot is the same as a fight in your bar as far as law enforcement is concerned. just my 2 cents.

[allanjustallan]

Three weeks without any law enforcement calls, but last night broke a budding record. Really nice crowd, Jason Cox a local deputy came in, looked around and congratulated me once again on how I was doing, many really respectable people also came in for the first time, I was riding high and of course thats always a precurser to a fall.

Having learnt the lessons from the previous fight two weeks ago, and heeding the advice of security geek and falcon I sent the aggressor out first, keeping the other guy inside. Then another white guy started insulting a few Indians resulting in him being 86ed from the bar as well, for his own safety,however he had a bottle in his hand and he fell outside the bar, breaking the bottle in his hand he spouted blood all over the place before I grabbed a rag and helped quell the bleeding.

Unfortunately the other aggressor of the night was still hanging around, they both walked off together, down the block till the young Indian guy started kicking the other guy almost to death before my bouncers ran down the street to stop the assault.

Police arrived arrested the first aggressor and the other guy still not responding was sent to hospital via chopper.

Not sure what I could have done differently to change this unfortunate course of events.

Ironically boo was hanging around near the bar, (the guy who ignited the fight/stabbing of a few weeks ago) he helped stop the assault on the fallen guy, then wanted to beat the snot out of the guy responsible for this current assault

Am learning a lot about human nature, we live in a grey area here in the bar bus and after midnight a more primal savage side appears in many people and the villan one night may be a hero the next.

Am also driving home intoxicated people from time to time, no taxi service here and have prevented quite a few people from getting into their cars in that state. Not sure if its the smart thing but I feel its the right thing to do,

Allan.

[Melon Man]

I just wanted to say thanks for keeping your journal here alive. It's a much appreciated little blow-by-blow story. All the more precious for coming from a first-timer :D

Does sound like a real rough place, but it also sounds like you are pulling it back from that - which is a hell of an achievement.

.dan.

[teenclub]

Originally posted by advancemellc
sounds like you are in overdrive getting your bz going. in case you need an injection of working capital let me know. My company, AdvanceMe, Inc., can provide it-

advancemellc@aol.com

I have seen several of your posts, but never any info about your company.

If you are legitimate and can prove it -I would be interested in discussing options you have available for financing night clubs. Threre is a friend of mine who is also about to open a club.

Do you at least have a website? A packet to mail? something?

maurice

[allanjustallan]

TY Dan, I am now hopefull that this bars culture is changing for the better, time will tell.

Have noticed that business falls about 50% night after a fight, so its simply bad business when it happens, and I only get back to original gross after about two weeks.

My two local Indian bouncers, Doug Hutt and Matt have proved invaluable in almost eliminating underage problems, and now minors for the most part are not even trying to get in, a huge change for the better. I have found however that they are reluctant to get in between two potential combatants until a fight is actually on, which means I place myself in harms way at least once or twice a night on my problem nights(friday and saturday) however from personal experiance the time to stop problems is before fists are swinging.

The positive is that when I do confront guys about to go at it like last night they now often apologise to me, saying they did not mean to disrespect me by fighting in the bar, respect here is a BIG thing, many would rather go to prison before losing face.

The 61 inch samsung dlp tv is a big hit, my business has increased because of it, my thinking is get a few huge hdtv screens rather than a dozen small ones which one often finds in bars.

Today is my try at starting a weekly pool tournament, my sunday business during the day is small, hoping to increase bus by offering free play and a chance for some really good pool players to go head to head against each other.

I have structured it so players put up 5 dollars, winner takes 50%,runner up takes 30% and third place takes 20%.

My soda gun from coke has been a huge help, so nice to press a button and dispense coke, sprite, cranbury juice, soda water and grape juice etc, plus its way cheaper as well.

Would appreciate advice on football pools from anyone in california, many people have asked me to start one but dont want to get in trouble with the abc board here in cali.

Also had to let a bartender go, she was deep into speed type drugs, and thats a hard boundary for me. Felt really sorry for her but the bar has to come first.

A customer let me borrow a pedometer, now I know why I have lost so much weight these past few months, am walking an average of ten miles a day behind counter,

Allan.

[allanjustallan]

I got thru the weekend without any major problems, the local police were expecting major problems no doubt, three police cars were parked nearby all around the bar, historically this past weekend has been a big problem weekend.

However, there was one fight outside nearby the bar, and the two involved had a few beers inside the bar. Kinda spoiled it for me a bit, was hoping for a perfect weekend. They did check out my security video, which confirmed that no trouble had started inside or righ ouside the bar. My relationship with all of them is still very positive, which is how I intend to keep it, the way I see it our goals are similar, keeping problems to a minimum.

My two evo megatouch machines arrived, and not only are they being played regularly but I have noticed a number of new customers comming in with the prime purpose of playing while drinking a few.

http://www.bmigaming.com/games-video-countertops.htm

My bud sales have increased 97.4% for the month of september v last september. If you ask them they will supply a really helpfull graph and summary for you, very handy.

Unfortunately the pool tournament idea has not yet taken off, will keep trying but have a feeling its going to have to wait for the end of football when they have little to occupy themselves.

My expenses have finally stabalized after two months and I no longer have to put additional capital into the bar, may be able to start aggresively paying down debt within the next month, which is way ahead of my original expectations. Gross cash flow is about 400% higher than the previous owners, I guess if you establish a safe clean nice environment they will come and spend their money, so far still enjoying my 80 hour workweek and learning a lot about human nature,

Allan.

[ca. club owner]

Just got done reading your day to day work. Sounds like you are on your way. I have a place opening up in the 1st quater of next year in So Cal. Very Upscale place.. Need all the POS info you come across. Been looking when I get time. Just alot of BS that I keep finding. As for the SONY speakers. If you still looking for them let me know. Used to work for SONY for 5 years. Still have people in the right place. To get just about anything SONY makes at a very good price.. All legal.. ( have to say that now days ) haha Whats the name of the place. Send me a lil info, would like to come check out the place an spend a few bucks...

[allanjustallan]

Bad news good news from Bret Ajax at santa rosa abc office, he is going to send me warning letter due to underage minors which occured long time ago. The good news is that after speaking with local police and his boss they are not going to hit me hard this time. I got the impression from him that he understands just how hard I am trying to run a clean bar, and it appears the local police did indeed put in a good word for me. Just a little concerned however that the inevitable next problem will result in a 15 or 30 day shutdown. On the positive side I feel I am getting smarter about identifying problem people and then act promptly to get them out of the bar.

Also got an 18 year old arrested, he comes into the bar, stands at the entrance acting aggressive, then at the last second as I approach him he leaves, only to do the same thing again, but he has gotten more aggressive as the weeks have gone by. My other fear is that he will boast about his exploits and then my minor problem which has been largely eliminated will once again be a major problem. Anyway both the police and I are committed to keeping minors out, they are nothing but trouble in my opinion.

Now researching a karaoke machine, people really want to sing once they have a few brews.

My soda gun stopped working, seems I should have installed an inline filter because I am on a well, anyway now I know. My athena speakers from best buy sound good, but the subwoofer and one speaker are not working after 45 days and best buy is giving me the run around about replacing it.

For anyone wanting to vist my place its called the buckhorn bar located in covelo northern california. Its at the end of hwy 162 very beautiful valley surrounded by mountains but not an easy location to get to, next town is 50 miles in any direction.

I have a pos system but still have to get it installed, once I do so will let everyone know how well it works.

My initial inclination about buying my own pool table and megatouch machines has proven to be a winner, getting a large hdtv has also been a good thing along with decent sound system.

So far I feel like I am on track, just hope cali abc gives me the time to continue improving image and operation of this bar. I still feel very confident that I will succeed,

Allan.

[David]

Can you say “Restraining Order” for the 18 year old that hangs out at the door.

Start prosecuting the minors that get in. The word will get out.

[allanjustallan]

TY David, thats really good advice. With the arrest of the 18 year old and this being a small community word has indeed gotten out.
I feel my minor problem has declined to a point where its no longer a problem but am considering posting a sign warning adults who bring in minors that they will be 86ed for a year. Not sure however because I want to keep the tone of the bar positive.

Its now been over a month without any serious problems, a new record for the buckhorn. I have also adjusted my closing time, the last hour between 1 and 2 can gross more than the previous 3 hours so I have adjusted my closing accordingly. I do last call around about 1.20 to 1.30 if there is a large crowd, but if its really small and mellow I get them all out by 1.55. I told the local police about my new policy and they dont seem to have a problem with it.

Also now know why they dont issue onsale/offsale licences anymore, would be so so easy to cheat on taxes, but being a workaholic with no interest in toys and wanting to continue improving the bar while paying down debt I simply bank and declare everything I make, seems strange but I really dont mind paying taxes.

Seems girls like bar owners, have never had this much attention in my whole life, all ages and shapes, almost every night. If I did not have a girlfriend and did not work so hard I might be easily tempted, I know its not me but the position I occupy, if I was a girl I would not consider dating any bar owner, we are married to our bars as far as I am concerned.

I can also see how this business could shorten ones life span, long nocturnal hours cannot be healthy, but still enjoying it after three months on the job,

Allan.

[David]

Be carefull with the ladies. The most friendly ones are usually under age and are only using you as a patsy.

[allanjustallan]

Got my car keyed a few nights ago, a guy called jr azbil, a young 24 year old punk who was involved in the violence down the road from the bar(kicking incident) just got out of prison after serving 45 days for it, he talked to me for a while then asked if he could have a drink, I said no and told him he was 86ed, he left but not before doing 1400 dollars of damage to my new car. Fortunately my security system caught him in the act, now he will be doing more time in prison no doubt.

High price to pay but I dont want anyone who is connected to violence in my bar, and its paying off in a big way, there is no doubt at all that my customers are now way more relaxed, and the mix is getting better every week. Its now almost six weeks since the last big problem in the bar, a new all time record for the buckhorn. I think my policy of not allowing aggressive behavior in the bar is setting a new tone, which allows people to be more relaxed which in turn means a far more mellow environment.

My relationship with the local deputies is also getting stronger, I chatted and joked with Jason and Bret for almost half an hour outside the bar last night, so long in fact that their dispatcher called them to make sure everything was allright. Just before leaving Jason once again congratulated me on the job I was doing.

I just hope I can keep this up. I Know sooner or later I am going to get punched because I instantly get in peoples faces whenever there is any hint of anger but its the price I will willingly pay to run the bar the right way.

Health department sent me a certified letter, no more smoking in the bar or else so its an end of an era. Seems rules and regulations are finally making their way to this very remote valley but I have no intention of trying to buck any government department, they are the hammer and I am the nail,

Allan.

[allanjustallan]

This is the letter I intend to send to Bret at the cali ABC, I hope it sends a positive message because I dont want to have the wrath of abc on my back. Its good that they did not give me a 15 day shutdown as a result of my bouncers mistake, but for the next three years I cannot afford to make even one mistake or its a definite 15 day shutdown. Any further hints on how others make sure to keep minors out would be appreciated,

Allan.

December 7, 2004

Bret Ajax
DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL
State of California
Santa Rosa, California 95404

RE: File #48/21-413154


Dear Bret,

First I would like to sincerely thank you, Michael Mann and local law enforcement for your understanding of the situation which I inherited and the opportunity to continue improving my policy procedures to correct any violations which may have occurred.

As a brand new bar owner I knew in advance that I would make mistakes, but my sincere desire is to run my bar in a lawful manner. I took the helpful course offered by the abc as a first step towards this goal.

From the behavior of the patrons I have come to the conclusion, supported by my conversations with local law enforcement and you that the previous bar owners allowed all types of unlawful activity to occur. When the bar reopened these patrons expected to continue in the same old manner. My challenge was to change these expectations and raise their behavior norms back to an acceptable level.

The first few months was controlled chaos, many thought it was acceptable to scream loudly at each other, push and shove and sometimes even exchange blows, after all this is the way it had been for many years. I have been personally threatened a number of times, had my car vandalized because I simply will not allow known violent people into my bar.

None of this has deterred me however, running a lawful bar is just good business as I have noticed a 50% drop in gross receipts whenever a problem occurs in the bar with a recovery time of about two weeks. I get financially punished every time a problem occurs.

With financial loss, probable revocation of my alcohol license and personal safety at risk I immediately instituted a number of changes:

First I purchased a $3500 24-hour motion detection camera system with 30 day recording, and made a point of letting people know it was there. This covers the whole bar and area immediately outside as well. I taught the local deputies Jason Cox and Bret White how to use the system, and told them they could review any events at any time by simple request.

Secondly, I fired the two bouncers who were not locals and hired Matt and Doug, two local guys who know who the problem people are and who the minors are as well. I posted a sign visible when entering the bar saying, “No ID - No entry - No exceptions,” and gave instructions that anyone who did not have ID and appeared to be under 30 was not to be allowed in.

Thirdly, through experience I now have zero tolerance for unacceptable behavior; I don’t give warnings - I simply expel problem people out of the bar.

In addition, after each and any problem I make a point of talking to the local police, whether or not they had to be called. I tell them the problem, what I did to solve it and ask for any suggestions on how it could have been handled better. My relationship with the local police is very close, in my opinion. I have come to rely on them heavily; fortunately for me they are all very competent and responsive and have given me many useful suggestions.

There has been a sea change in people’s behavior, in my opinion. I am now seeing some very prominent people entering and enjoying themselves. People like Roland Hony, owner of the business park, Bobby Fetzer of Fetzer Vineyards and Craig, internet billionaire have all enjoyed our hospitality. I even got the pleasure of serving Tammy White, the wife of policeman Bret White and Leslie Combest, the wife of recently retired Judge Combest.

None of these people would have entered the bar before I bought it, so it is with some pride that I relay this information to you.

I have made a major financial commitment buying and renovating the bar, I work every day between 12 and 16 hours; making this bar work means everything to me. Running it in a lawful manner is in my own self interest as I make more money and have fewer problems.

I am 100% responsive to any government agency’s requests or demands, and I feel that my relationship with you, Bret, is also very cordial and friendly as well. If there is anything that you feel I could do differently to make this bar an even better place, please let me know.

The challenges I face are still going to exist: cramming seven different Indian tribes into one small area, coping with tribal/family vendettas that have existed since before I was born, mixing that in with cowboys and hippies and mountain-type people along with local town people and this being the only bar within 50 miles means they all have to coexist whenever they come to recreate at the bar.

One thing is certain however, the majority of people here in Covelo want the bar to remain open; there are few other nighttime alternatives other than driving the hazardous 162 to Willits. I understand there were a number of accidents as a direct result of the bar being closed because people still wanted the pleasure of being in a bar, and chose foolishly to make the 50 miles one way trip.

I believe I am up to the task of changing people’s behavior while in the bar and will continue to work closely with local law enforcement to minimize problems at the bar.

Thanks once again for your patience Bret, and I invite you or any representative of ABC to observe how much this bar has indeed changed since I took over. While I am certain I can never achieve 100% perfection I can indeed assure you that my intention and financial interest meshes with ABC goals of not allowing minors into the bar (they don’t spend much money and only cause problems).

I have allready published an article in the round valley news and hope to publish again in the future detailing my adventures here. Hopefully it will be another positive article about how I have managed to change the Buckhorn for the better.

All the very best Bret,


Sincerely,



Allan Barr.
BUCKHORN BAR
p.o.box 68
76360 Covelo Road
Covelo, California 95428

[allanjustallan]

ABC and task force along with local police conducted an undercover operation to see whether any of the local business would sell alcohol to minors. A 16 year old came into the bar but my trusty bartender told him nice try and sent him out the door. This was early in the afternoon just after I left the bar for a short time.

I reviewed the video, then went outside to have a puff, there was the same 16 year old trying to hide by the corner of the building having a cigarette while trying to induce patrons to buy him alcohol.

Anyway he saw me then took off before I ran him off because minors are not allowed to loiter near the bar. Just had to laugh however, because people under 18 are not allowed to smoke in california. Here was a kid trying to induce people to break the law while he was himself breaking the law while under the direct observation of policemen.

I love living here but there are some strange contradictions in a state that has more people imprisoned per capita than any other place in the world.

Anyway I did get to speak to Bret Ajax, he congratulated me and enthused about the letter I sent. For now my relationship with him and local police is right where I need it to be. They are all very competent and if they think I am doing the right thing then I believe I am,

Allan.

[ca. club owner]

sounds good to me... Yea Living in Southern Cal. I totally understand what you are saying... this place is a real trip at times... haha Sounds like you are moving in the right direction.

[Joe]

Yes, congrats are certainly in order.

Baptism by fire is a tough way to learn.

Also, I'm quite taken by your ability to run the bar without the most common items working properly at first. Some of the things that you write with excitement have made me cringe at the thought of operating without, the soda gun story kills me.

Now, we need to get you into a bit of inventory control and a better understanding of improving your monthly cashflows.

Can you elaborate upon your sales #'s and how your expenses are breaking down for things like cost of goods sold, payroll, insurance, rent, debt service and the like?

At this point I think you have many of us interested in helping to make you as large of a success as possible.

Best of Luck,
Joe

[allanjustallan]

TY Joe,

You have identified my next challenge.

I concentrated on changing the culture of this bar first because I knew that local law enforcement and abc had the spotlight on me. Now that I finally have their confidence and active help its time to move forward.

Am going to talk to my accountant about implimenting the point of sale ideas I have using accupos. http://www.attitudepositive.com/

I really am in the dark about inventory control any suggestions would be very much appreciated. If you or anyone else is using pos software which connects to quickbooks also please share your thoughts.

My current monthly breakdown is 22000 gross, employee payroll 1500, am assuming 30% cost for alcohol at least until I get my point of sale and inventory control up and running. Debt level peaked at 130,000 now down to 121,000 with average interest rate of 5.25% . I own the building so no rent. Utilities average 500 a month. Am just now talking to insurance agent regarding liability insurance so will know cost in next week.

The only other significant ongoing expense right now is the renovation behind the bar for my home office/crash pad, once thats completed in the next month everything I earn can go towards paying down debt and making further improvements.

Employee costs will go up a little because right now I am working the bar myself on many nights, and becomming just a little tired as a result. I need to spend more time thinking and implementing more ideas to further improve cash flow. I intend to get my accountant more actively involved with handling my paperwork as well, so thats going to be a few hundred dollars more per month.

On balance it seems to me, before taxes are taken into consideration that I am keeping something in the order of 50% of gross sales, after all expenses but not including my pay, of which I am taking nothing at all at this point,

Allan.

[ca. club owner]

Sounds like you are making all the right moves to make your place a real nice spot... But 1 lil piece of advice I was told from a guy who is 80 plus now.. All ways, all ways pay yourself an income. It helps seperate you an the biz.. I know you are working there an its yours so you figure eh I am ok.. But gots to remember, a lil something that is made in the place is yours... =)

[UnBound10]

Work with your Promoters because Promoters bring in people in your area but you need to make sure you have a WEB SITE and start collecting email, Mobile, IM etc so you stay in contact and create buzz in a "Community" We have found that sending broadcasts with Brand promotions bring in a 44% view rate. Your competition is doing it if they are a good club or bar. GET THE WORD OUT!

Go to www.imobileadvantage.com for more details.

[allanjustallan]

Merry Christmas all.

Being the only bar within fifty miles in any direction I really dont have to advertise at all, there simply is no competition not counting free drinks from weddings etc. As for taking income from the bar I simply dont need to at this point in time, so everything is going towards the bar renovation and paying down debt. On the plus side I am not paying anything in ss taxes ect for myself. But your advice is well taken club owner, I will start taking an income next year, I have so many write-offs that I doubt I will be paying any income taxes this year.

Had to protect and then drive home dave, a really nice guy who simply got too drunk on jager, then when I helped him outside I stayed with him waiting for him to get more sober in the cold air. From past experiance I knew in advance if I left him alone he would get into trouble, which he did by stumbling against someone who thought he had touched his ass deliberately.

Last night had two altercations outside the bar, broke them both up with no need to call the police, I must say having cameras is a major plus, people dont want to fight in the bar when they are being recorded, this is the message I have been told time after time.

I now have a surplus of beautiful females comming to the bar, I believe they now feel safe enough to arrive alone or in twos and threes. Seems to me once the word gets out the males will follow, enhancing my bus. Also got three young beautiful bartenders working different shifts, its really funny to see guys with their tongues hanging out.

My next acid test is going to be new years, Jason has told me they expect a lot of trouble at the bar and they are gearing up for it, everyone is going to be on duty but if they are called away then I am going to be on my own. Will have min two bouncers plus female bouncer plus myself to handle crowd, hope its enough with the bar expected to be at its capacity of 145.

If I can get thru new years without major trouble it will be a huge milestone.

Good luck to all hope everyone has a wonderful trouble free new years,

Allan.

[allanjustallan]

The new bartender who I have just finished training and who is really good at her job got an unwelcome over the bar handshake/tug on her hand from exhubby. Now he was tipsy and was shaking hands and hugging everyone that night until I cut him off and got a family member to safely take him home.

She told me that night that she did not want to serve him anymore, no problem that was very reasonable but the next day without talking to me she filed assault charges against him. His family spends more money than anyone else at the bar, perhaps a days worth of business each month comes from them.

My initial inclination is simply not to call her for more work in the future. Its really hard sometimes, she has two kids and really needs the part time job, but bringing her personal issues into the bar seems like a losing proposition to me.

Would appreciate anyones thoughts on this matter,

Allan.

[ca. club owner]

Cant have personal business in the bar.. Thats one of the biggest problems in this biz. that will neva die.. haha X- boy friends what ever. Show up get drunk an there feelings come out when they see there used to be girl friend talking to others.. Got to ask up front about X's so if they do show. They can let you know, an you can keep an eye on them.. Sorry to hear about the issue. Maybe you should sit an talk to her before letting her go. But you have got to remember. She should have came to you 1st!! I am sure there is someone else looking for a job. Its a tough call to make. Got to go with your gut feeling.

[allanjustallan]

Hard to believe but we had ZERO problems for new years, this has got to be some kind of record. The bar was kinda crowded but really I believe many people stayed away out of fear, because every new years there has been major problems at the bar, fights both in and out of the bar, major near riots outside etc.

I just hope I can continue to change the bars reputation but feel its going to take a few years. Still behind the eight ball when it comes to implimenting pos and inventory controls but just now feel a little worn down, going to work a little less and sleep a little more until I can recharge and get ready for next few ideas I have to increase business.

This is a pic of me taken a few years ago, http://profiles.yahoo.com/allanjustallan


I trust everyone else had a similar event free new years and am looking forward to continuing growing my bus in this new year,

Allan.

[ca. club owner]

Sounds like a good step in the right direction... I went to vegas an was like a 5 year old fresh of restriction... =)

[allanjustallan]

Well everything is still going well, very few minor problems no major problems.

Took a drunk guy home few nights ago, his dog bit my pants leg but that was all. Someone scratched my new evo megatouch machine, going to cost me 375 plus labour plus having to drive all the way to san francisco to get it fixed.

Not sure if its the same for everyone but towards the end of the month my business slows to almost nothing, just when I start to get despondent first of the month rolls around and its humming again. Kinda crossing my fingers that business does not stay slow thru the winter months, time will tell.

Its been about 15 days since the local police came in the bar, am feeling kinda neglected in a nice way.

Allan.

[allanjustallan]

Well business is still good, only down about 20% from my busy summer and fall months. Not bad and am looking forward to the impending busy season, when pot growers, deer hunters and tourists flow into the town. Am hopefull that as word slowly gets out that the buckhorn is no longer violent and offers a wide range of beverage choices that more people will come on into this very historic bar.

Its now been 32 days since the local police have visited the bar, I do believe they are happy with the very low incidence of service calls from the bar. Have also finally assembled a really good team of people, I do believe I have the nicest and arguably the most beautiful young ladies working as bartenders, its really helping business no doubt.

Have been procrastinating on getting my inventory and accounting controls up and running. Its a weakness that needs to be fixed, also have to get my pricing lists done for offsale of litre bottles of alcohol, I have noticed that as my selection of alcohol has grown more people are interested in buying for offsale, and more people are comming in for a beverage as word gets around about the wide selection now available.

New barstools are now on my agenda, anyone with any suggestions would be most welcome. Any thoughts on really good books about running a bar would be appreciated as well. I want this bar to continue on an upward performance trend and to do that I need to further educate myself.

Still on my to do list is a jukebox and also claw machine, but hopefully I will have time to get around to researching and installing these as well.

Must repeat my assertion, going the ownership route on the pool table and evo megatouch machines has been one of my smarter choices.

Am still happy to be a bar owner, and it seems the burden of running a bar is getting easier to bear,

Allan.

[allanjustallan]

Guess I should have listened to Falcon way back, he gave me really good advice about a jukebox selection. Have been researching which jukebox to buy and there is no doubt in my mind that the touchtunes is the way to go.

More than 140,000 songs preinstalled on touchtunes juke makes the regular cd type jukes seem like a poor second choice. Big price drop plus free financing makes this a no brainer in my opinion.

http://www.replaymag.com/covstory.htm
http://www.replaymag.com/finish.htm
http://touchtunes.com/our_jukebox/

I intend to place my order today, under the 12.95 per week plan plus they get 16% of gross. I cant justify charging 50 cents per play but tentatively intend to charge one dollar for three songs or 50 cents for one, hopefully that means less quarters to deal with.

One small possible problem however for those who want to go the ownership route. I called touchtunes yesterday, they really tried hard to encourage me to go the vendor route, but fortunately I found a distributor who would sell me touchtunes directly.

Allan.

[allanjustallan]

Took about one hour on ph with touchtunes while I installed juke yesterday. Fairly easy and speakers sound great. Last night one person spent 15 dollars in one go and raved about the choices available. There are options available to limit which music is played, but so far will allow everything and see how it goes.

Just after shutting bar, and while still getting last stragglers out a customer asked for beer to go, but it was just after 2am so I refused,