New bar/pub idea

Mamasan23

So I need some honest advice from you fine folks about a business idea my hubby and I have. We've always wanted to open up a rock club as he's been in the promotions industry forever. It started as a metal club with acts every day...typical food/bar service. But we're kind of throwing the idea around of a themed pub - a Pink Floyd themed pub to be exact. Now of course this isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, but we've been trying to find a niche to make it stand out (as our area is quite saturated with bars and pubs). So there's still going to be a club area, but there may not be live music every night of the week. The food and drinks will be PF themed and so will the decor, well, you get the idea. Part of the reason why we chose PF is because it's the one band that we both absolutely love, and they're so legendary that hopefully there will be a large enough market to keep it afloat. We're not looking to make millions, just pay our bills doing something we love.

Do you think it would work or should we go back to the drawing board?!

dcfaithful

I like the idea of a "rock club." You might benefit from expanding it from just one band as the theme. What about like a bar themed around rock legends or classic rock (in the Who, PF, Zeppelin, Cream, Doors, kind of way)?

Having said that, I wouldn't say no to going to a Pink Floyd themed bar though.

Keep in mind I am no business man, have no marketing experience, etc. Just my two cents.

Excited to hear what comes of this!

SatansFuton

I don't know, would you run into any copyright/licensing issues doing something like that? I honestly don't know, I'm just asking. Chances are none of Pink Floyd's people would hear about it even if there were, but it would be something worth looking into before you do it.

DS1119

I don't have any experience in the restaurant/bar business but I do enjoy eating out quite a bit and I do like odd/different places (I started a thread about that here a bit back). The thing that keeps me going back is one of two factors. First and most importantly good food. Second, is it interesting? I'll use this example. I was in Phoenix and Alice Cooper owns a restaurant out there called Alice Cooperstown near the baseball stadium. To be honest, the food sucked but all of the rock and sports stuff on the walls was very interesting. Following year we give the restaurant/bar another shot because it was cool. Same shitty food...same stuff on the walls. Have not been back and have no desire to go back.

dcfaithful

SatansFuton wrote:

I don't know, would you run into any copyright/licensing issues doing something like that? I honestly don't know, I'm just asking. Chances are none of Pink Floyd's people would hear about it even if there were, but it would be something worth looking into before you do it.

Good point. Theming a bar after PF, you'd think that you'd have to get some kind of sign off to do it legally.

tinkerbell

I think it's a cool idea! My hubby and I would come (if we weren't on the other side of the world ).
Do either of you have experience running a business? Doing your market research first is essential as if there are already a lot of bars in your area you need to make sure you'll be able to run successfully.

I have worked as a bar manager and have worked in a lot of small businesses running the day to day. Both are fun, but are really hard. Owning a bar is a lifestyle, you end up with not much of a life outside of that, which can be really hard.

I would suggest talking to people in the industry for advice - a certain bucket hat wearing gentleman comes to mind. I don't know what licencing laws are like where you are but here they can be really challenging.

Good luck

dcfaithful

DS1119 wrote:

I don't have any experience in the restaurant/bar business but I do enjoy eating out quite a bit and I do like odd/different places (I started a thread about that here a bit back). The thing that keeps me going back is one of two factors. First and most importantly good food. Second, is it interesting? I'll use this example. I was in Phoenix and Alice Cooper owns a restaurant out there called Alice Cooperstown near the baseball stadium. To be honest, the food sucked but all of the rock and sports stuff on the walls was very interesting. Following year we give the restaurant/bar another shot because it was cool. Same shitty food...same stuff on the walls. Have not been back and have no desire to go back.

Yeah, memoribilia is only so cool if the food is subpar.

Mamasan23

Thank you all so much for your responses!! I did think about making it just a general rock-themed bar, which might still happen, but I really want the specific niche. As far as licensing goes, that is something that we'll have to look into. I only found one PF themed bar in a search - it's called The Wall and it's in Thailand, so it is possible!

I've also read in other forums and threads that yes the food must be worth coming back for, so that will be a priority!

Tinkerbell we definitely will be doing a lot of research. We've been in the beginning stage for a few years now, I've been writing a business plan and keep tweaking it as time goes on. A good friend of my hubby's owns a fairly successful rock club on the southside of Chicago so he's been amazingly helpful with us too.

Thanks again everyone!

tinkerbell

Exciting

polaris_x

not to poo poo your idea ... but people should really think twice about opening a bar / restaurant if they don't necessarily have the experience ... there are a lot of things that go into the success in this industry and concept is only one factor ... other key ones include:

* rent deal (you can have the best concept but if your occupancy costs are too high - you will fail)
* food and drink execution (it means - can you serve quality food at appropriate margins while maintaining your costs at a profitable margin).
* location (does your location have the traffic / accessibility that will drive the numbers you need and the revenue - demographics and competition play a role here)

people think running a restaurant is easy ... but it's not ...

green mountain man

If you had legal approval , great food, and plenty of funding for cool decor/lighting go for it.
Your breakfast bar could be called "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast". Other food items "Candy and a Currant Bun"
Vegetable Man" "Apples and oranges". The bar could be called Ibiza Bar serving drinks "Absolutely Curtains "
"Comfortably Numb" "Terminal Frost " Of course You would have a cigar smoking area called "Have a Cigar"

rhcpjam1029

i don't like pink floyd at all, but i still think it would be cool to see how creative you guys could get with it, i.e. having special drinks named after their songs, etc.

Mamasan23

polaris_x wrote:

not to poo poo your idea ... but people should really think twice about opening a bar / restaurant if they don't necessarily have the experience ... there are a lot of things that go into the success in this industry and concept is only one factor ... other key ones include:

* rent deal (you can have the best concept but if your occupancy costs are too high - you will fail)
* food and drink execution (it means - can you serve quality food at appropriate margins while maintaining your costs at a profitable margin).
* location (does your location have the traffic / accessibility that will drive the numbers you need and the revenue - demographics and competition play a role here)

people think running a restaurant is easy ... but it's not ...

No I appreciate the advice, seriously! To be honest, I would much prefer just having a club with drinks so that we don't have to deal with running a restaurant....because I realize that that is probably way over our heads. We're currently still brainstorming and in the complete baby stage of this, so we're entertaining all of our options.

RKCNDY

Mamasan23 wrote:

polaris_x wrote:

not to poo poo your idea ... but people should really think twice about opening a bar / restaurant if they don't necessarily have the experience ... there are a lot of things that go into the success in this industry and concept is only one factor ... other key ones include:

* rent deal (you can have the best concept but if your occupancy costs are too high - you will fail)
* food and drink execution (it means - can you serve quality food at appropriate margins while maintaining your costs at a profitable margin).
* location (does your location have the traffic / accessibility that will drive the numbers you need and the revenue - demographics and competition play a role here)

people think running a restaurant is easy ... but it's not ...

No I appreciate the advice, seriously! To be honest, I would much prefer just having a club with drinks so that we don't have to deal with running a restaurant....because I realize that that is probably way over our heads. We're currently still brainstorming and in the complete baby stage of this, so we're entertaining all of our options.

I don't know about your state laws, but here in Wash State, to serve liquor, you must serve food. Prob why all the bar food is disgusting.

I do love the rock themed idea of a bar/club. I had an idea for that a long time ago...but yeah, def contact D-man and pick his brain about owning a bar.
There is a bar here that's for sale...everything included $100K, jukebox, pool tables, kitchen, lighting, sound system...

polaris_x

Mamasan23 wrote:

No I appreciate the advice, seriously! To be honest, I would much prefer just having a club with drinks so that we don't have to deal with running a restaurant....because I realize that that is probably way over our heads. We're currently still brainstorming and in the complete baby stage of this, so we're entertaining all of our options.

i will give you an example of the complexity of the industry you are looking into ...

i worked during school at a bar/restaurant owned by hockey players ... place was packed ... good times ... food was decent ... etc ... didn't make money ... sold to some new owners ... new uniforms, new corporate culture, new food portioning and menu ... didn't make any money ... sold again to another venture ... new high end concept ... great food ... great service ... prices went up ... didn't make any money ...

the place is now a chain rotisserie chicken place but it's had it's share of occupants ... so, if i were to speculate - the first concept was good except management could not keep food costs down (too much wastage, bartenders free pouring, etc.); second concept was too stale and food was not executed well; third concept didn't have the market, the neighbourhood didn't want to pay $15 for gourmet nachos ...

i think you get where i'm going ... although i fully support all entrepreneurs ... my advice is to a) work on a business that emphasizes your strengths b) educate yourself in the industry and gain as much experience as possible c) recognize what this venture will do to your life (in almost all cases - it will become your life) ...

good luck

UpSideDown

My take would be that a totally Pink Floyd endeavour would be too narrow. I would be careful how far you take it; you want to keep high accessiblity for the general public.

Mamasan23

RKCNDY wrote:

There is a bar here that's for sale...everything included $100K, jukebox, pool tables, kitchen, lighting, sound system...

Looks like we're moving to Seattle

dcfaithful

If you need to do food, keep in mind that Mrs. faithful is a pretty darn good chef.

Of course, I'm biased.

davidtrios

sorry to be captain obvious but why not start a packers bar?

:thumbdown: :crazy: :wtf:

mookeywrench

I would rotate the theme beyond solely Pink Floyd.

Do a quarterly or bi-annual mix. Q1 Pink Floyd, Q2 Ramones, Q3 Sinatra, Q4 Pavement.

It would be a lot more work in the creativity department, but you could focus on hiring servers, bartenders, and hosts who are artists and would want to contribute to menu planning and visual display.

tvismyfriend

After watching that marathon of Restaurant Impossible, I would strongly recommend against opening a bar or restaurant.