Originally Posted by wildcard.rgbw

No door staff... ok, your going for a late license I take it?

Yes. Are doors staff mandatory? There's rarley trouble in Esher on a night out. But if it's needed then I'd retake my license and do it myself.

Ther red tape is a feckin nightmare, well it is up here in Scotland, I not that au fait with English licensing laws.

Other than cocktail/wine what else do you propose?

You will need a license - personal licensing system coming in September for both owners and managers.

You will need a license to play recorded music
Another for live music
You will have to negotiate with the local authority with regard to license hours (how late do you want to stay open?)
Will you be dispensing food?
You will need a pavement license to serve food/alcohol outside should you choose.

Will it be freehold or rented?
Do you want to be tied to a brewery - they can provide training and a little financial backing, but you can be tied to a limited range of products.

Rental can mean you pay a large fee upfront for the business, and pay rental for the property.

Do you want to be truely independent - more freedom to sell what you like.


What age bracket are you aiming for?
What are your competitors in the area - you need to do something unique.
What is your pitch basically.

Door staff are advisable especially if you propose being open after midnight.

What staffing levels are you looking at. This will vary of course on your proposal - you will need at least two managers. Although that is dependent on how much time you propose to spend working at the venue.

If you are propsing to sell food you will need a head chef, assistant and probably 4-5 others (min).

I don't now the area but if you PM me the size of the venue, location, pictures etc. I can advise you better. Bars are my business. I ran a successful cocktail bar in Bristol, and set up the bars in the new casino here in Glasgow last year. So any issues I help if I can.

edited to add: you will alos need to decide if you are going to be a freepor bar, this falls under lisencing too - and throws up a number of issues all of their own.

if your not gonna do pints then have a bottle deal that will allow people to get 500ml of beer for a similiar price as a pint, and you should also serve desperado (the next big thing)

You're also going to need to splash out on NCPLH courses for some of your staff as well in order to make sure you've always got a licencee covering the premises at all times. Popping out to the shops for five minutes? Doesn't matter you still need someone with an alcohol licence in the bar.

Also get your HAACP qualification - management level. It's meant for foods handling and will apply for bars if you intend to serve food, plus it gives the option of putting food on. Also not entirely sure (the law may have changed since I did mine two years ago) but I think they're starting to clamp down on things like bar snacks, so you might need it for that as well.

If you have any questions about the HAACP or NCPLH just bung me a pm I did both 2 years ago and ran a cafe & alcohol section for M&S for over year.

Prince Albert

One of the members of arrse is a consultant in this field. I will speak to him and get him to pm you later on today.

As people have already stated - a minefield!

PM sent

I also have a contact to get you free training although the personal licence has to be paid for.

1) You need to look at the demographics of the area.
2) Interview staff (just looking at them and thinking they have nice tits will NOT be enough, doesn't hurt though ) Try not to use the Job Centre to advertise in, I had othing but problems when I did. I set specific criteria eg basic catering knowledge, basic food hygiene certificate, but got nothing but idiots with neither.
3) Decide what products you would like to sell, find a decent supplier of said products.
4) Ensure that there are no problems with the property with the police as they could block your application if there has been trouble there in the past.
5) You'll need to look at opening times as there will be dead times, mainly during the daytime.
6) Pubwatch, which has already been mentioned, is a good idea.
7) With the NCPLH, you;ll need 2 licence holders minimum, as there has to be a licence holder on the premises at all times that you are open.

Surely its simple?
Employ someone who insists on serving the regulars first, regardless of how long you have been stood there. They must have a miserable scowl and be able to snatch your money and sling your change at you with the speed of light, before banging your drink down hard enough for half the contents to slop onto the bar top.
Then they must be proficient in scowling at you again as though you have spilled it before returning to serve another regular.
Doormen should be pumped up on steroids, wear black bomber jackets and earphones and be efficient in slinging you onto the pavement in a manner that breaks at least one limb while chewing gum.
Hope this helps :D

You will also need to factor in the pre-opening Arrse Crawl at which the first drink is free to all Arrse members and BOGOF for the rest of the night!!! (Free food of course - curry night?)






























You will then have to factor in the re-decorating costs for after the pre-opening Arrse Crawl. :D

Originally Posted by Countrylad

You're also going to need to splash out on NCPLH courses for some of your staff as well in order to make sure you've always got a licencee covering the premises at all times. Popping out to the shops for five minutes? Doesn't matter you still need someone with an alcohol licence in the bar.

Also get your HAACP qualification - management level. It's meant for foods handling and will apply for bars if you intend to serve food, plus it gives the option of putting food on. Also not entirely sure (the law may have changed since I did mine two years ago) but I think they're starting to clamp down on things like bar snacks, so you might need it for that as well.

If you have any questions about the HAACP or NCPLH just bung me a pm I did both 2 years ago and ran a cafe & alcohol section for M&S for over year.

You will not need a HAACP System, that is designed for large kitchens / food factories.
Law says you need training commensurate with your role.
However for best practice I would recommend a minimum of Food Hygiene Level 2 for yourself and Chefs, (1 day course) Food Hygiene level 1 for remaining staff (1/2 day course).
I would suggest you get hold of a copy of Safer Food, Better Business which will take you through the Diary form of HAACP recommended for small business/ You can get it (free I think) from Food Standards Agency. This is basically the start of forming your Due Diligence Defence for when it goes Pear shaped and Fat Pie Eater complains you've given her food poisoning.