r/BarOwners

For those that have sold their bar, or folks who have purchased one, how did you go about marketing it? Did you really find a broker and list on wesellrestaurants.com or bizbuysell.com? I feel like some local groups may be interested in adding to their portfolio, but we also don’t want to just approach someone without an NDA. So, it seems a bit daunting.

I’m looking for a bar set for my home bar. Nothing too expensive. I also don’t think the bar sets from crate and barrel or these home stores are real or quality. What are some good places or sites to buy from?

Hey yall. I’ve been bartending for about 6 years now, from barbacking to high level mixology to beertending.
I’ve maintained a fantasy of owning my own bar, and I’ve spoken with enough bar owners to also ground my expectations.

I have my visions for what I would build, depending on the available real estate and bar sizes. I’ve spoken with folks about my visions and gotten a LOT of interest.
I’ve got a lot of folks who are up to invest when the time comes.

BUT. I’ve never managed. I’ve never opened a bar. I know I’m not ready yet.
How did you go, specifically, from “I have a vision” to figuring out what paperwork to do, navigating the legalities, talking to distributors, all that stuff? Where is the itemized “to do” list?😂 if I could find somebody who has opened a bar before to partner with, that’d be amazing, but I don’t know HOW to find them! (Besides my boss, but I feel it’d be tacky to ask them.)

Long story, but need a few 55 gallon drums of vegetable oil for a mega festival. Does anyone have a good supplier for this?

My wife and I have 4 bars in Austin and have been doing this since 2011. We just opened our most recent bar about 2 months ago. We weren’t looking to open another spot but the landlord made a great offer based on our history so we scraped money together, found a couple of investors and made it happen. The new bar is popping off luckily.

Now, another property owner calls me to tell me he likes what we did with that spot, he says he has a building coming available in a few months and wants to know if we’re interested. 🤦🏻‍♂️

It’s a great location that checks all the boxes for our type of operation. We have the team available to run it and a concept that has longevity. Problem is we don’t have access to money now.

So here’s the dumb part. Anyone interested in investing in another bar in Austin? lol. Expenses based on our recent opening are about $275k but I’d like to raise $300k in case of any surprises. 10 year lease, can probably get a 5 year option on the end, I’d expect ROI in 2-3 years.

Please don’t roast me. This sub can have some attitude some times but I know it’s all in good fun. We’re bar people.

My husband and I decided to open a bar. He’s always DJ at several bars but decided he wanted to open up his own. I support it 100% but it’s a different ball game from what we’re used to(we own mechanics shops) We’ve been open a month and still learning what areas need work. I’m still trying to wrap my head around calculating how many shots are left in the bottle at the end of the night as well as what is a better way to make sure bartenders are not pocketing money .

I’m looking at buying a bar that’s been around my town since the 50’s and I’m looking for advice for going through the buying process and first year! Anything is welcome. It’s a dive bar for reference

We are thinking of getting rid of our taps. Our current bar set up only allows for a few and they are not our biggest sellers. We can get the same beers in a bottle. Does anybody run a "dive" bar with bottles only and what are your thoughts? Thank you.

Hiya everyone,

Ik this is for kitchen staff

I’m (M20) working at this quite nice place in the uk and I was just sent home early because I disagreed with the GMs decision to reuse tequila from a partially smashed bottle.

When I say smashed I mean all of the top and some of the middle had gone and there was still glass breaking off as they poured it in to a tub.

He said they will fine strain it but it’s more the microscopic stuff I’m really worried about. I’m not pissed that he sent me home but I’m more worried that shit is on the bar and could potentially harm a customer.

When he pulled me aside he told me to pretty much be quiet because I’m a bartender and he is GM

Is this dangerous? Should I inform a higher authority to prevent this being served or is double straining it enough do you think?

Please let me know I can’t tell if I’m being pedantic.

Throwaway account…My question is has anyone bootstrapped a second location? If so, what would you prioritize spending your limited funds on to get a place open? Any thoughts, ideas welcome.

Background: Our first bar location is taking off (we’ve been in business 4.5 years) and we have another year on our lease. We hope to renew the lease at our current spot when the time comes.

Last week a customer who is a local developer asked us if we’d be interested in renting in another building he just bought in a different (higher foot traffic) neighborhood. We were thinking of a doing a second bar with a different concept while keeping the first location humming along.

The second space is partially built out (was a kava bar) we’d need to add some sinks and a walk in, do some new light fixtures and furniture mostly. Mid size New England city. Approx. 2400SF

We’ve always planned on a second location down the road but this offer kind of fell into our lap and we don’t want to pass it up, but we also don’t want to take out any major loans. We’re owner operators. Husband and wife team, 5 part time employees, no investors. We funded the first location with a home equity loan.

Long time lurker on this sub and curious to hear your thoughts!

I am currently in negotiations on purchasing a karaoke bar. Other bars in the area with more space have kind of copied what once made this bar extremely popular. I believe this bar still has a chance to rebuild their customer base. The staff is great, the brand had history in the city, and its always been considered safe. The main problem I see is their current karaoke host leaves a lot to be desired. Besides finding a new host, anyone have any suggestions on how I could potentially turn a karaoke bar around?

We've got a pretty steady rotation of contractors throughout the year and tax season is always a scramble. What are other bar owners using to stay organized with payments and W-9 collection? Any platforms or processes that have worked for you?

Throwaway account for obvious reasons.

I run a small pub and we’ve somehow ended up with a really good reputation for the quality of our beer and ale. We’re CAMRA recognised/listed, we get customers who have found us through CAMRA stuff, and we regularly get people coming in specifically because they’ve heard the beer is well kept.
And honestly, I feel like a complete impostor.
People tell us all the time that our ale is some of the best around. We get regulars, holidaymakers, proper ale drinkers, all saying how good it is. Meanwhile there are other pubs nearby that seem to get slated for bad beer, bad lines, tired ale, all of that.
The thing is, I’m really not doing anything special.
If anything, I’m probably not doing half the things I’m supposed to be doing.
I don’t always condition casks properly. I don’t aerate them in any clever or consistent way. I don’t always give them 6 to 24 hours to settle. There have been plenty of times where I’ve tapped one, put it on, and served it almost straight away.
Line cleaning is the bit I’m most sheepish about. I know the standard advice is weekly, or every couple of weeks at the very least, but I’d be lying if I said I always keep to that. Sometimes it’s closer to monthly. Sometimes, when the pub has been manic and everything else is on fire, it has gone longer.
And yet, somehow, we keep getting praised.
So I’m genuinely asking other publicans, cellar people, brewers, and proper beer drinkers, what is actually going on here?
Is the “clean your lines every week without fail” thing really as black and white as the industry makes out?
Are some pubs maybe over-cleaning, disturbing things too often, or making things worse by constantly messing with the beer?
Is there something else that matters more, like turnover, temperature, supplier quality, short lines, luck, or just getting through the beer quickly enough?
Or is the horrible answer that a lot of beer drinkers talk a good game, and once a pub has a good reputation, people taste what they expect to taste?
I’m not asking because I want to stay lazy or cut corners forever. I do want to get better and run the cellar properly. But it’s strange being praised constantly for something I don’t feel I’ve earned, and it makes me hesitant to change too much in case I somehow ruin whatever is working.
Part of me thinks, don’t touch it, the beer is clearly landing well.
The other part of me thinks, no, you’re just getting away with it for now and one day it’ll catch up with you.
Would be interested to hear honest thoughts from people who’ve actually run pubs and kept cask in the real world, not just textbook answers.

Kind of like an AMA, here's a weekly post where customers can ask questions. This is for anyone including market research, app developers, people who watch too much "reality" TV about bars, and general industry bullshit. Maybe a bar owner will have an answer for you, maybe not.

If you are already in the industry your question may get better responses if you post your own thread instead of commenting here.

(I posted this in the Chicago Service INdustry group and got really good feedback and arguments -- would love to get Reddit's opinion as well, as I really like to poke the hornets nest sometimes...)

"I was talking to another bar owner this week, and it got me thinking: In 2026, what is the actual purpose of the Three-Tier system, and who does it benefit?

Over the last five years, the big distros (Breakthru, SGWS, etc.) have increasingly made it more difficult and expensive for the retail sector. They’ve jacked up order minimums, halved delivery schedules, and hiked fees. For independent bars, this means we’re forced to warehouse massive amounts of backstock—tying up vital cash flow—just to avoid running out of essentials.

Clearly, the current system is optimized for Big Box retail, not mom-and-pop bars. And I actually get why the distros do it. Making 5–8 stops on one block—dealing with stairs, narrow alleys, and waiting for a manager to check in a split case, or write a check—is a logistical, time wasting nightmare. Obviously it makes way more sense for them to drop 10 pallets at Costco or Woodman’s and take one fat check home. That's efficiency in action, right?

The problem is that the law forces us into a relationship they clearly don’t want to be in. Those restrictions and minimums are put in place specifically because they don’t WANT to service small accounts.

Of course, if you have a busy Friday and run out of Tito’s (or whatvever), you can’t just run to Jewel or Binny’s, because in IL, it's illegal to get beer/wine/liquor from anyone but a distributor. But why? If I buy three bottles at my local grocery, the State of Illinois gets their tax money from the grocery store, and then they get it again when I sell the pours over my bar. There is zero downside for the state treasury. Yet, it remains illegal. So.... who does that help?

Does it help Tier 1 (Producers)? You think Tito’s wants me out of stock for two weeks because I didn’t have the cash for a "minimum" order or because there's a driver strike? No. They want their product pouring. They'd probably rather have me go get 3-4 illegal bottles and keep pouring Titos.

Does it help Tier 2 (Distributors): Why force them to service us inefficient small accounts? Let them focus on the Walmarts and Costcos and Woodmans of the world, and let me pick up what I need, when I need it, and when I have cash on hand.

Does it help Tier 3 (Retailers): I can’t find a single way the current status quo benefits us anymore. We’ve become a captive audience for the middle tier.

Originally the Three-Tier system was meant to prevent "Tied Houses" (manufacturers owning bars and blocking competition). But we already threw that concept away. If Revolution can sell a pint at their taproom, or CH can pour a shot of Malort at their own bar, the argument that a distributor is "mechanically necessary" for safety or "product protection" is dead.

I’m not asking to burn the ILCC down. I’m asking for modernization. If the system can’t guarantee access to product, small independent businesses just need a common sense relief valve. New York recently passed a law (S.409A/A.7464B) that allows on-premise accounts to buy up to six bottles per week from a retail store. To me, that’s a great middle ground. It keeps us operational during strikes or shortages without dismantling the whole system.

TLDR: Who or what is the three tier system actually protecting anymore?

how are you guys structuring your employees? Do you act as GM? Do you have one GM? Do you have one lead? Two leads that have different responsibilities?

I normally currently have 5-6 employees total at each location. Both neighborhood bars in the Midwest.

Looking to change up my "leadership" structure. Thanks for your input!