Has any one got a magic formula for running a bar. Staff hard to get and we don't want to serve much food....

Question

We are a small neighborhood bar, with hot dogs, chili, sandwiches, chips, peanuts, popcorn (but no provisions to dodeep fried food). Is there any advice as how to create and maintain a decent clientele (not a rough and tumble kind) and further, we are complicated by being the last place on an out of the way area downtown (and the downtowns are not thriving)..we have a capacity for 70 and their are apartments above us. ANY advice would be welcome

Answer 1

I don't know if there's a magic formula, I've worked in many bars though and here is my perspective as a server and manager. The ones that did the best were the ones that had the least staff turnover. The only reason a bar has a high turnover is that it is not a fun/lucrative place to work. When you walk into a bar and the staff has long faces, you know they're not happy and therefore won't be staying long.
One place I worked at, I was there 7 years and still the last one hired! Some had been there over 20 years. The reason we loved working there started with the owners. They treated us like family and asked every day about our kids/home life, etc. When the bar was busy and we would get a little flustered, they would jump in and help and in some cases, even pour us a drink to help calm down. The bar itself had 6 stools, the owner worked behind the bar, and gave all of the bar tips to us waitresses on the floor. They said tips belong to servers, even though we thought he should keep them. He used to tell us he was making enough money because we were responsible for the people coming back.
We used to have a large tureen of soup every lunch hour, with a choice of 2 or 3 different sandwhiches. Business people knew they could come in and have a quick and delicious lunch and be back at work in plenty of time.
We had a group of card players who came in every afternoon to play gin rummy. We treated them like Gold! The table was always clean and served professionally.
After work crowd always had fun music to listen to as well as a daily drink special. The owners always asked us to make it as fun for people as possible, which we did, and they always came back.
We usually had a theme night, once a month. Some were pretty whacky but always fun. One of my favorites was "Hat" night, where everyone had to wear some form of hat. That one was very funny. Theme night was always advertised with flyers and we always had a good turnout.
The owner would take the time each day/night to go and sit with everyone in the bar, buy the table a drink and drop off some peanuts or pretzels. Those little things go a long way with people and soon it becomes a daily thing to drop in at the bar to see who's there and mingle with their new found friends.
The waitresses were always dressed nice. No jeans were allowed. When you give respect to the customers, you get respect back.
So, what it boils down to is making it both a fun place to work and a fun place for customers. Everybody wins and your professionalism really shines through!
Hope this helps.

Answer 2

It's just a suggestion, but you might try re-decorating, renaming the bar and then a small advertising campaign. Hold auditions, or if you know a good local band, hire them to play one night. Take out a newspaper ad to let people know about your new look, and about the "special event" with the band. Place comment cards on the bar and at the front door. The best way to find out how you are doing is to get feedback from the customers. Ask them how to improve the service. As far as employees go, sit down and look at the job itself, the pay, benefits, etc... then ask yourself, "If I was looking for a job, would I take this one?" Talk to your local unemployment office. They will send you referrals, and a newspaper ad will work wonders also. Hope it helps and best of luck...