A well-planned bar design plays a pivotal role in boosting revenue in the hospitality industry. Crafting an environment that easily attracts customers and offers them a delightful experience is crucial. Offering a warm welcome invites customers into the bar’s ambiance. As customers enter, the space should be comfortable for socializing while enjoying their favorite spirits in an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere. 

From Cheers to Cash: Understanding the Profitability of a Bar

Designing a profitable bar includes staying attuned to consumer trends in alcohol consumption, creating marketing strategies that appeal to them, and driving engagement and profitability.

Profit Margin

The average profit margin for a bar is 78-80 percent. While the average varies based on location, drinks served, and the type of bar, it's only a slight variation. With pour costs between 18 and 20 percent across the industry, the margins are substantially higher than profits on food.

Trends

Consumer trends in alcohol consumption are tracked year by year. It's important to research recent trends in order to have a successful bar business. In a recent survey, when a group of young adults was asked about their preferences, 35 percent of those surveyed, while 31 percent chose wine and 30 percent preferred liquor. Half of beer drinkers drank it once per week, while a third of wine drinkers drank it more than once per week.

Elements of a Properly Designed Bar

When designing a profitable bar, be sure to combine elements that contribute to its success. Veteran bartender and author, Jim Meehan, says that a successful bar design focuses on the user experience of both guests and bar staff.

Identify Your Concept and Theme

The design of a successful bar should align with the establishment's overall appearance and style. Maintaining consistency is the key to creating a cohesive experience, whether the business has an elegant wine bar, a rustic pub, or a modern lounge.

Optimize Space and Flow

A well-designed bar should allow easy access for guests and staff. Using the space strategically can optimize the flow resulting in staff efficiency. Plus, it can prevent customers from feeling crowded and have space to relax and enjoy themselves.

Choose the Right Bar Top

A bar top should complement its overall design, not overshadow it. The type of bar and color scheme will factor in closely when choosing the right bar top. Selecting a bar top with durability is important, as it must withstand spills and heavy use. Durable options include concrete, quartz, or granite, which come in several aesthetically pleasing styles.

Showcase Your Beverage Selection

A visually appealing display can make the bar space a focal point, enticing customers to their favorite wines, spirits, and craft beers or inviting them to try new ones. An option to catch the eye of the customer is considering open shelving, glass cabinet fronts, or a custom design to showcase what the bar has to offer.

Raising the Bar with Glastender

Since 1969, Glastender, a family-owned business, has been manufacturing exceptional foodservice equipment. The company makes the bar design process seamless with its highly configurable products. Glastender has engineered them to provide efficiency to create a profitable bar.

Glastender's fabricated underbar equipment offers features that provide durability while keeping staff and customers safe. With all welded, stainless steel, no galvanized metal, hemmed metal edges, speed rails you can stand on, perforated drainboard for faster drying, coved corners and no sharp edges for efficient cleaning, you'll know that it's easy to sanitize while it won't buckle or bend with heavy use.

From a vast array of line chillers, dispensers, and draft-compatible coolers, Glastender offers top-of-the-line options for beverage dispensing. With more sizes and types of refrigeration options than their competition, Glastender's cooler and freezer options are all rated NSF Standard 7 for open food. And bar staff will find clean up is a breeze with Glastender's array of fill & dump glasswashers and rotary rack glasswashers.

Designing Your Dream Bar with the GTdesigner Tool from Glastender

Designing a profitable bar is a breeze when a business uses Glastender's step-by-step processing. Why? Because Glastender uses a powerful and intuitive tool, GTdesigner. Offering a hands-on, user-friendly tool that helps clients design their bar piece by piece, GTdesign allows users to design stations from start to finish. By offering design service that offers years of experience, Glastender helps maximize space and profitability

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