Questions on opening a Bar

[pornodo]

Hi guys, first and foremost I thank you for any positive/negative response I get if any.

I am looking at opening a wine & beer outlet.

I want to know what kind of insurance and possible taxes I will have to pay, be it monthly half yearly or yearly.

And any other things i have to consider other than the rental, the stock and the more fundamental stuff.

Thanks in advance!

[GlobalWealth]

don't do it

[GlobalWealth]

on a more serious note, a bar is a lifestyle business. be prepared to be married to it. employees will steal from you in many ways; food, drink, giving stuff to friends, or just flat out steal money. your location is very important too. I owned a bar several years ago in North Carolina and because of the very strict alcohol laws, it was not a pleasant experience. not all states are as tough as in the bible belt though. commerical landlords can also be a pain to deal with. from my personal experience (my grandfather and uncle owned a chain of restaurants, my father ran them for many years, and I personally owned a bar) the financial rewards are not worth the time.

[rdc]

Hi Pornodo,

The answer to your question will vary from state to state.

In addition to the standard insurance issues (slip and fall, damages to property, etc), you will be basically considering other liabilities related to the actual consumption of alcohol, sales to potentially intoxicated persons, minors, etc. Hosting a tasting, for example, would open a can of worms in terms of liability.

Most states have statutes in this regard, often called dram-shop laws. One particularly helpful document that you should check is located in the NHTSA-Digest (Google it; I don't have enough posts yet to paste the URL here).

Regarding stock/bills, given that you are a primarily inventory-driven business, you will need rigid accounting/bookkeeping practices. In addition, a legal business entity setup is probably recommended to protect your personal assets and to deal with operating and equity concerns if you have any partners/investors.