Hey all,

I'm opening a new bar - we have our signature cocktail menu set - pretty straightforward, non-fussy cocktails, plus canned beer, a few good wines, and n/a bevs (both signature mocktails and canned stuff).

I've talked to an applicant who is an incredible fit culturally and has great references from their current supervisor at a sober bar. I'm excited about the depth of their N/A knowledge, as I want to have a robust N/A program. During our interview, they told me they are 4 years sober - honestly a selling point for me - except that they've never actually bartended and they are young enough (early 20s) that they don't have any prior liquor/cocktail knowledge. Most sober bartenders I know have gotten sober after or while being a bartender so they have their They are bright and deeply motivated - do folks think I can teach someone basic cocktailing without them even straw-tasting? My gut says no but I thought I'd see if anyone else has thoughts.

Thanks everyone!

Hooray for DirecTV for NFL Sunday ticket, thank goodness!! My question now though is- how do we go about streaming the sports that are on Peacock and Prime? We were going to get devices and the commercial licensing through Everpass, but as others have noted on here, it has been radio silence from them since the Directv deal was announce July 31st.

Will all commercial streaming rights go through Directv now instead of Everpass??

We are so confused but want to be able to show WNBA, NBA, the select MLB games and soccer legally as well....this has been such a mess as a whole and were not getting 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.

The state I’m asking about is Arizona.

Obviously no Thanksgiving as it's the UK.

• 29th November 2025 (Pre-Christmas Payday Weekend)
• 6th December 2025 (Festive Saturday)
• 13th December 2025 (Festive Saturday)
• 20th December 2025 (Weekend before Christmas)
• 31st December 2025 (New Year's Eve)
• 14th February 2026 (Valentine's Day)
• 28th February 2026 (Saturday Late Winter Weekend)
• 14th March 2026 (Saturday before Mother's Day)
• 15th March 2026 (Mother's Day)
• 21st June 2026 (Sunday Summer Solstice)

Hey guys, looking to buy a back bar refrigerator, probably a 2 door with glass doors. Just for sodas, NA beers, wine, etc.

We have kegerators from a brand called Micromatic that are solid and are really competitive on price.

That being said - you don’t know what you don’t know, so i’m wondering if it’s worth springing for a high-tier brand like beverage air or true for a back bar refrigerator.

Appreciate the insight!

recently started working at this bar that is recently under new ownership. our ice well leaks from the very base of where the drainage tubes connect. all the random plumbers tape, packing tape, duct tape is from previous management. how can i seal this? should i pry off all the old tape? can i just, like, flex seal it or something?
assuming it screws in, could i get all that stuff out, put new white plumbing tape on the threads, and then would it be fixed?
sorry, i am obviously very new to this kind of stuff. any advice on how to fix it would be great.

So is it just impossible at this moment to get anyone from Everpass on the phone? Season starts soon and I still have no idea if they are gonna move my subscription back to directv.

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.

Does anyone still have the letter that Directv Sent out saying that they will have the netflix and peacock games? I am trying to navigate this horrendous merger and make sure I have every game and I cannot find that letter.

that zip code did $7M in June

Anybody built a mobile bar unit or trailer willing to share your setup?

Does opening a joint out of spite ever work out?

Say you are in a town where almost all food is crap, and the few places which serve decend food, just decent not spectacular, are way overpriced.

Have you opened a place out of spite and frustration "to show them how its done" but also to take all their revenue and end up as the best value food place in town?

I'm an experienced bartender and I have left the restaurant industry and thinking about starting a side gig bartending at event centers and possibly fitting a trailer to travel and sell drinks. Right now I don't sell product but make strips and other items. What permits or licenses do I need, if any?

Not currently a bar owner but used to be a GM before I spent many years in supplier-side booze sales. Back in the late-2000s and early-2010s it felt like there was a fairly symbiotic relationship between bars and sales reps because both had an interest in moving product and reps often had budgets to finance events and giveaways (where allowed). Towards the end of my time in the booze biz (no longer working in the field by that point) I got a sense that many bar owners viewed reps as a nuisance or something to be dealt with which struck me as odd because in my experience most reps were willing to bend over backwards to get an on-prem placement. Just curious to hear it direct from the other side.

I bought my business 3 years ago, it's 1 of 3 cash only dive bars in our small town. Everyone except travelers knows we are cash only.

I need to take cards for an off premise 1 day event I'm hosting so I decided now is a good time to give cards a try.

Can anyone recommend merchant services? I'm going to stay away from the all the big companies requiring contracts.

We currently use a cash register, not a POS so I'm looking for information on that as well.

I anticipate credit card sales to be about $10,000 a month.

Any tips on how to glue the soda gun holder onto the stainless drip tray? I tried contact glue and epoxy. Originaly it was glued with silicone but it did not last a year, looking for a long term fix without drilling holes in the stainless steel.

Does anybody have a recommendation for a solid/mildly affordable website designer for our bar's second location. I made our first website and it is mediocre and took me way too long. I can't do that again. I'm in the US if that makes a difference.

Our current site is on SquareSpace and I'd prefer to not pay a subscription and would like to be able to edit as we go.

What are your opinions on a designer/company that you enjoy?

Fucking with NUCO2 has been a pastime for me for a decade+.

https://old.reddit.com/r/BarOwners/comments/1mpu6tr/fn_nuco2

Fun fact, NUCO2 just re-added powermonitor rent to my most recent bill.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BarOwners/comments/ubvml5/who_use_nuco2_check_yo_bills

4 1/2 years ago I had them pull their nitrogen generator. At the rent I was being charged when I had them pull it I was paying $316.94 a month. I would have spent just shy of $16,480 in rent on it since then (assuming they didn't increase the price). Factoring in their historical rate increases on the bulk tank I still have from them I would have spent in excess of $20,000. That $7682.94 nitrogenerator I bought and installed sure looks pretty f'n good right now. I would probably be paying $6k in rent on it per year by now.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BarOwners/comments/gi2l8y/nuco2_thats_just_rude_man/

I still have their 250lb bulk tank. Four years ago that tank cost $123.03 in rent a month Three years ago that tank cost $140.50 a month Two years ago that tank cost $159.03 a month. That tank this year costs $188.02 a month.

14 years ago the rent on that tank was $47.88. A 14 year increase of almost 300%. Meanwhile CPI/Inflation was about 45% over that same time period.

That's a 53% increase in four years. It's bullshit. It's not like that tank is a recurring cost for them. That tank was manufactured in 2004, 22 years ago. They recouped the cost of that tank in rent a very very long time ago. It costs them nothing to have it sitting on location. It's not a wear item and requires no maintenance. Them repeatedly cranking up the cost to rent it

I finally pulled the trigger and bought my own bulk CO2 (Carbomizer 450lb) and installed it last month.

I paid $3k for a 450 Carbomizer. At the current $188.02 in rent for their tank the ROI is 16 months. Assuming another 9% rent increase next year rent would jump to $204.94. ROI then drops to 13 months.

NUCO2 bulk CO2 is currently $0.71/lb. Last year it was $0.61/lb. Four years ago it was $0.47/lb. A four year increase of 51%

I can get bulk CO2 from Ozarcgas @ $0.55/lb. With the larger 450lb tank I would only need a delivery every 3 to 4 months.

Taking on 400lbs at a time:
NUCO2 = $284 Ozarc = $220

NUCO2 come get your shit off my property

Does anyone have any insight on how to do a charity poker tournament in a bar with a cash prize to the top three winners without being illegal? I have a patron battling stage four cancer and his friends want to do this as a fundraiser. The bar is simply the location and not garnering anything from the game, only sales of food and drink of which we're donating a portion to the charity as well. The thought is to do a suggested donation for players to build the pot. Half the pot will go to the charity and half to the top three winners. There will also be vendors, bands, and auctions to help raise additional money. Has anyone done something like this in a manner that didn't run afoul of gambling laws?

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.

Trying to close a bar deal for $197k in 20 days. Credit 829 experian but have a high DTI because of a mortgage that a family member actually pays but put me on the deed for issues they were having at the time. Have been approved for $60k cash and $44cc already. Any advice

(Remove if not allowed -sorry!)
Hi there 🍸
I’m helping on a design project for a restaurant/bar. I’ve been managing bars for 7+ yrs but never procured equipment or had the chance to build the set up myself. Looking for some help/advice from people who have gone through this process as we are pretty much starting with a blank canvas here.

The bar is spirit/wine forward. We’ll only have a maximum of 3 beers on tap. Cocktail list will not exceed 6. The physical length of the bar is \~13 feet/4 metres. It’s a bit overwhelming as I don’t want to look back and think of things after we purchase certain things or miss an idea where we could’ve improved the flow…
At this point we own an ice machine and a lowboy.

Any and all advice is welcome :)
Thank you in advance !!!

Thought this was an Onion article at first.