Many entrepreneurs think about investing in opening pubs if they already have experience of doing business in another area. After all, such establishments seem very attractive for investment. And if you yourself like to sit down for a mug of beer with ribs in the company of friends, then it becomes a dream come true. Yes, most analysts and consultants promise a good return on investment for this type of establishment, so pubs will open. Except that not all of them continue to work at least a year later.
To open a beer pub from scratch, you need to make a business plan, come up with a concept and decide on the location. Create a successful business will turn out only if all these points, focusing on the needs of the target audience, ie your potential customers, and market research.
Business registration
Before opening a pub from scratch, you need to choose the form of ownership.
The advantages of an individual entreprenuer:
- Registration at home address
- A simple bookkeeping system – a book of income and expenses
- Easy withdrawal of funds: no one’s permission is required, only the owner controls the capital
- Simplified closing procedure
The disadvantage of sole proprietor is the inability to choose a name for his business, it will correspond to the name of the owner. But the biggest disadvantage – the fact that all the debts of the firm the entrepreneur takes over the property.
Finding premises for a pub and choosing a location
About 60% of your success depends on finding the right pub location. If you want, for example, to open a Scandinavian pub in a small town or in a metropolis, you need to pay attention to the passage of the place. The more traffic by pedestrians, the more potential customers you have. The pub should be well visible, and possible visitors should not have a question of how to enter the institution.
Creating a business plan for a beer pub
A business plan for a pub is created on the basis of market research, which can be done independently or you can hire a specialist.
Competitive advantages
- Furnishings – you can create a small English-style pub or build a large beer bar with a unique design – the main thing is that the institution has a special, inherent only spirit;
- the name – it must be memorable, simple, without complicated foreign words and understandable;
- “Tricks” – this is what you will attract customers, your difference from other pubs.
Once you have decided on your competitive advantages, analyze your target audience. Pubs are most often frequented by middle-aged men and middle-income young people. The majority of bar and pub patrons are between 18 and 30 years old. Think of ways to influence potential customers: advertising in social networks, promotion of the institution on the Internet and with flyers at the start. Be sure to include these costs in the business plan.

Designing the pub
How much does it cost to open a pub? The answer to this question depends directly on the chosen concept of a beer bar. You can open a small establishment in an industrial style, and you can decide to build a large room with art installations. However, in any case, the main element in the room is the bar, and it must be given special attention. Think about how best to display alcohol, and select the appropriate furniture.
Preparing to open a pub
Preparing for the opening of a pub includes an important point – the choice of an administrator. The administrator is an employee who fully manages the activities of the establishment, he is indispensable for the functioning of the pub. Therefore, it is necessary to choose such an employee very carefully.
Choosing the administrator
The administrator manages the staff, communicates with visitors, helps the waiters, and can also control the quality, technology of cooking and timing of products, provided that you do not have a chef. If you don’t know how to open a craft pub and how it works from the inside out, talk to an experienced pub manager that you go to yourself.
Pub menu development
There’s still the development of the pub menu. Since the main drink in the establishment will be beer, the dishes must be appropriate. Pubs often offer grilled meat and vegetables, burgers, sandwiches, and meat patties.
Food photos and menu choices for the concept
If you’re doing a stylized establishment, think about a suitable menu as well. For example, for an English-style pub, serving traditional English beer snacks would be ideal: cheddar cheese with onions, shrimp, pies. After developing the menu, prepare the dishes and take pictures of them. To understand how much a particular dish should cost, first of all, in addition to the desired markup, focus on the financial capacity of the target audience.
A separate item in preparation for the opening of the pub is the purchase of food and alcohol. To choose a good supplier, you need to be guided by such concepts as quality, multitasking, timeliness and expertise.
Marketing strategies for the pub
Before opening, you need to conduct an advertising campaign, for this purpose:
- Create a spot with your pub on Yandex.Maps, Google Maps and 2GIS.
- At first, you can add outdoor advertising to make your establishment more visible from the street.
- Create pub social media accounts and add members.
- Print out a small number of flyers to hand out around your pub, or post to nearby stores, salons, etc.
With a successful marketing strategy, you will be able to attract the maximum number of visitors. Good service, good prices, a pleasant interior, and delicious food will help to turn them into regular customers.