Test Before Buying

The heart of opening a bar is the make the customers happy and to be comfortable while drinking their beer. When guests feel comfortable in the bar business, they are more likely wanting to go back. If they feel comfortable enough they are going to tell their friends and invite them to come along. Sit in the bar chair or stool before buying it. Sit in it a while. There are many chairs that are comfortable for a few minutes. Most good conversation and meal lasts for at least an hour for a night. It is highly advised that trying the chair out for at least half that time, if not a full hour in order to see if it is comfortable for the time being.

It would have been better if having people of different heights, weights, and proportions try out the bar chairs as well. Anticipate that customers do not typically come in one size.

Bar Stool Height

This maybe basic but there are differences that make bar chairs and stools that may offer seating at the same height unsuitable for bars or bar tables. Make sure to measure at least twice in order to find out whether or not the bar chair is a proper fit for each bar customer.

Make sure that the bar chairs will fit comfortably beneath the bar or tables while allowing plenty of leg room, swivel room, and breathing room. Make every possibilities to insure the comfort of bar customers or guests.

Bar Space

Ask first how much space is available between tables, how much space the chairs that have been selected occupied and how many tables and chairs will fit. If choosing to have a restaurant or a bar, it would mean getting a lot of customers into the space comfortably. Then get bar chairs and stools that occupy a smaller space. The more people the bar can serve at any given time the greater the potential for the bar to make more profit. In other words, chairs that are space consuming are generally not ideally fitted to greater profits.

Collect two or more opinions

Two heads are better than one. Get opinions from at least other two people other, take a seat, have a look, and give an opinion of the bar chairs that for the club, pub, or bar. The main objective is not to keep going until two positives will be heard but to have to more positive than negative opinions.

One of the persons that gave an opinion about the barstool might have a very excellent taste of choice. Hiring a professional bar designer is still the best option if ever there is a feeling of undecisiveness.

Visualize the Bar Chair with the Bar Before Buying
Consider buying a bar stool that is not only gives a good bar designs but also a bar stool that works well or looks right inside the bar. Think of fitting the color, the height, the wood grain or even a simple style which contributes the atmosphere of the desired bar.

Be Price Conscious

There are a lot of shops that sell furniture for bars, clubs, and pubs. Prices may be almost the same there are differences from one shop to the next. Compare not only the prices. Check if there are bonus gifts, shipping, and replacement policies as well as the price of warranties, extended warranties, and other incidental expenses that go along with the bar chairs.

Spend a time to choose a bar chair

Be reminded that bar furniture is important for many reasons. It is very essential to give a good deal of care and thought into the furniture that was bought. Look around. There might be some bar chairs better than the first one in the first shop that has just visited. Avoid buying in a rush. Think about a plan for at least a full day before making the purchase.

These tips will for sure avoid many hassles, headaches, bad decisions, and could actually save a great deal of money.

Let’s take a look at those high traffic spots.

The Front Door - It seems that many people think the front door can be anywhere. I’ve been in bars where when you walked in the door you had to walk across the dance floor to get to the bar. This puts you in a position of having to worm your way through the people who are dancing, irritating both them and yourself. I’ve also been in one bar where they had setup the dart board so that the patrons throwing darts had to throw
across the front door, very dangerous. The front door needs to be in a spot where you have some space on the inside, especially if you want to charge cover tabs at times, and you don’t want it too close to the bar itself. When a patron is leaving, you want them to have to walk past a group of table to get to the front door, this gives the possibility to run into some friends and stay for more drinks.

The Bar - You need to be sure to have room around the bar for people to both sit at the bar and others to be able to get past. I’ve seen bars where when the patrons are sitting at the bar, their back is almost touching the wall, well if someone wants to get in or out, everyone had to get up to let people get past. You want to make sure the bar is centrally located, that there are easy paths to and from the bar to each part of your establishment.

The Bathrooms - Like the front door, you need to make sure you have room outside of the bathroom, for both people entering / exiting as well as anyone who may be standing in line. One of the last things you want, is a table right next to the bathrooms, no one is going to want to sit there while people are bumping into them going in and out. There a bar I go to often that the pool table is right next to the restroom, you have to wait for people to take their shot and move out of the way to get to the door. You really need to have good traffic flow to the restroom, especially if someone has had too much to drink.

Entertainment - There are many different forms of entertainment from bands, dance floor, darts, to pool tables and more, all of these need to have room so that can be enjoyed without interfering with the other patrons. It’s not good to have to walk across the dance floor or to have to dodge darts to get in, nor is it good to interfere with people playing other games or just having fun.

In the end, to have a good time you have to start with the beginning and take some time to think about your traffic flow. How will people enter your establishment, how do they get to the bar, how do they get to different parts of your establishment and then how do they leave. If you take time to think about this, you will find that your patrons will enjoy
your establishment more and come back.

Special Credit to Roger Elmore of Hospitality Management Schools for submitting this article.

The first mistake in bar design and layout is often a failure to give attention to real bar supply needs. There are bars which contain so much mixing and refrigeration equipment that there is no space for adequate liquor or glass storage. Think about which equipment that is necessary so that it would be easy to allocate space for items that are really needed.

There are many bar layouts which are based on form and symmetry, not function. A successful bar should be planned to make the bartenders productive and minimize the movement necessary to perform common tasks. Bar supplies and equipment layouts should be designed available for bartenders and servers, even if it creates an asymmetrical plan. The arrangement of each work station should be consistent - the flow, the relationship of the glass to the ice chest, the beer tower and soda gun - all should be in the same location.

POS/register stations are often located distant away from the mix and pickup areas, every drink poured or mixed needs entering into a transaction. Each mix station should have direct way in to a point-of-sale system. If the server is ringing up the sale, then the POS system should also be part of the server’s assigned pickup area.

Bar has to bring an enthusiastic attitude to the interiors; this bar design project can only be done by professional bar interior designers who have specialized in this field.

Steps to designing

A bar plan is the first thing a bar interior designer should organize. They need to ask the bar owner on what to decide what color, what material is needed to design the entire place. Bar interior designers then cooperate with the other team members and talk about the bar plan that is being proposed by the owner of the Bar.
The interior designing process may need a long time depending on the prospect of the bar owner. Bar interior designers might be stressful in organizing the whole process of designing, for the reason that designing a bar takes lot of concentration and passion in giving the customer or the client what they like.

Bars interior designing is very demanding, especially because interior designing is the most important part of any bar. Bar interior designers work hard to revise bar designs just to get it perfect especially when it comes to designing and modeling the bar. Interior designing procedure itself takes some period of time before the bar interior designers finalize the entire project.

Bar designing ideas

There are many bar interior designers that scan for different ideas before finalizing their concepts and centralizing them to one design. These ideas usually depend on whether the bar is going to be built as a home bar or commercial bar or any different types of bar. With home bars there are many varieties as kegger bar, bar back, portable party bar, L-shaped wet bar and the straight wet bar. Most of the times the home built bars have storage areas, adjustable shelves of glasses and liquor bottles and cabinets.
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Bar interior designers are particular on the designs, the bar tops is one of the most considered as it doesn´t only matter with design but also the purpose. Bar tops are made of high pressure surfaces that are heat resistant and water proof. Some bars also have refrigerator systems and built in sinks to keep the drinks and kegs cold.

Bar interior designers also have lots to think in terms of designing bars. Some bars have common design elements as the neon sign. Neon signs come in various colors and designs and are very inexpensive. There are other signs that are included in bars which are basketball, racing, football and other sport signs, sometimes novelty signs and liquor signs as well.

The choice of designs for bar supplies like the Martini shaker, shot glasses, cocktail glasses, mixers, blender and bar tools are the most needed accessories of bar which are designed accordingly to make the bars look attractive.

Start with the Walls of the Jungle Theme Bar by deciding which paint colors in a safari style bar. Choices of wall color can be toward the earth tones of deep browns, burnt oranges, golds, tans, and creams.

Once the wall is covered, it’s time to liven it up with a wild jungle print wallpaper border and some prints or posters of favorite jungle animals. Exotic masks and animal print tapestries are another attractive option. African mud cloths, or cotton wall hangings depicting colored mud paintings of tribal scenes, lend an authentic look. Hang stuffed animals if there is a chance to get one.

Choose special rugs for a Safari or Jungle Theme Bar for rooms with hardwood floors. Safari designed rugs can complement the jungle theme. If decorators haven’t already gone wild with animal prints, a zebra print rug or faux fur carpet is a great way to bring prints into the room. Otherwise, straw mats can complement the theme by offering a natural, outdoorsy ambiance.Use safari decorations such as animal cutouts (hang the monkeys from the ceiling!) or animal print balloons.

Bar furnitures for the Jungle or Safari Style Bar for a Jungle or Safari theme bar should have more natural wood furniture. The theme is best accentuated with dark wood pieces. Decorators who already have their furniture can accent it with wood pieces such as benches or trunks. Barstools can be designed with striped zebras or tiger stripes.

To make it more exciting, use safari related names or signs to bar locations such as, “This way to Cheetah’s Comfort Room” or “This way to ‘You Tarzan, Me Jane’ Customer Service.”

Hang vines and ivy from the ceiling and have cut-outs of jungle monkeys hanging on by one hand to the vines/ivy. Behind the speaker’s platform another jungle scene can be built. To the left of this area, create a set with a giant gorilla eating bananas, behind bamboo poles, making a “cage” effect.

Centerpieces:

For centerpieces use baskets filled with fresh fruit, go tropical with pineapples, bananas, mangoes, papaya and maybe a few star fruit. Attach to the baskets, balloons, if that feels appropriate. Or use palm tree centerpieces palm tree centerpieces with a table card that thanks everyone for coming.

L shaped bar
This type of bar is great for mostly in basement bar design that is shaped like the letter L. There is no difference in the materials used and its features are the same as the standard straight bar. What makes a bar unique is simply put the big notable difference of the design. Bars guests can also enjoy a better conversation while sitting in this bar because the distance from other seats is closer. Again the measurements vary depending on the size of the location or specially the basement but usually the lengths are symmetrical.

Corner Bar
This type of bar is actually just a small cabinet to store the drinks. This is used where space is an issue. Because space is an issue this type of bar uses maximum storage space available using bottom and top
cabinets.

Tiki Bar
Tiki bars can come in different shapes and sizes. The traditional tiki bar is based on the tiki hut which is found on islands. They are usually made of wood or bamboo, and the trademark thatched grass roofing. A full sized tiki bar can be quite an affair, emulating an environment of an island getaway resort.
Private tiki bars can be more changeable depending on the requirements and budget of the owner. Poolside tiki bars are very popular, as well as backyard patio bars. Tiki bars can even be built indoors such as basement tiki bars- a pretty good source of awe and amusement for visiting relatives.

Back Bar
This type of modern back bar design has a storage arrangement just like a bookshelf. There are three parts to this bar. The first one is the same as a straight bar with bottom storage with a counter. The middle portion is normally open. The third section is above the counter that stores drinks bottles and can have wooden or glass shutters. Thus type of arrangement is done for display purpose.

A Keggar Bar Design.
This kind of modern bar design is very popularly used. Its design is shaped like two L-shaped bars joint with the straight type in the middle. Viewing from the top, it usually looks like a one-third of a square is cut and used. This basement bar design accommodates a perfect space for the refrigerator and a beer keg that is why it is being called by its name.

A Portable Bar Design.
This type of modern portable design is what best fits for the basement bar. Basement bars are usually huge and sturdy so weight can be a major concern. And considering that basements have low head room clearance, there might have some difficulty in moving a bar. The portable bar can be disassembled. This is what makes it unique. Probably the latest innovation in the basement bar design industry.

1. Weather proofing- Consider that all weather bar stools must be placed to function in both rainy as well as sunny weather.
2. Moisture- Find the bar stool that repels moisture. This is because buying on cheaper or low brand bar stool can breakdown from its elements quickly. Therefore invest in a good quality bar stool instead of buying a lower brand every time.
3. Opt for metal outdoor bar stools- It is advised to go for metal outdoor stools because it can easily hold up to Mother Nature. Apart from this, they also have a contemporary look that can attract a lot of people.
4. Aluminum bar stools- Aluminum is also a very admired, sturdy, and easy to move. They are best for stacking and being waterproof, they can easily be constructed in the rain.
5. Wooden stools- Wooden stools may sound very traditional but they can be really eye catching. They have a unique quality of unifying nicely with the nature and offer a warmer feel to you. But while selecting a wooden bar stool, you have to be very careful in deciding the type of woods you choose.

This type of bar stools needs proper pressure treatment and fine coating so that they can easily be placed in the outdoors.

All the materials that are mentioned above make a good and attractive outdoor bar stool. But for comfy seating, they must be padded with various seat cushions. The best part about this cushion is that they are flexible and they can easily be removed once you are done sitting on them so that they do not get damaged. These bar stools provide multiple advantages but they must be wiped down regularly and properly in order to prevent them from abating.

Date of the order, name of the supplier, name of the salesperson, supplier phone number, anticipated date and time of delivery, items, brands and vintages ordered, sizes of the containers (bottle and case) , number of bottles or cases, unit prices (price per bottle for each item) and name of the person placing the order.

Why is there a need for this information? When liquor, beer and wine inventory is due to be delivered, one can schedule the right people in place to properly receive, verify and place the order into inventory. Once the order has been stored, accounting can verify if what is agreed on and what was delivered are in line, key members of the management team (bar & store room managers) have access to data they may need to better manage their respective departments.

To help minimize risks, good inventory control software can help better manage purchases and go to the extent of actually preparing order for electronically thus reducing the opportunity for error and saving time and money. Whatever it means of placing an order, small or large, assure each order received from supplier has a PO # (purchase order number) that can be use to cross reference a packing slip, invoice and receiving report generated by liquor, beer and wine software management system.

By following the above steps, bar business owners will help the bar business in its efforts to control costs. Controlled purchasing procedures will also satisfy bar customer’s need for a quality product, served by a qualified staff in an enjoyable drinking environment. With today’s technology, a task that may have been time and money consuming in the past can be easily and quickly generated in minutes versus hours with superior results.

How to choose an attractive portable bar?

The portable bar should be made from a thick marine quality plastic and is completely durable to withstand any spills of ice, water, liquor or juices. The portable bar should include ice well, a full size bus bin with additional inserts for another eight juice containers, bottles, and other extra supplies. A portable bar can even have a metal speed rail fitted on to the front of the bar-top, that can hold eleven 750ml bottles or ten 1-litre bottles and is very sturdy. The complete bar should fit easily into the road case that is also the base of the bar and it takes approximately five minutes to set-up. The road case features wheels for mobility and can be carried wherever the party is!

The portable bar can be disassembled. This is what makes it unique. Probably this one can also the latest innovation in the basement bar design industry. From a logistics point of view, a portable bar is an attractive option because it allows people to do other activities without having to set aside a room within their home specifically for that purpose. It is important to purchase a bar which is made of lightweight materials. The real portable bar which whilst claiming to be portable, can only be comfortably carried around by using a car.

This means that the purchase of portable bars can be a more tricky task than would first appear, because ideally, the best kind of ballet bars are those bars which are made of metal, as these will be the most durable and resilient as well as easier to clean. Cleaning portable bars regularly is important.

Consider also wanting to factor in the ease of which one can dismantle the portable bar. When too much time have to spend on taking the bar apart, then this would run contrary to the principle of portability.
Portable bar can be custom made to make it more attractive. Some styles available on the market today have a drawer for the glasses and a cabinet where one can store drinks. And even though how small these portable table bars may be, they also have the bar foot railings that are just a foot long. It also has rubber casters to keep the table bar steady while preparing wine and cocktail drinks.

Some portable bars combine elegant design, full functionality and reasonable cost. Custom built to meet special requirements 4′ to 5′ portables will fit into elevators, the standard 6′ size can accommodate complete soda systems and an 8′ length provides two stations. The unique mobile matching back bar can be modified to suit various display, storage and even service needs.
Common Features of Customized Portable Bars:
1. Standard 6′ Minimum Overall Length, 30″ Width and 46″ Height
2. Two Standard Variations - Raised Paneling for elegance and Veneer Paneling for economy
3. Elegant, Mahogany (or Oak) Paneling with Fluted Posts and Highly Decorative Arm Rail
4. Stone-simulating Laminated Hard Top Variations Offered; Choice of many such styles or solid wood.
5. Includes stainless steel insulated and covered ice bin with drain and detachable flanged 4′ speed rack
6. Heavy-duty, non-visible swiveling casters suitable for mobility on rugs
7. Accommodates soda dispensing system independent of electrical and water connections
8. Interior adjustable shelving alternative to soda system (option)
9. Protective options include bumper guard, foot rail wrap-around and fitted quilted cover
10. Custom specifications accepted such as length, shelving, and additional equipment