LOCATION CHECK LIST
There is no way that I can go through all the variables of locations obviously you must use some common sense when making a decision as to where your Night Club will be located. I am going to give a check list of some of the things that you must look into and take into consideration before you commit to a location.
Traffic: is it foot or car, day or night or when, what type (tourist, business, sports,) seasonal or yr round, what is their focus, ( partying, business ect) if the traffic is cars do you have parking?
Surrounding Area
You had better study who and what your business is going to affect. Are there schools and churches near by ? Is there a nursing home or retirement community near by? You had better look around and see who you may have to deal with.
LAWS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
Not only is it important to know what the laws are but you need to know who is going to enforce the laws and how they are going to enforce them. Working with Law Enforcement rather than against them will save you much time, money and headaches
Physical Plant
The details and condition of the physical condition of the building ,( plumbing and electrical, roof, foundation, walls, woodwork, stairs, ) the condition of equipment and fixtures; bad surprises and costly repairs can destroy a budget and a business. You had better talk to the Fire Marshall and your local Fire Department. Talk to the Building Inspectors and the Health Department. If the health department tells you that the plumbing going to the street is not big enough for commercial use and that there must be a variety of grease traps and filters on the lines you may be paying some big pluming bills.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
LOCATION IS THE NAME OF THE GAME
THE BEGINNING
For those of you who want to open your own night club I want to start with the basic things you have to look at and work on before the lease is even signed.
It is said that there are three main things to be concerned with when opening a night club or restaurant. These three things are: Location; Location: and Location. In other words the location is everything. The location that you choose is going to determine everything from what sort of drinks you have to your advertising program. It will determine the type of music the decor and what type of employees you have. The location also determines the physical lay out of the building and unless you build your own building your physical plant will have to be adjusted to.
Since most of my experience is on Bourbon St. in New Orleans I will spend some time explaining the good and bad parts of a Bourbon St location and how this location shapes the nature of the business. Each location is different of course and the things that apply to a Bourbon St location does not necessarily apply to a location that is say in Kalamazoo Michigan .
Rents on Bourbon St had gone through the roof by the turn of the century. It was not unusual for monthly rents to be in the 15 to 20 thousand dollar per month range. I do not know if these rents have stayed at that level after the hurricane Katrina since I have retired since then however this was the range before the storm. If you are familiar with Bourbon St. in New Orleans you will know that the building are build one against the other and that they were build as family residences and were not built for commercial or night club operations. Therefore the buildings are small and are not ideal for use as a night club. The reason they demand high rent is because of Bourbon St and the traffic that is attracted to Bourbon St.
If you asked some one in Kansas to name a club on Bourbon St they would be hard pressed to answer but if you asked the same person where they would go to party when they were in New Orleans they would answer “Bourbon St.” So the property values reflect the fact that “Bourbon St” is a “name brand” it has name recognition build from a century of “branding” and people who come to New Orleans may not know what place they are going to on Bourbon St. but they know they are going to Bourbon St.
The traffic comes to the street and business pay to be in front of that traffic. So the focus when you have a place there is not how to get customers to your location but how to get those customers into your location and meet the competition of all the other places that are trying to do the same.
With a location that is not in a location in say a shoping center in Ohio the club owner would spend a lot of his time and money into advertising and promoting the location.
On Bourbon St. the club owner puts is time and money on getting the costomers who are in front of his club to spend some money with him either by coming into the club or by purchasing something from his club while still on the street. ( unlike most places in the US in New Orleans it is legal to drink while you walk down the street and many if not all of the locations on Bourbon St have “to go stands and cheaper prices if you are going to consume your drinks on the street and not come into the club.)
For those of you who want to open your own night club I want to start with the basic things you have to look at and work on before the lease is even signed.
It is said that there are three main things to be concerned with when opening a night club or restaurant. These three things are: Location; Location: and Location. In other words the location is everything. The location that you choose is going to determine everything from what sort of drinks you have to your advertising program. It will determine the type of music the decor and what type of employees you have. The location also determines the physical lay out of the building and unless you build your own building your physical plant will have to be adjusted to.
Since most of my experience is on Bourbon St. in New Orleans I will spend some time explaining the good and bad parts of a Bourbon St location and how this location shapes the nature of the business. Each location is different of course and the things that apply to a Bourbon St location does not necessarily apply to a location that is say in Kalamazoo Michigan .
Rents on Bourbon St had gone through the roof by the turn of the century. It was not unusual for monthly rents to be in the 15 to 20 thousand dollar per month range. I do not know if these rents have stayed at that level after the hurricane Katrina since I have retired since then however this was the range before the storm. If you are familiar with Bourbon St. in New Orleans you will know that the building are build one against the other and that they were build as family residences and were not built for commercial or night club operations. Therefore the buildings are small and are not ideal for use as a night club. The reason they demand high rent is because of Bourbon St and the traffic that is attracted to Bourbon St.
If you asked some one in Kansas to name a club on Bourbon St they would be hard pressed to answer but if you asked the same person where they would go to party when they were in New Orleans they would answer “Bourbon St.” So the property values reflect the fact that “Bourbon St” is a “name brand” it has name recognition build from a century of “branding” and people who come to New Orleans may not know what place they are going to on Bourbon St. but they know they are going to Bourbon St.
The traffic comes to the street and business pay to be in front of that traffic. So the focus when you have a place there is not how to get customers to your location but how to get those customers into your location and meet the competition of all the other places that are trying to do the same.
With a location that is not in a location in say a shoping center in Ohio the club owner would spend a lot of his time and money into advertising and promoting the location.
On Bourbon St. the club owner puts is time and money on getting the costomers who are in front of his club to spend some money with him either by coming into the club or by purchasing something from his club while still on the street. ( unlike most places in the US in New Orleans it is legal to drink while you walk down the street and many if not all of the locations on Bourbon St have “to go stands and cheaper prices if you are going to consume your drinks on the street and not come into the club.)
Friday, September 7, 2007
How To Run a Night Club ( Intro)
NIGHT CLUB OPERATIONS
The night club business has become one of the largest and cash rich areas of the entertainment business. Every night hundreds of thousands of people go out to listen to live music, socialize with their friends and unwind. How many of us met our mate in a night club or bar. The local club has been a focal point for the community since the founding of the nation and many of the inventions, political concepts and social trends had their beginning in conversations at the local bar. If fact it is said the with out the taverns and hard liquor there would have never been an American Revolution. Be that as it may the night club continues to be one of the foundations of American Culture and the place where the rubber meets the road as far as social interaction of the society is concerned.
The operation of a successful night club has made hundreds of people rich and the operation of not so successful clubs have made thousands of people poor.
The difference in the operations are often small and detailed but the results are vast. The purpose of this blog is to share the 40 yrs of experience I have had in the night club and restaurant business give, stories, guidance, encouragement and assistance to those of you who want to get into this business. For those of you who ask why I do this I answer . Why Not?
The night club business has become one of the largest and cash rich areas of the entertainment business. Every night hundreds of thousands of people go out to listen to live music, socialize with their friends and unwind. How many of us met our mate in a night club or bar. The local club has been a focal point for the community since the founding of the nation and many of the inventions, political concepts and social trends had their beginning in conversations at the local bar. If fact it is said the with out the taverns and hard liquor there would have never been an American Revolution. Be that as it may the night club continues to be one of the foundations of American Culture and the place where the rubber meets the road as far as social interaction of the society is concerned.
The operation of a successful night club has made hundreds of people rich and the operation of not so successful clubs have made thousands of people poor.
The difference in the operations are often small and detailed but the results are vast. The purpose of this blog is to share the 40 yrs of experience I have had in the night club and restaurant business give, stories, guidance, encouragement and assistance to those of you who want to get into this business. For those of you who ask why I do this I answer . Why Not?
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Bourbon Street New Orleans La.
Bourbons St is unique in the areas of the world there is no place like it. Other places claim to fame is man made and commercial. Bourbon St crawled and pulled itself out of the mud and muck of the Mississippi river. It grew on it own and became a uniquely American institution. Some places and people make tons of money while others have lost everything they own. I have a perspective of Bourbon St that few people have and I also have experiences in the nightclub and restaurant business that can save you time and money if your goal is to get into this business.
Forty years of experience with the food and beverage business has taught me what works and what is a waste of time and money. These blogs are to give the reader the benefit of my years of experience.
Forty years of experience with the food and beverage business has taught me what works and what is a waste of time and money. These blogs are to give the reader the benefit of my years of experience.
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