Starting a tiny Brewpub/Craft Beer Bar

I'm certainly no expert on this type of thing, but it seems to me that your space is very small so that your intended capacity for customer seating won't give you much of an income. Do you have a business plan to look at cash flow levels to determine if the income is acceptable for you? Even if you take the option on the other 250 sqft it is still a small space.

 

Overhead. It'll be your enemy, even moreso than most small businesses. Once your built and open, you'll need to expect to work the majority of the "open" hours, in addition to all the hours of book-keeping, ordering, cleaning, maintenance, marketing, social media, ad buying, and general odds and ends. Maybe you'll be able to afford a couple part-timers to sling beer, but probably not. It can work, just be prepared to bust ass.

 

I just hope you are doing it with cash and not debt

 

I think you need to utilize that extra 250 sq feet for seating, but design a way to section it off for your special events when you have them, a wall of sliding doors, a craft place where I live did this with the outer wall for the outside patio, they can open the whole patio up on nice days and it's awesome
I also think having some sort of food available will attract more people to your location, and people tend to stay at bars longer when they can eat, maybe a allow a food truck that makes good food to stay in the parking lot and have them pay you a little rent, just an idea here
You definitely need more then 6 taps, if that's all you have space for get fridges and offer a bottle list, from what I've seen with people at craft places, (I'm guilty as well) people tend to be picky

 

Sounds interesting, and very small. I wouldn't bank on the tourists so much as the hipsters and young professionals. That's your real craft demographic and it sounds like the kind of place they would love. Tourists might think its cute but a lot of them may not want "fancy" beer.

 

Congrats. Put in the effort do some good research and you should be ok. But, Can you have some good food? I'm tired of this whole gastropub thing. A few things that go well with beer: french fries, sausages, pretzels, nachos and flatbreads are all that I need. Simple, fatty and salty. let the beer shine and the food be a bonus to keep me longer.

Tired of paying 20 bucks for a fois gras bison burger or mussels cooked in white wine with a truffle oil pomme frites just because I want a snack with the beers. Cured meats, crackers and a nice Belgian will do me just fine.

 

I see a lot of construction/landscaping experience. Do you have any bar/restaurant experience?

 

Hey! Fancy beers is now I choose my travel destinations.

 

With a small space like that, if you're doing food (which other have recommended and I agree) keep it simple. Solid common 'bar' food is good, especially foods with carbs as that's best to eat when drinking.
8-12 taps would be ideal and a bottle list as well. With only up to 25 customers you're going to have to 1-get to know them more personally than a bigger establishment would and 2-know your beers since you'll have a more 'selective' client base. 25 customers at a time as opposed to 250, it's a more intimate venue, which is totally cool and I'd love a place like that in my backyard, but it means you'll be interacting with customers much more than you would at a larger bar.
I think if you kept your draft rotation fresh (and with 1/6s you'll be able to) and kept you clientele informed of when you get new beers in that you'll do OK. Give them a reason to keep coming in, aside from creating a nice cozy relaxing atmosphere. As someone said above, utilize that extra 250sq/ft of space when you're not doing events and play up the outdoor space when the weather is nice for extra revenue.
Oh, and agree with Salty, if you personally don't have any bar/restaurant experience then hire someone who does. I know at my store, it was built by 2 brothers, 1 was a contractor and the other a landscaper, and before I came in the only employees they had who worked in this biz before were 2 PT stock guys and 1 PT 'retired' supervisor. Nobody else had ever worked in the liquor industry before and the whole setup and computer system were a mess when I got there 8 months after opening. Don't make that same mistake, it compounds itself and takes geometric time to sort itself out.

 

Me too, but I think we may be the exception rather than the rule

 

250 sq ft is really small, the size of maybe most living rooms..

 

This is an interesting concept: minipub.
My advice is, with that small of a room, don't bring a TV anywhere near it.

 

By the time you add a bar and seats coolers, space will really be at a premium.

 

make sure your pricing is right. Obviously you don't want to scare people away and fail to get a customer base at the beginning, but once you're rolling you might bump up against capacity and wish you had higher margins. Other places can just open another part of the restaurant or add a couple servers for a busy night, but you may not have that option.

I would also be very selective in what signage you have. If you're sure that the demographic is tourists and/or hardcore locals, then something along the lines of "local beer here" would be nice.

 

"The Tight Spot" (with a nod to George Clooney in Oh Brother Where Art Thou?", "The Beer Cave", or maybe some local historical reference. Where are you located?

 

EVERYBODY ON BA SHOULD GO ON OPENING NIGHT FREEEEEE OF CHARGE

its a pretty small area man, but that's the type of bar i like more intimate with out a lot of blaring music and crap.

 

Good luck, it will be a lot of work but fun most days. That 1/6 bbl thing vs 1/2 bbl is really going to eat into any profit tho, they have to be something people will really want to drink. How decent are the distributors in your area about getting those "rare" kegs? I am continually frustrated here, but realize other places have it far far worse and have to settle for more "pedestrian" beers just to fill their taps some weeks.

As for food, do you have an active culture of food truck service in your area that might be encouraged to park outside? I mean, the interesting eclectic kind of menu food trucks.

 

For such a small operation I really hope you have run the numbers multiple times on the most conservative of assumptions. I really like the idea, but I am not too familiar with your area and the costs/benefits/opportunities associated with it. I just worry that the volume will not be enough to sustain your plan. Please keep us updated as you stated you would - I am very interested as I am sure others are too. Best of luck!

 

If local competition is low turn the extra 250 sq feet into fridges and sell retail bottles, they have good margins and it'll help maximize the return on the small space you have. Also, I imagine you have a tourist season there so I'd adjust the ratio of local beer seasonally. Make sure you're working with your local chamber of commerce or tourism board to showcase your new place. Events and tastings with grilled food seems like a good use of the patio.

Do you have a bathroom?