Wish me luck, your drinks are on me.

[guids]

[ QUOTE ]
all kidding aside, #1 is really good bartenders, and I don't mean looks, I mean ones that can actually mix and make drinks.

[/ QUOTE ]

exacltly, I want the old white-haired dude who knows how to make a good manhattan working the bar. the [censored] and ass are the cocktail girls.

[chopstick]

[ QUOTE ]
PS, Ill probably be bumping this thread over the next year for advice as you guys are my target clientele, but if anyone has any good ideas or sees something at a bar that is really cool and different, please let me know. It doesnt have to be major things either, as an example, there is a bar in chicago, bourdeax's, that has highball glasses on each table filled with bazooka joe, I thought that was an awesome idea, so I wrote it down.

[/ QUOTE ]

There is a fast food place in the D.C. area called California Tortilla. They are a fun burrito place. One of the things that I and many others love about them is that they have a little wheel you can spin to win free food items and stuff. You have to buy a burrito after 5pm on Mondays in order to spin the wheel.

http://www.californiatortilla.com/mexcellent-deals.html

I understand the psychological nature of the gimmick (variable reward systems are the best way to generate repeated desired behavior), and yet I go anyway. I can't resist it, it's just too awesome.

Anyway, you might want to consider something in that vein (VRS) for the bar, people love it.

We are all just Skinner rats. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[suppasonic]

All you need is killer garlic fries or a killer fry seasoning.

A sandwich shop that I frequent has the typical fridge with soda/water/juice in it, but there about 40 different off-brands, oldy, various unknown sodas in there that the owner rotates every month or so.

Perhaps try the same with beer? Do a countdown of the top 50 microbrews or something, or always have random ones on stock.

[Paul B.]

This is awesome. Don't forget to post pics of the place when you have it ready.

[nation]

GL guids remember to work your ass off every day so at the end of the day you're satisfied no matter what happens.

[guids]

Another thing, to whoever posted the flickr photo shoot of the girls on teh couches, I loved those, I plan to get some inspiration for the look of the place from a couple fo those pics.

[fluffpop62]

i know this is supposed to be classy, but everyone loves body shots [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] !

[Ditch Digger]

[ QUOTE ]
City (possibly clayton), not really even considered a specific section, imo, to have a successful bar in this town, the number one thing isnt location, the number one thing isnt a "vision", the number one thing is to work your vision to feed off of/mesh the part of town you are posting up (ie if I find a spot in lemay that looks like a good business op, its going to be bush and chicken wings, not martinis and a dress code). Ideal is downtown, st louis hills, slu-midtown, where I could put a nicer/real cocktail joint.

[/ QUOTE ]

I never really liked the whole Clayton bar scene. Way too many local Claytonites bragging about how rich their parents are. Of course, if you are making it a bar/restaurant you'll probably do good lunch and happy hour business. Like you said, you need to tailor the bar to the area that it's located.

Good luck with it all and once you get it up and running let people know so we can saturate your bar with poker moneys.

[milliondollaz]

ok, here's an idea for you. saw this in a mexican restaurant in milwaukee before i left.

they built a recess into the floor, and had it lined with mirrors and clear or mirrored shelves. they had tequila bottles on the shelves. then they had glass or some kind of strong clear stuff over it, and had it lit up real nice, so you could walk over it. didn't look that expensive (if you're redoing the floors) but it looked awesome.

i also like bars that have a specialty liquor. they have everything else, but they have a lot of one specific variety like tequila, whiskey/scotch, or vodka. whatever you choose, have some stuff from all over the world. always have a $15 dollar shot of some rare stuff, who cares if it's actually expensive or not. haha, a no-label bottle would probably be even better. but that way, whenever a local newspaper wants to write about your bar, they will always have that little factoid that nobody else in town has the same kind of selection of XXXX that you have.

event parties with free stuff is always cool.

oh, and good luck. if i'm ever in st. louis i'm going to cash in on that!

[guids]

update, things may be happeneing much quicker than I anticipated, I may be getting a deal too good to pass up, cheap enough wehre I can pay cold hard cash, for 2 years lease and the business, the place isnt in an ideal area, but is in transisition, and I know one of the main investors trying to build this area up, and he is hooking me up big time on the fact that he has faith that I can make it a small hot spot, and his other business in the area (including a bar he owns a block or two away) might feed off any buzz. Now I just need a name for the joint.