[guids]

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I envy you quids, this is exactly what I'd like to be doing.

Just a quick background of myself before I throw out my 2cp, I worked in restaurants/bars from 16-23. At 23 I worked for a Developer (he was a rarity that did commercial and residential) so I have the knowledge of lease negotiations and property acquisition (which is generally not needed).

my 2 cents:

It all comes down to your bartenders. The one I'd want in my club is one who wouldn't give his/her grandmother a free drink. They must be attractive (you need some dudes too) and they must be taken care of (security wise).

Restaurants and bars are nickel and dime businesses as I'm sure you know.

Some tips for while undergoing your TI:

- Lien releases, lien releases, lien releases. Stay on top of those, don't pay your GC until ALL (including his vendors that you may or may not know about initially) have coughed them up. On top of that, make your GC give you a list of ALL subs that will be on the project.

- Change Orders. Stay on top of these and fight every one tooth and nail unless it is 100% in the spirit of a change order. Most contractors make their money off change orders when they originally bid for breakeven. I don't mean to insult anyone here, but I trust contractors about as far as I can throw them.

- Might be too late, but a lot of landlords will give you TI allowances, and they are pretty nice at times.

- Do your research on what types of permits you will need. You may get close to opening and have a moment of panic when you realize you didn't get the proper signage permits for your town, or that perhaps your sign is too big etc. These things should have all been discovered in your municipalities Planning Department, but they rarely are fully discovered, and it's always your responsibility.

- Make friends at the City/County whatever. They will be your biggest ally. Be careful not to burn bridges if this is something you see yourself doing for a while. Get involved in the Chamber of Commerce and you will begin to see how much more quickly things move for you when you need stuff to be done.

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Just for reference, anyone who is thinking about getting into this industry, what masterj has said is spot on. I didnt know this stuff going in, but all those points I learned within like 3 days. Make sure any of your people that are doing your drawings for your build out and permit know exactly what the inspector of your municipality is looking for, I got bids on all areas, and Im not allowing anyone to ask for more. Basically "this is what you quoted, this is what you will be getting it done for" is my answer to everyone, and so far no problems. The only people Ill be paying hourly are the electricians, and I plan on cracking the whip with these guys, no smoke breaks, no squatting, no nothing.

The permit game Im playing as I go along, Ive been taking some liberties, and getting away with a lot. The main thing you want to make sure is that anything you do in the kitchen, and behind the bar you get permits for, most of the other construction you can probably get away with if you make sure that you have someone that can tell you exactly what you need to do to satisfy the inspectors.

as far as bartenders, yes you want reliable people, but i dont care if they are your friend since age 2, they will steal from you, the trick is to make sure that you have good protocols in place, and do your staffing to ensure that they dont really need a reason to steal. 2 bartenders working one bar, when you have a total of 10 customers all night will rape you much harder than 10 bartenders, and 2000 customers.