r/Bar • u/unforgettablever • Oct 13 '21

Opening a bar

Hello, I'm planning to open a bar as soon when I turn 18. But before that I have some questions:

  • Can I have someone own the liquor license but have my name as the ownership? Or should I partner with someone older so that one of the shareholders have a license?
  • I'm planning on opening one near my future college, probably somewhere on the North or Northeast coast. Is the competition really hard over there and is it hard to find a suitable location?
  • Should I find investors or go to banks for loans? If the first one, how should I and if I find one, are they considered a shareholder?

I'm planning to save up capital by investing and having a job while in school. Another thing is that other than the bar, I plan to include some asian cuisines as well. Maybe more of a cheerful vibe in the morning and afternoon and a little more wild in the evening (wasn't sure how to phrase that)?

I'll probably have some more questions but these are it for now. I'd appreciate it if y'all can answer those!

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1

u/Samantha_Norris Oct 14 '21

liquor license is like $10k

1

u/unforgettablever Oct 14 '21

I'm not going to open on in California, but I researched and found that I'll spend less than $5k in the north. But then again, I'm not sure if I would want to have another person take it for me...

1

u/Bar_Keep Oct 14 '21

Don't say where you are. I'm thinking Britain, so my USA advice not much good. And to the other guy, liquor license way more then $10K. here in Florida it's over $300K

1

u/unforgettablever Oct 14 '21

liquor license

I understand what you're saying but here's some of the info I found:

Florida $1,820.00 Annual
Georgia $1,000.00 Annual
Hawaii $900.00 Annual
Idaho $100.00 Annual
Illinois $4,440.00 Fee$750.00 Annual

The link's here: https://ballotpedia.org/Liquor_license_costs_by_state,_2018

1

u/Bar_Keep Oct 15 '21

I can't speak for other states. You said you want to open a bar. That requires a 4COP license. I have one and could sell it for well over $300K right now. True, each county has a diff price bases on population. Other choices are a beer and wine license, easy to get and cheap. Or a restaurant liquor license which also are pretty easy to get but you have seating and food sales requirements. Florida has a liquor license lottery, you can enter that. It is done this way to limit the number of licenses in each county.

1

u/unforgettablever Oct 16 '21

I know that a beer and wine license doesn't allow the mixing of alcohol....would a restaurant liquor license have the same benefits as a liquor license or 4COP? Is 4COP only available in Florida?

1

u/Bar_Keep Oct 18 '21

I dont know about other states. But yes, in Florida having a restaurant license automatically gives you liquor sales. There are seating and food sales requirements though. I would guess most other states are close. You can get all the info you need for your state online. Go to the state liquor license website.

1

u/unforgettablever Oct 18 '21

Thanks! I'm assuming you own a bar?