Which type of bar do you want to buy?

A bar is many things to many people.

A bar is a place to meet friends or people of the opposite sex. It can be a refuge, from a troubled home life or a troubled soul.

A bar is a place to rest for people in transit. Or it’s simply a place to shelter from the rain.

But what is it to the bar owner? What's the attraction in bars for sale? What should you know before you buy a bar?

It can’t be for an easy income. Not only do you have to work evenings and weekends but they’re also on their feet for long hours and deal with one of the most troublesome sections of society – drunk people.

Although bars can be very lucrative, owning a bar tends to be all-consuming and most people see their acquisition as a lifestyle business rather than a path to riches.

People buy bars because they enjoy the company of other people – even, perhaps especially, the eccentric ones – and they’re averse to the sterile tedium of office life.

Owning a bar tends to be all-consuming and most people see their acquisition as a lifestyle business rather than a path to riches

Bar owners often have strong opinions about how a bar should be constituted, and this can range from quiet and meditative to loud and raucous, or simple and unpretentious to sleek and elegant.

When you’re buying an establishment, the closer its decor, ambience and clientele are to your ideal bar, the easier your life will be. Whether you want an easy life or prefer the challenge of overhauling a struggling watering hole unsuited to its local market is another matter. Just remember to consider the costs entailed in converting your premises to reflect your vision of the perfect bar.

What follows is a rough breakdown of the types of bar found on BusinessesForSale.com, though of course plenty straddle categories and incorporate elements of more than one.

Dive bars

A dive bar is either a disreputable, debauched drinking den or an unshowy, egalitarian haven, depending on your outlook, and indeed the standard of dive bars in your neighbourhood.

Playboy described a dive bar as “a church for down-and-outers and those who romanticise them, a rare place where high and low rub elbows – bums and poets, thieves and slumming celebrities. It’s a place that wears its history proudly.”

Some have suggested that the name originates from patrons diving under tables when gun fights broke out in the late 19th century. Hopefully you won’t have to deal with firearms, but there may be rowdy drunks to eject or unhappy customers to placate.

Also known as neighbourhood bars, dive bars are generally frequented by local residents, some of whom will effectively live in your bar, leaving an impression of their backside in the seat they park themselves in seven days a week.

The dive bar regular is exemplified by the likes of Barney, the Simpsons character whose favourite haunt, Moe's Bar, features among the pantheon of famous bars.

You’re not likely to make a fortune, but you can enjoy being part of a community and midweek, when the bar’s fairly quiet, putting the world to rights with the locals.

Wine bars

Invariably situated in prestigious locations, wine bars tend to attract wealthy professionals willing to spend a substantial amount of cash, although they also tend to be expensive to buy.

As well as possessing the financial means, it also helps if you know your Sauvignon Blancs from your Merlots and can hold forth on the virtues of Chilean white. Beer buffs may be discouraged, while the well-heeled nature of your clientele means you won’t enjoy the patronage of a cross-section of society as with neighbourhood bars.

Cocktail lounge

Often situated in a hotel, restaurant or airport, cocktail lounges can count on a guaranteed, steady stream of potential customers, who, like those who frequent wine bars, tend to be affluent. They also require their staff to double as showmen and women, making cocktails at extraordinary speed and juggling bottles as well as knowing how to mix a plethora of cocktails.

Sports bars

Sports bars obviously tend to be dominated by men and the drink of choice is invariably beer, so wine aficionados may like to steer clear (apart from, perhaps, sports-loving wine buffs!). Peak times obviously coincide with the big matches in various sports.

A great advantage is that an otherwise moribund Monday can generate decent takings if there’s an important soccer or basketball game to screen.

Sports enthusiasts will enjoy choosing memorabilia to adorn the walls. However, unless you can afford to hire a bar manager, you’ll be far too busy to watch many of the big sports matches yourself.

Dance bars

Effectively a hybrid between a bar and a nightclub, a dance bar will have seating for people to sit and chat, while leaving enough space for a dancefloor. Customers, invariably in the 18-30 range, expect the music to be loud, so taking orders at the bar becomes even more difficult.

Due diligence of such a venue should therefore include examination of the sound system. Apart from the obvious benefit of a high quality amps and speakers – that the nuances of the music are easier to discern and customers are duly impressed – it is easier customers at the bar. A substandard system is not only more likely to damage your hearing, it’s also more likely to leave you with a headache at the end of the night.

Entertainment bars

Whether it’s the music lover giving bands a platform, the comedy fan filling their stand-up bill, or a theatre aficionado promoting young directors, entertainment bars enthuse those with a passion for music and the arts and unearthing new talent.

If you want to give serve your customers a provocative new theatre production or some burlesque dancing with their Budweiser then you obviously need to consider the floor space and facilities when surveying bars for sale.

Has the bar hosted live entertainment previously? Does it have sound equipment and a stage? You don’t necessarily need a raised stage – some space in the corner often suffices to accommodate a band.

However, licensing restrictions can often stymie live entertainment, so check out existing licence restrictions and the likelihood of easing them if necessary. Bars in residential areas, for obvious reasons, are less likely to have scope for obtaining licences to play loud music and suchlike.

Strip bars

The licensing issue is even more pertinent with a strip bar. Buying an existing establishment would seem to be the sensible option; bidding to convert premises for use as a strip club, aside from the licensing obstacle, can unleash a storm of local protest.

Karaoke bars

If you’ve discounted dance bars on account of being easily irritated by music you dislike, then a karaoke bar could be like pulling teeth. For every competent singer there are dozens of inebriated punters who can barely hit a note! Fortunately, though, modern karaoke bars tend to incorporate separate, soundproofed booths.