Originally Posted by chickentribs

great advice, cardfan - obviously you know your stuff... I would only mention the relationship your bartenders have with the regulars. Is this a place you went to frequently? The bartenders are the reason people will come in on a regular basis, but you have to keep "comped" drinks reasonable. A friend of mine who owns a pretty big place had an outside company come in an monitor the pours over a week and he discovered he was losing $5k /week on free drinks/heavy pours! Also, I am always leery of stepping into a management role with existing employees... But with that said you have beaten me to my retirement plan! Good luck.