Fantasy Bar

[Mighty Mouse]

It's no secret that the POMS prefer to drink warm beer. They also love to drink hot tea...with their li'l pinky raised in the air.

Will it ever come to pass that their beer and their tea will be consumed at exactly the same temperature? Can you imagine having to blow on your beer before taking a sip or dunking a biscuit into a frothy beer?

It's enough for we Aussies to up anchor and float Australia further away from Britain.

[kurgen]

It's no secret that the POMS prefer to drink warm beer. They also love to drink hot tea...with their li'l pinky raised in the air.

Will it ever come to pass that their beer and their tea will be consumed at exactly the same temperature? Can you imagine having to blow on your beer before taking a sip or dunking a biscuit into a frothy beer?

It's enough for we Aussies to up anchor and float Australia further away from Britain.

Try pulling the plug out and sinking good old Oz, bye bye shandy drinking winkers :D

[Mighty Mouse]

Try pulling the plug out and sinking good old Oz, bye bye shandy drinking winkers :D

Just the opposite is required for you POMS. You lot need to put the plug IN, fill the bath and have a good wash.....and try using soap.

As for drinking 'shandies', some of your boof headed lager louts might be better off drinking a shandy or two. Half a glass of full strength beer and they start headbutting power poles.

Just a whiff of Oz VB beer and you POMS become intoxicated. Maybe that's why your cricket team can never seem to win a game in Oz. A breeze, blowing through the Members Bar and onto the pitch at the Sydney Cricket Ground, is all that is required for your "players" to crumble into a heap.

Now, trying to get this thread back on subject, if the Fantasy Bar really wants to make good money, they need to get the two middy POM sippers out and bring in the bronzed Aussie keg drinkers.

[happyaussie]

It sounds amazing and I'll definitely visit. But I still can't understand how they can make money selling beers at 40ht.

I don't know what the cost of one bottle is, but let's assume it's 25bht. That calculates to 15bht gross per bottle. 100 bottles sold leaves 1500bht gross per day. Then deduct wages, rent, electricity and all other overheads. That leaves pre tax profit for the owner.

All I can say is that as a consumer, yeh hah. I'm just glad it's not my business. CU soon.

[ajarnmark]

It sounds amazing and I'll definitely visit. But I still can't understand how they can make money selling beers at 40ht.

I don't know what the cost of one bottle is, but let's assume it's 25bht. That calculates to 15bht gross per bottle. 100 bottles sold leaves 1500bht gross per day. Then deduct wages, rent, electricity and all other overheads. That leaves pre tax profit for the owner.

All I can say is that as a consumer, yeh hah. I'm just glad it's not my business. CU soon.

100 bottles a day?

What world do you live in?

I think only 30 people can easily consume 100 bottles . Do they have only 30 people every day?

Well, I have never been there, but my guess is the must be selling somewhere close to 1,000 bottles of beer plus other high-priced items such as wine with cheese etc.

When I visit Thaialnd next time, I will definitely go there.

[jibber]

Try pulling the plug out and sinking good old Oz, bye bye shandy drinking winkers :D

Just the opposite is required for you POMS. You lot need to put the plug IN, fill the bath and have a good wash.....and try using soap.

As for drinking 'shandies', some of your boof headed lager louts might be better off drinking a shandy or two. Half a glass of full strength beer and they start headbutting power poles.

Just a whiff of Oz VB beer and you POMS become intoxicated. Maybe that's why your cricket team can never seem to win a game in Oz. A breeze, blowing through the Members Bar and onto the pitch at the Sydney Cricket Ground, is all that is required for your "players" to crumble into a heap.

Now, trying to get this thread back on subject, if the Fantasy Bar really wants to make good money, they need to get the two middy POM sippers out and bring in the bronzed Aussie keg drinkers.

Read this back as if Sir Les Paterson is reading it,so funny.,

[bergen]

It sounds amazing and I'll definitely visit. But I still can't understand how they can make money selling beers at 40ht.

I don't know what the cost of one bottle is, but let's assume it's 25bht. That calculates to 15bht gross per bottle. 100 bottles sold leaves 1500bht gross per day. Then deduct wages, rent, electricity and all other overheads. That leaves pre tax profit for the owner.

All I can say is that as a consumer, yeh hah. I'm just glad it's not my business. CU soon.

100 bottles a day?

What world do you live in?

I think only 30 people can easily consume 100 bottles . Do they have only 30 people every day?

Well, I have never been there, but my guess is the must be selling somewhere close to 1,000 bottles of beer plus other high-priced items such as wine with cheese etc. When I visit Thaialnd next time, I will definitely go there.

That's right - as said earlier - the bar has a touch of class - with a huge drink selection in the shelfs,

and also provides decent cigars, various snacks, and a delicious cheese plate.

Not everyone's satisfied drinking small beers all the time.

[Lost in LOS]

never been in there but go by it a lot. always seems crowded with a nice crowd

[norrona]

Try pulling the plug out and sinking good old Oz, bye bye shandy drinking winkers

Just the opposite is required for you POMS. You lot need to put the plug IN, fill the bath and have a good wash.....and try using soap.

As for drinking 'shandies', some of your boof headed lager louts might be better off drinking a shandy or two. Half a glass of full strength beer and they start headbutting power poles.

Just a whiff of Oz VB beer and you POMS become intoxicated. Maybe that's why your cricket team can never seem to win a game in Oz. A breeze, blowing through the Members Bar and onto the pitch at the Sydney Cricket Ground, is all that is required for your "players" to crumble into a heap.

Now, trying to get this thread back on subject, if the Fantasy Bar really wants to make good money, they need to get the two middy POM sippers out and bring in the bronzed Aussie keg drinkers.

I take it your referring to the Northern poms

[monty]

think only 30 people can easily consume 100 bottles blink.gif . Do they have only 30 people every day? ohmy.gif

Well, I have never been there, but my guess is the must be selling somewhere close to 1,000 bottles of beer plus other high-priced items such as wine with cheese etc. whistling.gif

When I visit Thailand next time, I will definitely go there.

Hmmm, I can assure you to turn over 1000 bottles of beer (41 cases) a day you'd need more then just a bit of a crowd. That's 200 people averaging 5 beers each...

And the profit margins are lower then people seem to think, currently a case of Heineken is 775 Bath (recently increased taxes), so over 32 Baht or less then 8 Baht profit a bottle. San Miguel light a little less. And those two beers prolly consist of 65-75% of total beer sales.

You'd need to be pretty good cashed up before you start a sales strategy like that, because the first months you'll see your stack of cash going down fast, until you can get the huge turn over needed to generate profits at those price levels.

This said, I think I'll pop in tonite to get plastered on the cheap

[offset]

Hmmm, I can assure you to turn over 1000 bottles of beer (41 cases) a day you'd need more then just a bit of a crowd. That's 200 people averaging 5 beers each...

And the profit margins are lower then people seem to think, currently a case of Heineken is 775 Bath (recently increased taxes), so over 32 Baht or less then 8 Baht profit a bottle. San Miguel light a little less. And those two beers prolly consist of 65-75% of total beer sales.

You'd need to be pretty good cashed up before you start a sales strategy like that, because the first months you'll see your stack of cash going down fast, until you can get the huge turn over needed to generate profits at those price levels.

This said, I think I'll pop in tonite to get plastered on the cheap

Yes but if the bar is open 10 hours a day 40 drinking between 2 and 3 bottles covers that and if it is the normal set up with the ladies they pay for themselves plus a bit of profit and I would bet you would get the Heineken a lot cheaper buying 41 cases a day so it is possible

[Crow Boy]

What always amazes me is the people who think they know something about running a bar and spout forth great reams of verbal diarrhoea without even having been there. There are also some of you, who do run bars and should know better than this.

The fact remains that despite your deep insights into this business (not) it has been operating happily with a loyal customer base for quite a while. It is not a start up running on someone's pension fund, it is not a money laundering business, nor is it trying to ruin every other bar in the complex. It has bars right next door that do fine thankyou very much. It offers cheap beer in comfortable surroundings with a nice crowd of patrons.

In Pattaya there are many options this bar is just one of them.

CB

[LaoPo]

What always amazes me is the people who think they know something about running a bar and spout forth great reams of verbal diarrhoea without even having been there.

I better keep quiet until I've actually been there myself ....

But I think the owner is one smart guy and running his business opposite the small time thinking of his competitors who are raising prices.

Turnover is the key, simple old marketing story, and you can't get that with high prices in a boozing outlet unless you're running:

Jimmy'z - Monte Carlo, Monaco

Preferred Season: End of May

After hitting Cannes, consider moving along the Mediterranean to Monaco. The city plays host to Formula 1's Grand Prix and the hordes of millionaires and billionaires who come to watch. The yacht parties are fun--if you can get in. An easier bet, but still catering to folks like Rod Stewart, is Jimmy'z, a night club with a retractable ceiling that lets you dance under the stars. Doors open at 11 p.m. and shut at 5 a.m.

But, a Red Bull is about $ 100 in Jimmy'z whilst a bubble water is $ 88,- and Jomtien has hardly the grandeur and sophistication of Monaco

During the Grand Prix Formula 1, Jimmy'z entrance fee is € 9,000 but your chances are high to meet Prince Albert of Monaco, Liz Hurley or Naomi Campbell sipping on a € 1200 Taittinger rosé bottle.

Anybody ?

LaoPo

[Kerryd]

During the Grand Prix Formula 1, Jimmy'z entrance fee is € 9,000 but your chances are high to meet Prince Albert of Monaco, Liz Hurley or Naomi Campbell sipping on a € 1200 Taittinger rosé bottle.

What's the bar fine for Liz Hurley ?

[BSJ]

LoaPo: But, a Red Bull is about $ 100 in Jimmy'z whilst a bubble water is $ 88,- and Jomtien has hardly the grandeur and sophistication of Monaco

During the Grand Prix Formula 1, Jimmy'z entrance fee is € 9,000 but your chances are high to meet Prince Albert of Monaco, Liz Hurley or Naomi Campbell sipping on a € 1200 Taittinger rosé bottle.

So you get a better class of scumbag in Monaco (pronounced Monarchho in Aussie speak) then?

[LaoPo]

LoaPo: But, a Red Bull is about $ 100 in Jimmy'z whilst a bubble water is $ 88,- and Jomtien has hardly the grandeur and sophistication of Monaco

During the Grand Prix Formula 1, Jimmy'z entrance fee is € 9,000 but your chances are high to meet Prince Albert of Monaco, Liz Hurley or Naomi Campbell sipping on a € 1200 Taittinger rosé bottle.

So you get a better class of scumbag in Monaco (pronounced Monarchho in Aussie speak) then?

many, many scumbags and bandidos in Monaco.....more than Jomtien I suppose.

LaoPo

[gharknes]

this is an old trick ,i did it years ago ,sold beer and spirits for 30b to knock out competion ,once that was done put the price up slightly every couple of weeks ,gets you known quickly and crowds attract ,beats paying fortunes on advertising ,this worked for me and 14 years later im one of the most successful bars on koh samui ,known worldwide ,had tv programmes done on me and the bar ,take avantage of there prices as they wont last ,the funny thing is when they put there prices up people will still go there ...

Yes but 50baht a bottle is still cheap, I agree 100% with the OP and although I haven't gone ito business myself I have always avocated the low price high volume concept but it always fell on deaf ears, the are just too many greedy bar owners around Pattaya and Jomtien that fail to see the advantages, I'd rather sell 1000 cheap or resonably priced bottles of beer to many than selling 50 at rip off prices, BTW the biggest rip off is actually shorts at 25ml measures anywhere from 90-130baht ,now that is a grand rip off, 25ml of premium spirit costs around 23baht per shot (with mixer) - less than a bottle of beer, and if it isn't premium you can more than half that, most of the bar owners I know don't even know how to work out the figures, so when you are sitting in some of these rip of establisments and you order a spirit you are getting 25ml measure that's 40 measures from a ltr bottle costing approx 800baht or more than likely the cheap stuff at 300baht DO THE SUMS. I used to buy my own bottle the way the Thais do and pay the corkage 100-200baht and when I had finnished the bottle over a period of time I had saved myself some 2,500baht. I'm glad to see bars like this are opening up, it creates an element of competition and removes the price fixing that goes on around the place. It's quite funny as I have looked in some empty bars and looked at the owner sitting on his own then looked at the prices then walked out again, very easy to get into this cycle of less and less customers then putting the drink price up the compensate then suddenly no customers, me and a bunch of friends regularly drink in a bar that serves beer 35baht - walk 50meters and there is an empty bar trying to sell at 80baht, greedy no business sense collapse - jump

Been saying this for a long time on this forum

Edited September 12, 2008 by gharknes

[Phil Conners]

Why not just ask for the owner and have him confirm (if applicable) this "rule" ?

[Chopper]

Now that would seem logical.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Now that would seem logical.

Very logical.

[lalana]

Yes Chopper,simply seeing if the owner was there and enquiring would seem to be prima facie logical.

Deeper inspection though reveals that the girl in question who said this, said..."I have one of these stools in

MY HOUSE and I use it for my feet,but not in this Bar" combined to the fact that upon saying this all the staff

visibly cowered...leads me to a guesstimate that she's the owners missus.Having lived in Jomtien for ten years I

couldn't be arsed trying to speak to the owner(assuming he even was there at the time),and then have it get all

complicated.If this girl wants to be an arsehol_e about this,then life's too short to be honest and I've got other options

in life.Let's play one scenario out...the Boss is there,upon me explaining the scenario he takes my side and chews the

ass of his missus and tells her that of course I can put my foot up.Well,Thai people,loss of face the next time I'm in

with my foot up blah,blah,blah....and there's tension there that won't blow over.So you see,my nipping this in the bud

is in fact logical......lest we are to think that this Norwegian bloke telling his missus to let me do what I want would

endear her to me and settle her down.....quite the opposite is usually the case and I've seen enough of Falang owners

of Bars telling their other half what to do and the subsequent consequences.

No...just not worth it mate...and the looks this bird gave me as I left the place leads me to at least be "moderately doubtful"

that all the talk in the world from(to be cruel about it,in what we all REALLY are to Thai people) some Falang visitor to this

country who can piss off if they don't like it....wouldn't make a blind bit of difference.

When confronted with di_khead behaviour like this I follow the LOGICAL course of action...keep my cool,smile,and decide

to make it my last time to patronise the business so therefore eliminating the risk of things getting complicated/heated.......

pretty logical to me anyway

PS...the main response(you would think) to my post would be to stir the thought process of people into mulling over

and replying as to what possible logical justification of the girl in question was for her actions,hmmmmm.........

the dissection of THIS as opposed to whether or not I should have done something about it is patently more pressing

a dilemma and therefore was the main thrust of my original post on the subject...........Sooooooooooooo......anyone

got any ideas on what stirred this gal to such frivoloty...or indeed some people may think that I was wrong in what I did.

Any "constructive,logical" ideas are welcome...as opposed to the neanderthal-like chant of.."Why not confront the owner"

Edited September 12, 2008 by lalana

[Mighty Mouse]

Hmmm, I can assure you to turn over 1000 bottles of beer (41 cases) a day you'd need more then just a bit of a crowd. That's 200 people averaging 5 beers each...

It certainly seems a bit far fetched to me also.

My question is, how many fridges are in The Fantasy Bar for the exclusive use of cooling beer bottles? I can't imagine that there would be more than two.

From my reckoning, as viewed from the customer side of the bar, an upright fridge holds approximately 100 bottles. If the turnover of bottles is anywhere near 1000 per day, two fridges would need to be restocked at least five times per day.

If so, there is no way that beer bottles can be sold icy cold. The door to the fridges would be constantly opening and closing making it virtually impossible to keep the contents cold.

If the bar owner uses ice buckets, the cost of replenishing the ice would not allow beer to be sold cheaply.

I've never visited this bar so I'll be guided by those who have.

[binnsy]

Maybe this is WEATHERSPOONS first venture into Thailand.For those not familar with Weatherspoons ITS WHAT THEY DO IN THE uk BUY UP BEER NEAR THE SELL BY DATE AND SELL CHEAP

[kurgen]

Yes Chopper,simply seeing if the owner was there and enquiring would seem to be prima facie logical.

Deeper inspection though reveals that the girl in question who said this, said..."I have one of these stools in

MY HOUSE and I use it for my feet,but not in this Bar" combined to the fact that upon saying this all the staff

visibly cowered...leads me to a guesstimate that she's the owners missus.Having lived in Jomtien for ten years I

couldn't be arsed trying to speak to the owner(assuming he even was there at the time),and then have it get all

complicated.If this girl wants to be an arsehol_e about this,then life's too short to be honest and I've got other options

in life.Let's play one scenario out...the Boss is there,upon me explaining the scenario he takes my side and chews the

ass of his missus and tells her that of course I can put my foot up.Well,Thai people,loss of face the next time I'm in

with my foot up blah,blah,blah....and there's tension there that won't blow over.So you see,my nipping this in the bud

is in fact logical......lest we are to think that this Norwegian bloke telling his missus to let me do what I want would

endear her to me and settle her down.....quite the opposite is usually the case and I've seen enough of Falang owners

of Bars telling their other half what to do and the subsequent consequences.

No...just not worth it mate...and the looks this bird gave me as I left the place leads me to at least be "moderately doubtful"

that all the talk in the world from(to be cruel about it,in what we all REALLY are to Thai people) some Falang visitor to this

country who can piss off if they don't like it....wouldn't make a blind bit of difference.

When confronted with di_khead behaviour like this I follow the LOGICAL course of action...keep my cool,smile,and decide

to make it my last time to patronise the business so therefore eliminating the risk of things getting complicated/heated.......

pretty logical to me anyway

PS...the main response(you would think) to my post would be to stir the thought process of people into mulling over

and replying as to what possible logical justification of the girl in question was for her actions,hmmmmm.........

the dissection of THIS as opposed to whether or not I should have done something about it is patently more pressing

a dilemma and therefore was the main thrust of my original post on the subject...........Sooooooooooooo......anyone

got any ideas on what stirred this gal to such frivoloty...or indeed some people may think that I was wrong in what I did.

Any "constructive,logical" ideas are welcome...as opposed to the neanderthal-like chant of.."Why not confront the owner"

Can someone cut and paste any important bits of this post for me please, I've got the attention span of a goldfish in the mornings

Edited September 13, 2008 by kurgen

[bergen]

My mother always told me to keep my feet on the ground

[monty]

Been there yesterday, impressive place.

It's a bit to big and square to my liking, but the proper sofa's get a thumbs up from me.

They have a huge offering of spirits, I'm pretty sure the biggest I've ever seen in Pattaya! And at very reasonable prices, including some premium brandy or something at 8,500 Baht/glass

The thing I found lacking (and this is obviously personal) is the utter lack of atmosphere. When we were there the crowd definitely was not, early in the evening there were some 20 customers there, which in a place that big makes it look almost deserted, maybe half of them were outside on the terrace, the rest inside, and when we left at around 10 PM there were about 6 customers left. Heaving it was not. Especially for a Friday.

They proudly advertise not having a TV nor a pool table, the music is very low profile, so I got a bit of a factory canteen feeling. I'm guessing it's more of an afternoon place, since the Friday evening could be considered dead. You do really to need to have crowd in there.

And the staff seem to have an extremely rigid set of rules to follow.They have an upstairs "smoking" room (no smoking allowed downstairs) but you have to smoke. If you do not light up you have to leave the room and go back downstairs. We were not a big group, but were told basically they couldn't care less if we spent some money up there just go down again... Weird.

My personal opinion, I'm not really bothered about the price of my beer, but I'd rather go to a place with some entertainment and pay a little premium for that.

As for the financial viability of the place, nobody can make another guys books, so not much point in arguing about it. I just hope that the 80 something Baht (on 11 beers) profit they got out of our group's beer consumption will help pay the staff

I will go their again on a lazy afternoon one day, they have some spirits there I haven't seen since a very looong time, but it sure is of my list of things to do on a Friday night...

[Crow Boy]

And the staff seem to have an extremely rigid set of rules to follow.They have an upstairs "smoking" room (no smoking allowed downstairs) but you have to smoke. If you do not light up you have to leave the room and go back downstairs. We were not a big group, but were told basically they couldn't care less if we spent some money up there just go down again... Weird.

As the token non smoker in my group of friends we generally sit out front in the open, on my own I sit inside on a sofa or barstool. Some of the guys like to sit in the A/C upstairs and smoke but I have NEVER been asked to leave the upstairs bar because I don't smoke.

CB

[Ling Kae]

I drank in a beer bar all last night and consumed several bottles of beer for 40 baht a bottle. Run by an American (top guy), been there 3 years, 4 piece band and he does ok. What people forget is when the prices are low you don't mind buying ladies drinks and drinks for the band. There are several long term successful bars around Pattaya that can do Tigers and Singhas for 40 baht and Hienekens for 50....

[happyaussie]

I for one am not criticising the establishment. I think it's fantastic that this bar exists and good luck to them.

As a contributor I am well within my rights to lodge my comments. Whatever they may be.

In my opinion there is not one bar in Thailand that can sustain their business by selling beer at 40bht and top shelf spirits at 100bht a shot.

The owner must be a very generous benefactor and good on him.

I am a businessman in Thailand, but my businesses do not include bars. I'm not that crazy.

I am definitely going to visit and I look forward to downing a bottle of Grey Goose for 2300bht. Same bottle at wholesale costs 2800bht plus taxes????

[Crow Boy]

I drank in a beer bar all last night and consumed several bottles of beer for 40 baht a bottle. Run by an American (top guy), been there 3 years, 4 piece band and he does ok. What people forget is when the prices are low you don't mind buying ladies drinks and drinks for the band. There are several long term successful bars around Pattaya that can do Tigers and Singhas for 40 baht and Hienekens for 50....

Which bar and where?

cheers

CB