Break Even Owning A Bar?

[pigeonjake]

i see you mention the easteny, so you must be a regular round soi 7/8 my mates had the coral reef bar for about 20years oposit the sunshine, phil his name go and have a chat to him,,

even i think he rented the bar out to a fella the other year, have a word with him

jake

you could dip yout toe in that way for a bit,, renting

[DMC1]

i see you mention the easteny, so you must be a regular round soi 7/8 my mates had the coral reef bar for about 20years oposit the sunshine, phil his name go and have a chat to him,,

even i think he rented the bar out to a fella the other year, have a word with him

jake

you could dip yout toe in that way for a bit,, renting

Yes, pop in and see Phil as he might be up for renting the bar out again. Unfortunately the guy renting passed away (not from the booze) a couple of years ago and he seemed quite happy there. Nice bar, good staff & well taken care of.

[VBF]

All comments greatly appreciated. Seems to be in line with my general observations on my 13 or so visits there since 2004. I thought the percentage of falang owners would be a bit higher than one person estimated. And I do agree that there is a quiet push to get the bars away from the water. Obviously some developers will want the "ocean view" for their dream hotels that are on the drawing boards. Man I miss Pattaya of even a few years ago, before that latest Eastiny hotel got built.

I am 55 and was just kicking it around as a thing to do. I am a lightweight drinker and spent more time than I liked in High School and College taking care of the famly lounge so I really wasn't looking to do this as my chief goal. But there were reasons to consider it. A good friend of mine was also interested in splitting the "watchkeeper" duties in Thailand. He is more seasoned than I am.

Kind of reminds me of Branson and when someone asked him how to become a millionaire: He said something like. "it is easy. First get a billion dollars, then buy an airline".

I think I will just keep working my contractor/consultant schedule here in the USA and just take longer holidays.

Thanks

To paraphrase you "I think I will just keep working my contractor/consultant schedule here in the UK and just take longer holidays."

That's how I've been doing it for years - that way I enjoy my time on the CUSTOMER side of bars Plus I get more money for the times I am in Thailand and I know what's mine is mine and not likely to get coerced from me by the forces of law and (dis)order. Just my 2 pence worth!

[gaucho]

there r too many worries ...just lighten your workload and take longer holidays ....believe me it gets old very quick owning a bar ...same old same old every day too many worries and potential problems ...if u r making a quid u suddenly get all these unexpected bills

[parallaxtech]

I moved to Thailand from the US when I turned 50 and it was the best move I ever made. I have never invested in any business here (only a home) and I advise all newcomer farangs not to invest in any business. If you have enough cash to last you (my total outlay is 30KTHB/mos) and can perhaps do a bit of your consulting/contracting from here then give it a shot. Think very carefully about anything having to do with your money and Thai people.

[TommoPhysicist]

Running a bar here is long hours. It is much more fun drinking at different bars too than being stuck at the same one all the time. If you don't have reliable thai partner, it is an uphill struggle to recruit "ladies".

so the general feeling here is ( if you have a good thai wife who you can trust tio keep things in order ) i have and i wanted to open a bar a few years ago but 99% of tv members gave negitive replies.

Get yourself a younger attractive Thai wife, then put her in a bar surrounded by horny white guys with money to burn.

Yep, that always works out well!

Let me count all the wives that gave in to temptation ....... errrrrm ........ all of them.

Edited August 26, 2012 by TommoPhysicist

[jacktrip]

Open a laundry instead

money laundry?

exactly, these are dudes who are into getting pissed and banging the help.

a laundry would never be an option even if it was raking in cash.

[toenail]

The few successful local bars and restaurants that are still in operation after 5 yearsis because the owner is there EVERYDAY. Once you leave, things fall apart...customer service, cleanliness, and quality of food. Bars here are a dime a dozen but if you have something for the new tourist groups coming to Pattaya, maybe you'd have some good business. If I had money (and know how), I'd open a "Bollywood" bar catering to the single Indian men that come here. That is lacking.

[toenail]

The few successful local bars and restaurants that are still in operation after 5 yearsis because the owner is there EVERYDAY. Once you leave, things fall apart...customer service, cleanliness, and quality of food. Bars here are a dime a dozen but if you have something for the new tourist groups coming to Pattaya, maybe you'd have some good business. If I had money (and know how), I'd open a "Bollywood" bar catering to the single Indian men that come here. That is lacking.

[pomchop]

I once had a friend who bought two beer bars in pattaya. A few years later he was sitting on the curb in front of a family mart drinking lao kao and muttering to himself. A year later he hung himself on his balcony. Up until he bought the bars he had a good retirement nest egg and was semi sane guy.

Guess one could say it didn't work out so great for him.

[Dorkers]

The few successful local bars and restaurants that are still in operation after 5 yearsis because the owner is there EVERYDAY. Once you leave, things fall apart...customer service, cleanliness, and quality of food. Bars here are a dime a dozen but if you have something for the new tourist groups coming to Pattaya, maybe you'd have some good business. If I had money (and know how), I'd open a "Bollywood" bar catering to the single Indian men that come here. That is lacking.

Bollywood Bar! Brilliant idea! Throw in a cricket part of the bar too! I was at a hotel that my mate checked into last week - had to hang around reception, saw a couple of mini buses arrive with the boys in their 'cricket shoes'. I think you would have customers queuing out the door, however I wouldn't anticipate them opening their wallets very much. The bar next door mentioned that there were 5 of them playing pool for an hour and a half. Total drinks = 2 heinekens, 5 glasses and a bucket of ice all shared between them, then there is the other one with 6 going into a go go bar and ordering 3 beers. They were told they had to buy a drink each. So 3 went outside and waited whilst the ones inside drank half the beer and then they swapped over. Also in my mates hotel there were 4 guys sharing a twin bed room.

Again - the theme of the bar is an absolute winner, but I wouldn't figure the profit would be there.