Making a Bar in Sihanoukville .

[Boyce]

What are the, pros and cons.

Regarding Visas, and work permits.

[hanno]

Can only think of cons: nobody running a bar there makes any money.....

[CNXSTEVE]

Can only think of cons: nobody running a bar there makes any money.....

Monkey Republic and other bars around that area always seem busy. So unless they are giving away free beer and food, they must be making money.

[Jeffrey346]

By the time you pay rent and pay off the cops you will have nothing to show at the end of the month.

[ezzra]

Can only think of cons: nobody running a bar there makes any money.....

Maybe the OP want to drink his own booze and have his own harem of local lasses..

other than that no cons... having said that, I be going there soon to check the scenes..

[samjaidee]

I looked into it quite seriously.I've spent a 2-3 months there at different times of year and have came to the conclusion that there's no money to be made there, yet; at least in the bar/restaurant business.

I was also planning on designing and printing my own t-shirts there as well. The problem is that the visitors are generally less well off than those in Thailand and the high season is not as high or as long as Thailand's (at least as Thailand's used to be). Overall, I think bungalows, a resort or a high-ish end restaurant would be a chance to make some money.

I lived in Thailand for five years, where I started the Bungy on Koh Samui in 1999, and have lived in Vietnam for eight years so I do have some understanding of how SE Asia works. I'm not just writing for the sake of it.

[samjaidee]

Can only think of cons: nobody running a bar there makes any money.....

Monkey Republic and other bars around that area always seem busy. So unless they are giving away free beer and food, they must be making money.

Have they rebuilt Monkey Republic? Is it different to before the fire?

Monkey Republic has been there a long time and as a result has a very good lease compared to those that are available now.

Remember the high season is brief in Sihanoukville compared to Thailand.

[tetleythedog]

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By the time you pay rent and pay off the cops you will have nothing to show at the end of the month.

If you do it right, you'll be ok...........................i was there last Oct, and where i stayed made money. It's not just a bar you need, rooms are a plus, regular income covers the overheads, beer and good food is a puller for expats of course, pool nights, maybe a poker club, there are many options. I was considering the move to manage a bar/ guesthouse there.

[hutchings1963]

I think you better get in touch with my mate hes already got a bar there he wished he never moved from Pattaya,if you want his email address i will give it to you.

[zaZa9]

I like the place , but just cant see how you can actually make much money when beers are 50c or a dollar.

I know that ownership rules are fairer to the foreigner than Thailands - was it 70% foreign ownership allowed in Cambodia and yearly appearances for Visas?

You'd probably need the mixed blessing of a local wife/gf to get ahead...

[1130bobs]

I have visited twice, but as a retired businessman, always asking questions. I was at a VERY popular bar regularly / daily - great food, drinks, etc. but the waiter that i got to know said he came from a rice farm in the north & works there for free - in exchange for food, place to sleep, & tips. to him its a better life than rice fields. question - if you are a westerner, could you run a business like this to make a profit?

[oxo1947]

Run a bar and print your own T-shirts......cant see how it can fail....

[slipperylobster]

My buddy opened a bar just so he would not spend his money in some other bar. He gets a kick out of being Bossy and likes having the gals around him. He really does not make any money, but he does save on his personal spending/entertainment. Now he has a steady following of about 15 customers...who go there daily. That pretty much pays for everything. Street traffic is almost nothing. This, however, being in the Phil...not Snooky. The bad side is that he now drinks daily, gets the shakes. Used to be a beefy gym guy.

[bangarang]

Why would you want to open up a standard bar there? There a dime a dozen. Be creative and think of something that will give you an edge. Also that T-Shirt thing.... unless you are designing some custom prints, thats another business that has way too much competition to even be worth it.

[delh]

Go and have a look if you haven't already. Its a good and growing place and Yes, some bars do make money. From what I saw, they are not just bars but offer other services, not necessarily girls.

A downside I though was how to get tourists as the bus journey is a pain from Phnom Penh. But its a growing place. I met a Brit couple, living in London. they'd invested in a boat tour business, a local owner and skipper, they do the worldwide marketing online. Ignore the TV negativity, do your research well and good luck if you do.

PS, visas are easy compared to Thailand.

Edited March 11, 2014 by delh

[InTransit]

The place is a toilet. Full of alcoholic farangs that left Thailand as their cash was almost depleated, looking for cheaper booze,. Plenty of un-stable people that look like they know the writing is on the wall, they are just treading water drinking themselves to death. OP, do yourself a favour and crack on elsewhere

[ozyjon]

We took a tuk tuk to Otres Beach,, few kilometers south and there were smart operators there, had the bar and also small huts to rent out, now that sounded good to me but upon reaching Victory Hill, wow it seemed every bar was for sale mostly owned bu Australian guys, so as a businessman i see that it is easy to buyy very much harder to sell and OH if Andy reads this sorry to hear about your Hotel / pub, i know you worked hard to build it and spent all your Aussie dollars, now that the she owns it all and kiked you out, chin up another will come along.

[phuketrichard]

shv very long rainy season.

Charlie hapers is town does well cause he has affordable ( ie cheap) rooms and ok food and seems to have expats in an out all the time.

Been many times down there an would say that at any given time 50% of the Barang run bars/rests are up for sale.

Monkey is popular cause of lonely planets an has a great location..

But i agree where is the profit in a $.50 beer? or a $3 BBQ

Otres, most places have , if there lucky, a 3 year lease only, not enough time to build ur business up before a new contract is needed.

[FatController]

The place is a toilet. Full of alcoholic farangs that left Thailand as their cash was almost depleated, looking for cheaper booze,. Plenty of un-stable people that look like they know the writing is on the wall, they are just treading water drinking themselves to death. OP, do yourself a favour and crack on elsewhere

Perhaps you should change the company you attract - or change bars.

I was there there last week and only saw a little evidence of what you describe. I did avoid Victory Hill though.

There is now a very impressive Meditteranean style restaurant - Olive and Olive - run by a passionate and professional Turkish guy. He has helped to raise the bar in Sihanoukville.

My favourite daytime hangout remains the Small Beach Bar on Independence Beach.

Flew down from Siem Reap - great little airport(s).

[InTransit]

The place is a toilet. Full of alcoholic farangs that left Thailand as their cash was almost depleated, looking for cheaper booze,. Plenty of un-stable people that look like they know the writing is on the wall, they are just treading water drinking themselves to death. OP, do yourself a favour and crack on elsewhere

Perhaps you should change the company you attract - or change bars.

I was there there last week and only saw a little evidence of what you describe. I did avoid Victory Hill though.

There is now a very impressive Meditteranean style restaurant - Olive and Olive - run by a passionate and professional Turkish guy. He has helped to raise the bar in Sihanoukville.

My favourite daytime hangout remains the Small Beach Bar on Independence Beach.

Flew down from Siem Reap - great little airport(s).

Problem with your suggestion mate, is the people I describe are not just found in bars, they are wandering around everywhere!!!

[FatController]

The place is a toilet. Full of alcoholic farangs that left Thailand as their cash was almost depleated, looking for cheaper booze,. Plenty of un-stable people that look like they know the writing is on the wall, they are just treading water drinking themselves to death. OP, do yourself a favour and crack on elsewhere

Perhaps you should change the company you attract - or change bars.

I was there there last week and only saw a little evidence of what you describe. I did avoid Victory Hill though.

There is now a very impressive Meditteranean style restaurant - Olive and Olive - run by a passionate and professional Turkish guy. He has helped to raise the bar in Sihanoukville.

My favourite daytime hangout remains the Small Beach Bar on Independence Beach.

Flew down from Siem Reap - great little airport(s).

Problem with your suggestion mate, is the people I describe are not just found in bars, they are wandering around everywhere!!!

Fair comment, it is just that I personally didn't fall over any drunken Farangs durings during my stay.

They do walk (stagger) amongst us but it was mainly backpackers (and female at that) that I found noisiest/lareyest.

[sonnyt34]

Any actual good rock bars in sihanoukville and what area would be best to open such establishment. Possibly creating a resto/bar with hearty western cuisine