Who I help · Bars
Help for independent bars, chiringuitos, and beach clubs
Cocktail bars, wine bars, late bars, expat pubs, chiringuitos, and beach clubs. I have run bars and nightclubs, and I know that a bar makes or loses its money one pour at a time.
How do you make a bar or chiringuito more profitable?
Know the cost of every drink at the spec you actually pour, not the one on paper. Measure pours, check stock against sales often, and price your best drinks on the cash they make, not just the percentage. Cut what does not sell. Staff the hours and the months that trade, not the hours you are open. Give people a reason to come in out of season, and a good alcohol-free choice for those who are not drinking. And know where the free drinks are going.
Atelier Sawyer helps independent bars across Spain, from town-centre bars to the beach, with anything from a single Health Check to month-by-month support. Behind the bar, the work is the same; on the sand, the rules are not, and the FAQs below set out where they differ.
What I see in bars
- Pours that drift: a generous measure here, a drink on the house there, and a margin that never matches the spreadsheet.
- Stock that vanishes: the monthly count tells you something went missing, but not when, or where.
- A list that is too long: forty cocktails, half of them made twice a month, and a back bar full of bottles nobody orders.
- A season that carries the year: July and August pay the bills, and the rest of the year barely covers the staff.
- Late nights that cost more than they take: door staff, extra hours, and a last hour that does not pay for itself.
- Neighbours, noise, and hours: complaints, sound limits, and a closing time set by your type of establishment, not by how busy you are.
- Guests who are not drinking: a growing number of them, and a menu that offers them a soft drink and an apology.
How I help bars
| If you… | Start with |
|---|---|
| Know something is wrong but cannot see what | A Hospitality Health Check, €347 |
| Need help fixing it, month by month | Run, €595 a month |
| Are opening a bar or taking on a chiringuito | Plan, €365 a month, or a Pre-Opening Diagnostic, €497 |
| Are opening a second bar, or running two or three | Grow, €1,195 a month |
| Have a good bar that too few people know about | Promote, €565 a month |
| Are fighting your till, your bookings, or your stock system | Digitise, from €2,345 |
| Need a website that takes bookings and sells events | Websites, from €1,800 |
Prices exclude IVA.
Every pour counts
In a bar, small leaks are the whole story. If a bar takes €8,000 a week on spirits and loses 5% to over-pouring, spillage, and free drinks, that is €400 a week, or €20,800 a year, before anyone has noticed. That is a worked example, but the pattern is real, and on the coast, where the summer team changes every year, it starts again every season.
The fix is not suspicion; it is a system. A written spec for every drink, so it tastes the same whoever makes it. Measured pours, so the spec is what reaches the glass. Stock checked against sales often enough to see a problem the week it starts, not the month after. And a drinks list priced on cash margin at the top, so your best bottles sell rather than gather dust.
Then the part that makes it stick: a team that understands why it matters, trained in the languages they work in. People protect what they understand. They ignore what is imposed on them.
The bars I have run
I have spent more than 30 years in restaurants, cafés, bars, pubs, and nightclubs, in London and on the Costa del Sol, and there is no role behind a bar I have not done as my job.
Early in my career, I turned round The Fallen Angel, a late-night gay club in London, in about a month. The music was out of step with the crowd, and the bar was more seaside hen party than late-night club. I matched the music and the drinks to the people who actually came; retrained the bar team and put them in new uniforms; replaced the bouncers with smart door staff; trained the managers; gave every night of the week its own theme; and rebuilt the advertising. Guests who had been paying the entry fee and little else started staying, and spending, all night.
Takings went from about £200 a night on the door and £50 at the bar to around £2,000 on the door and £1,500 to £3,000 at the bar. Nothing about it was clever. It was standards, skills, and an offer that hung together.
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell if stock or cash is going missing behind the bar?
Check stock against sales often enough to catch a problem while it is happening. A monthly count tells you what went missing; weekly checks on your fastest-moving lines tell you when, and on whose shift. Reconcile the till to the cash every night, with voids, refunds, and no-sales reported by person. Pair that with measured pours and a clear policy on staff drinks and drinks on the house.
My cocktails sell well, so why is my drinks GP falling?
Usually because the spec on paper is not what reaches the glass, or costs have moved and prices have not. Re-cost every cocktail at today's prices, garnish and ice included, then watch it made on a busy night: free-poured spirit, generous top-ups, and premium spirits in place of house ones add up fast. Then look at the mix; if your best sellers earn the least, reprice those first.
Should a bar have an alcohol-free menu?
Yes, if you want the guests who are not drinking to stay, spend, and come back. A well-made alcohol-free drink leaves out the most expensive part of a cocktail, the spirit and the tax on it, and can still sell for a proper price. Cost it to the cent, garnish and straw included, and it keeps the whole table in the bar for another round.
What time does my bar have to close?
In Andalucía, closing times are set by regional rules for each type of establishment, not by your own licence, and the town hall can extend or restrict them, for example during the feria. A bar with music is a different activity from one without, with its own sound limits and, often, a later closing time. Check your category with the town hall before you plan late nights, or a terrace that runs past midnight.
Can I take on a chiringuito by traspaso?
With care. A chiringuito on the beach trades on public land, under a concession or a seasonal authorisation, and the title belongs to its holder for a set period, not to the business. Passing it to you needs the authority's approval, and a seasonal authorisation may not carry over at all. Before you pay, see the title, its end date, and its conditions, and have an abogado confirm it can pass to you.
Talk it through
A free 30-minute call will tell us both whether I can help, and where to start.