Who I help · Bars
Help for independent bars, from someone who has run the late shift
Cocktail bars, wine bars, late bars, and music venues. I have run bars and nightclubs, and I know that a bar makes or loses its money one pour at a time.
In-person sessions are booked at least ten working days ahead.
How do you make a bar 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 that trade, not the hours you are open. Give people a reason to come in early, and a good alcohol-free choice for those who are not drinking. And know where the free drinks are going.
Atelier Sawyer works with independent bars across the UK, from a single Health Check to month-by-month support.
What I see in bars
- Pours that drift: a generous measure here, a free drink 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.
- Two busy nights: Friday and Saturday carry the week, and the rest barely cover 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 and licences: noise complaints, conditions on the licence, and a review you would rather not have.
- 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, £495 |
| Need help fixing it, month by month | Run, £795 a month |
| Are opening a bar | Plan, £495 a month, or a Pre-Opening Diagnostic, £695 |
| Are opening a second bar, or running two or three | Grow, £1,595 a month |
| Have a good bar that too few people know about | Promote, £745 a month |
| Are fighting your till, your bookings, or your stock system | Digitise, from £2,950 |
| Need a website that takes bookings and sells events | Websites, from £3,250 |
Every pour counts
In a bar, small leaks are the whole story. If a bar takes £10,000 a week on spirits and loses 5% to over-pouring, spillage, and free drinks, that is £500 a week, or £26,000 a year, before anyone has noticed. That is a worked example, but the pattern is real.
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. 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, 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 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 and complimentary drinks.
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 its duty, and can still sell for a proper price. Cost it to the penny, garnish and straw included, and it keeps the whole table in the bar for another round.
Do I need a licence to open late?
In England and Wales, your premises licence sets the hours you can sell alcohol, and hot food or drink between 23:00 and 05:00 needs licensing too. Changing your hours usually means applying to vary the licence; the odd late night can sometimes be covered by a Temporary Event Notice. In Scotland, the licensing board can grant an occasional extension. Northern Ireland has its own rules. Check with your council or board first.
Talk it through
A free 30-minute call will tell us both whether I can help, and where to start.
In-person sessions are booked at least ten working days ahead.