The Bar Business Podcast: Bar & Pub Owner Profits, Marketing & Operations

Hosted by Chris Schneider, The Bar Business Coach

Business Entrepreneurship

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Episodes

273

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Are you spending more time stuck behind the bar than building a business that runs smoothly without you? If you're a bar owner who feels overwhelmed by the day-to-day grind of hospitality and is struggling to balance operations, marketing, and profits this show is for you. Chris Schneider, with over 20 years in the industry, created this podcast to help you overcome burnout, increase profits, and create a business you can enjoy—not just endure. Join us every Monday and Wednesday to: Get expert strategies to boost profits while attracting loyal customers. Learn bar marketing tactics, menu design hacks, and leadership tools that simplify operations. Build the bar or pub that you have always dreamt of owning. Ready to take control of your bar’s success? Start by tuning into the fan-favorite episode: 5 Strategies to Boost Bar Profits This Week: Quick Wins for Bar Owners.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

September 2, 202623 min

Chris Schneider & Brian Haan: Buying, Managing, and Learning to Run a Bar

After more than 260 episodes talking about the bar business, there’s one story I probably should have told a long time ago: how I actually became a bar owner and learned to run one. In this episode, I sit down with Brian Haan, my longtime friend, former roommate, and the GM who was there throughout my journey in the bar business, to finally start telling that story from the beginning. We get into how Brian and I met at Purdue, why I bought an established neighborhood pub at 22, how Brian ended up becoming my GM, and what those early years taught us about regulars, employees, operations, weekly P&Ls, product decisions, and knowing when to change something, and when to leave what’s already working alone. Because most of what I know about the bar business didn’t come from having all the answers. It came from running the business, watching the numbers, making mistakes, adapting, and figuring it out together. 📌Start Here Own, run, or manage a bar? Join Bar Business Nation. An EXCLUSIVE private Facebook group for bar owners and operators who want better ways to run the business. Ask questions, hear what other owners are dealing with, and get ideas you can actually use. 🔴Join here: → https://www.facebook.com/groups/barbusinessnation 📌Additional resources 🔴Grab the books “How to Make Top-Shelf Profits in the Bar Business!” and “Menus that Sell” here: → https://barbusinesscoach.com/book/

August 31, 2026Episode 26513 min

How to Increase Restaurant and Bar Revenue Without More Customers

When revenue drops, I know the first instinct is usually to get more customers through the door. But what if you’re trying to market your way out of the wrong problem? In this episode, I break down why increasing your guest check average can be one of the fastest ways to grow revenue without spending more money on traffic or marketing. I get into how to benchmark your check average, when your team should prompt the second round, how menu price anchoring can influence what guests spend, and where small changes in the guest journey can help you make more from the customers you already have. Because before you spend more money trying to fill more seats, make sure you’re getting the most from the seats you’ve already filled. 📌Start Here Own, run, or manage a bar? Join Bar Business Nation. An EXCLUSIVE private Facebook group for bar owners and operators who want better ways to run the business. Ask questions, hear what other owners are dealing with, and get ideas you can actually use. 🔴Join here: → https://www.facebook.com/groups/barbusinessnation 📌Additional resources 🔴Grab the books “How to Make Top-Shelf Profits in the Bar Business!” and “Menus that Sell” here: → https://barbusinesscoach.com/book/

August 26, 2026Episode 26432 min

How to Open a Restaurant From Idea to Opening Night with Adam Weisblatt

Opening a great restaurant takes more than great food, hospitality, or a good business plan. Everything matters. In this episode, I sit down with Adam Weisblatt, co-founder of Last Word Hospitality and author of For the Love of Restaurants , to talk about what really happens between having a restaurant idea and opening the doors. We get into choosing the right size and space, finding partners, raising money, design and permitting, building a concept you can actually execute, and why the best restaurants bring art, operations, and business together. Because the goal isn’t just to open the restaurant you dreamed about. It’s to build one you can actually deliver. Connect with Adam & Last Word Hospitality Last Word Hospitality — Check out the restaurants, team, and concepts https://www.lw-h.com/ For the Love of Restaurants — Get Adam Weisblatt’s book https://www.amazon.com/Love-Restaurants-Insiders-Daydreams-Opening-ebook/dp/B0FXBBCZBR Books from the Last Word Hospitality family https://www.lw-h.com/books 📌Start Here Own, run, or manage a bar? Join Bar Business Nation. An EXCLUSIVE private Facebook group for bar owners and operators who want better ways to run the business. Ask questions, hear what other owners are dealing with, and get ideas you can actually use. 🔴Join here: → https://www.facebook.com/groups/barbusinessnation 📌Additional resources 🔴Grab the books “How to Make Top-Shelf Profits in the Bar Business!” and “Menus that Sell” here: → https://barbusinesscoach.com/book/

August 24, 2026Episode 26313 min

How to Set Clear Staff Expectations and Build a Better Bar Team

Bad attitudes, inconsistent service, and employees ignoring standards may all have the same root cause: unclear expectations. In this episode, I break down the 20-minute conversation every bar owner should have with a new hire during their first week. We’ll cover what great performance looks like, how decisions get made, what you actually care about, what employees should expect from you, and why understanding their goals can improve buy-in and retention. Because setting expectations early can save you from having the same frustrating performance conversations later. 📌Start Here Own, run, or manage a bar? Join Bar Business Nation. An EXCLUSIVE private Facebook group for bar owners and operators who want better ways to run the business. Ask questions, hear what other owners are dealing with, and get ideas you can actually use. 🔴Join here: → https://www.facebook.com/groups/barbusinessnation 📌Additional resources 🔴Grab the books “How to Make Top-Shelf Profits in the Bar Business!” and “Menus that Sell” here: → https://barbusinesscoach.com/book/

August 21, 2026Episode 91 hr 38 min

Po6: What a Female-Led Bar Team Taught Hong Kong About Hospitality with Beckaly Franks

On this episode of Party of Six, we have a wide-ranging panel conversation on hospitality, focusing on Beckaly Franks tracing her path from Idaho and Portland to Hong Kong, building community, and the pitfalls in international hospitality. Sarah Dawn Mars talks about breaking down the finance side of bar ownership, and Menakshi Singh shares a fresh update on opening a new bar in southern India. Key topics In this episode, Beckaly Franks shares how growing up around a family bar in Idaho shaped her view of hospitality as “an extension of home” rather than just a job. Beckaly walks through her early career path from Portland to high-volume nightlife spots like Thunder Ranch and Dixie Tavern, and how performance, service, and event-making became her foundation. Beckaly details how winning the 42 Below global competition became a major credibility moment that opened international doors, including her path to Singapore and then Hong Kong. Beckaly gives a candid breakdown of the Pontiac in Hong Kong, describing it as a shoebox-sized craft cocktail dive bar with 14 seats at the bar, a heavy back bar, a strong visual identity, and a clear culture-first philosophy. She shares how the Pontiac’s all-female core team and inclusive hiring philosophy were intentional, and how that helped create a space for women, queer guests, and a broad regular community. Beckaly also opens up about the difficult side of business, including toxic partnership dynamics, a failed Bali expansion, the impact of Hong Kong protests, and the strain of COVID on operations. Sarah Dawn Mars explains how Overproofff grew out of her own experience learning bar finance the hard way, then moving into hospitality tech and realizing how many operators avoid the numbers until it is too late. Sarah and Chris compare the gap between accounting data and actual hospitality decision-making, arguing that operators need more than a P and L and that generic financial advice often misses the realities of running a bar. Menakshi Singh shares that her newest bar opened in the south of India after a long process of relationship-building, traveling together, and evaluating a higher-capex opportunity over nearly three years. 📌Start Here Own, run, or manage a bar? Join Bar Business Nation. An EXCLUSIVE private Facebook group for bar owners and operators who want better ways to run the business. Ask questions, hear what other owners are dealing with, and get ideas you can actually use. 🔴Join here: → https://www.facebook.com/groups/barbusinessnation 📌Additional resources 🔴Grab the books “How to Make Top-Shelf Profits in the Bar Business!” and “Menus that Sell” here: → https://barbusinesscoach.com/book/

August 19, 2026Episode 26233 min

From $200 to Shark Tank and Building an Event Bartending Business with Nelson Brooks

Nelson Brooks started Cabana Boys with around $200 and eventually took the business to Shark Tank, where he landed an investment from Kendra Scott. In this episode, I’m joined by Nelson to break down how he built and scaled an event bartending business without the overhead of opening a traditional bar. We get into hiring for personality, creating a consistent guest experience, building accountability across multiple markets, marketing the experience instead of just the service, and what it takes to stand out in a low-barrier business. Because building something scalable in hospitality isn’t just about having a good idea. It’s about execution, people, consistency, and creating an experience customers actually want to pay for. PartyHostBoys.com: Explore and book their party-hosting experiences @PartyHostBoys: Follow them on social media Cocktail-Crew.com: Book bartenders for weddings, corporate events, and other celebrations Cocktail Crew Bartending: Follow their bartending brand on social media 📌Start Here Own, run, or manage a bar? Join Bar Business Nation. An EXCLUSIVE private Facebook group for bar owners and operators who want better ways to run the business. Ask questions, hear what other owners are dealing with, and get ideas you can actually use. 🔴Join here: → https://www.facebook.com/groups/barbusinessnation 📌Additional resources 🔴Grab the books “How to Make Top-Shelf Profits in the Bar Business!” and “Menus that Sell” here: → https://barbusinesscoach.com/book/

August 17, 2026Episode 2619 min

Happy Hour Profitability and How to Know If Your Bar’s Specials Actually Work

Good drinks aren’t the only thing that can make or break a happy hour. A packed bar can still be losing money. In this episode, I’m breaking down how to tell if your happy hour is actually creating new business or just discounting drinks for people who would have come in anyway. We’ll talk about cover count, check average, discounted sales, guest behavior, and the numbers you need to look at before deciding whether your happy hour is really working. Because a busy bar looks good. But if the profit isn’t there, the promotion may not be doing its job. 📌Start Here Own, run, or manage a bar? Join Bar Business Nation. An EXCLUSIVE private Facebook group for bar owners and operators who want better ways to run the business. Ask questions, hear what other owners are dealing with, and get ideas you can actually use. 🔴Join here: → https://www.facebook.com/groups/barbusinessnation 📌Additional resources 🔴Grab the books “How to Make Top-Shelf Profits in the Bar Business!” and “Menus that Sell” here: → https://barbusinesscoach.com/book/

August 12, 2026Episode 26030 min

Bar Loans, Business Credit, and Getting Approved with Matt Meehan and Luigi Rosabianca

Most bar owners don't think about financing until they need money—and by then, the decisions they've already made can determine whether a lender says yes or no. In this episode, I'm joined by Matt Meehan and Luigi Rosabianca to break down what actually makes a bar or restaurant lendable, why your financial foundation matters long before you apply, and where owners get themselves into trouble with the wrong types of financing. We get into clean books, business structure, bank accounts, personal and business credit, CPAs, merchant cash advances, equipment financing, lines of credit, SBA loans, and why the money you borrow should match exactly what you're using it for. Because getting access to capital isn't just about finding the right lender. It's about building a business a lender can actually understand and confidently lend to. CreditBanc.io — Check their website and learn more Creditbanc.io/business-credit-builder — Learn how to build business credit www.youtube.com/@Credit_Banc — Watch their business finance videos https://www.youtube.com/@theliquidlunchprojec t— Get small business and finance insights @MatthewRMeehan — Follow Matt on social media @LuigiRosabianca — Follow Luigi on social media 📌Start Here Own, run, or manage a bar? Join Bar Business Nation. An EXCLUSIVE private Facebook group for bar owners and operators who want better ways to run the business. Ask questions, hear what other owners are dealing with, and get ideas you can actually use. 🔴Join here: → https://www.facebook.com/groups/barbusinessnation 📌Additional resources 🔴Grab the books “How to Make Top-Shelf Profits in the Bar Business!” and “Menus that Sell” here: → https://barbusinesscoach.com/book/

August 10, 2026Episode 25910 min

Signature Cocktails: Turn One Drink Into a Word-of-Mouth Marketing Asset

Having a bestselling cocktail does not mean you have a signature drink. A bestseller moves units. A signature moves people. In this episode, I’m breaking down what turns an ordinary cocktail into something guests photograph, talk about, recommend to friends, and associate specifically with your bar. We’ll cover the five things a signature drink needs, how to identify a potential signature using your PMIX, how to create one if you don't already have it, and how to use your staff, menu, pricing, and social media to turn that drink into marketing. Because one drink people remember and talk about can be worth more than another promotion you're constantly paying to run. 📌Start Here Own, run, or manage a bar? Join Bar Business Nation. An EXCLUSIVE private Facebook group for bar owners and operators who want better ways to run the business. Ask questions, hear what other owners are dealing with, and get ideas you can actually use. 🔴Join here: → https://www.facebook.com/groups/barbusinessnation 📌Additional resources 🔴Grab the books “How to Make Top-Shelf Profits in the Bar Business!” and “Menus that Sell” here: → https://barbusinesscoach.com/book/

August 5, 2026Episode 25815 min

The Pour Cost System: Calculate It, Track It, and Protect Your Margins

Most bar owners don't have a pour cost problem. They have a tracking problem. In this episode, I'm breaking down how to calculate pour cost correctly, why monthly reports are too late, and how to build a weekly system that catches profit leaks before they become expensive. We'll cover inventory, actual versus theoretical costs, category benchmarks, variance tracking, staff accountability, and operational controls that help you protect your margins every single week. Because you can't fix the numbers if you're measuring the wrong ones. 📌Start Here Own, run, or manage a bar? Join Bar Business Nation. An EXCLUSIVE private Facebook group for bar owners and operators who want better ways to run the business. Ask questions, hear what other owners are dealing with, and get ideas you can actually use. 🔴Join here: → https://www.facebook.com/groups/barbusinessnation 📌Additional resources 🔴Grab the books “How to Make Top-Shelf Profits in the Bar Business!” and “Menus that Sell” here: → https://barbusinesscoach.com/book/