Claim OwnershipThe Bar Business Podcast: Smart Hospitality & Marketing Secrets For Bar & Pub Owners
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© 2025 The Bar Business Podcast: Smart Hospitality & Marketing Secrets For Bar & Pub Owners
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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.
188 Episodes
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And now, it's time for something different.... The Bar Business Podcast has joined with industry experts to bring you a new panel podcast every month, Party of Six: The Pulse of Bars and Restaurants. I am joined by some amazing folks for a casual yet insightful conversation, sharing stories and discussing what works and what doesn't in the hospitality industry. Check it out every month as we dive deep into the topics that matter to Bar and Restaurant owners. Dive into the world of...
Are you dreading end-of-year inventory? Learn how to make it stress-free while boosting your bar’s profitability! The chaos of New Year's Eve and scattered inventory can turn counting stock into a nightmare. Discover expert strategies to streamline your process, reduce stress, and start the new year strong. Uncover efficient inventory planning tips, from setting the right date to organizing your staff.Learn restocking strategies that save time and simplify post-NYE inventory counting.Get insi...
Is your bar ready to handle the holiday rush with lightning-fast service and happy staff? Inefficient bar setups can slow down service and frustrate your team—especially during the busiest time of the year. Discover how a few simple adjustments to your bartender stations can revolutionize operations and elevate the guest experience. Learn how to engage your bartenders to identify workflow bottlenecks and craft a standardized station setup.See how reorganizing your bar can speed up service, al...
Is your bar ready to handle Thanksgiving Eve, the busiest night of the year? With the holiday rush looming, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the demands of Thanksgiving Eve. But what if you could boost profits, streamline operations, and keep your staff happy, all at once? Learn how early admin planning can free up your time and reduce holiday stress.Discover strategies to show genuine appreciation for your team and create a supportive work environment.Equip your bar to handle last-minute hol...
Do your bookkeeping records actually reflect your bar's current financial state—or are you making decisions based on outdated data? In the fast-paced bar industry, up-to-date financials are essential for real-time decision-making. This week's challenge focuses on getting your books done now, so you’re using accurate, timely data to drive profitability and growth in your business. Learn how to complete and verify your bookkeeping quickly, whether you handle it yourself or work with a bookkeepe...
Ever wondered how ticket times could be the hidden key to happier guests and a more profitable bar? Fast, efficient service is critical to creating a seamless guest experience, yet many bar owners aren’t tracking their ticket times. This episode shows you how to measure, analyze, and improve these times, helping you build loyalty and boost sales. Learn step-by-step how to track and reduce ticket times to enhance customer satisfaction.Discover data-driven strategies to monitor service efficien...
Could understanding your leadership team’s personalities be the secret to running your bar more effectively? Leading a team in the hospitality industry is challenging—clashing personalities, miscommunication, and stress can derail progress. This week’s challenge offers a framework to help you align your team’s strengths and improve collaboration by using personality insights. Learn how matching tasks to team members’ personalities boosts efficiency. Discover tools to manage conflicts and impr...
Unlock the secrets to transforming your bar into a powerhouse of profitability and vibrant culture with our latest episode of the Bar Business Podcast! Join me, Chris Schneider, as we embark on a journey to help bar owners work on their businesses rather than just in them. This week, we're tackling a crucial exercise: conducting a comparative analysis of last month's profit and loss against both the previous month and the same month last year. This is more than just crunching numbers—it's abo...
The night before Thanksgiving? You already know it's gonna be chaos. Servers stressed, kitchen buried, and everyone's moving a little too slow for the volume about to hit. But if you’ve got 10 minutes before doors open, I’ll show you exactly what to say to keep the shift tight and the team moving like they actually trained for this. No rambling meetings, no last-minute guesswork, just a quick briefing that keeps guests happy and the wheels from falling off. ...
Getting people through the door is hard, but getting them to keep coming back? That’s where most bar owners drop the ball. Discounts might feel like the move, but they’re quietly killing your margins and not building real loyalty. This episode breaks down a smarter, cheaper way to lock in regulars by actually making them feel seen, no gimmicks, no stamp cards. We’re talking real talk on recognition, retention, and how to use your POS data to turn first-timers into lifers. If you want...
You can have a packed dining room and still be bleeding money, and most owners don’t realize it until it hurts. The real problem isn’t that you’re not busy, it’s that you’re guessing which hours actually pay the bills instead of looking at what the numbers are quietly trying to tell you. In this episode, I walk you through a simple 5-minute daily habit that shows you exactly which shifts are truly profitable and which ones are just keeping the lights on. You’ll see how to spot your stro...
Think your bar’s doing okay just because you’re busy? Think again. A packed house means nothing if your menu is underpriced, your costs are off, and you're bleeding money in ways you don’t even see. In this episode, Bruce Nelson, a CFO who’s helped countless bars fix their financial chaos, breaks down the money traps most owners fall into. We’re talking real numbers, not fluff, and how to actually price things so your profit isn’t a mystery. If you’ve ever l...
You’re probably undercharging your beers and overpricing your cocktails and not even realizing it. If your pricing is based on “what everyone else is doing,” you're not being strategic, you’re just gambling with your margins. This episode hands you a quick 4-step pricing audit you can run this week to spot hidden profit leaks and reposition your prices without scaring off regulars. You’ll see exactly where your pricing doesn’t match your guest experience and how to charge more where it actual...
You didn’t open a bar just to get stuck fixing toilets and covering last-minute call outs. But if the business falls apart every time you’re not around, that’s not ownership, that’s just another job. H Joseph Ehrmann spills how he built a bar in San Francisco that runs profitably while he lives states away in Boise. We’re talking team retention for over 17 years, systems that don’t rely on hero shifts, and how to stop letting short-term fires kill long-term growth. If your bar still needs you...
Most manager meetings turn into story time, complaint hour, or a total waste of everyone’s energy. You walk out with nothing but a mental list and a few “we should probably” statements that never happen. This episode breaks down a dead-simple 30-minute meeting format that forces clarity, accountability, and actual progress. You’ll get a step-by-step system to cut the noise, spot real issues before they become fires, and hold your team to what matters without micromanaging. If your weekly meet...
Too many bar owners don’t take documentation seriously until it’s too late. They assume verbal instructions, digital trails, or “just remembering” is enough to protect them. It’s not. In this episode, we break down the real reason why lack of documentation quietly leaves your business exposed to lawsuits, fines, and insurance nightmares. You’ll get the 5 must-have document types that every bar should be storing from training logs to incident reports to vendor contracts and how to organize the...
Too many bar and restaurant owners rely on gut feel to judge staff performance and profit. A packed house doesn’t mean you’re making money and a friendly server doesn’t always mean a top performer. In this episode, Geoffrey Toffetti reveals how data, not guesswork, uncovers hidden revenue leaks, lazy service habits, and quiet performance killers. You'll learn how top hospitality brands are using AI, psychology, and POS metrics to spot gaps, train smarter, and increase revenue without more ...
Too many bar owners rely on guesswork or outdated markup formulas when setting menu prices. They assume as long as it covers the liquor cost, it’s profitable. It’s not. In this episode, we uncover why pricing based on instinct or competition is silently draining your profits. You’ll learn how to factor in waste, spillage, garnishes, and even straws to build real margin. Plus, we’ll walk through psychological pricing tactics and how to raise prices without scaring your regula...
Your Bar’s True Worth Might Surprise You Most bar owners think their place is worth more than it really is until they see what buyers actually pay. The truth? Your bar’s value isn’t based on how much you’ve poured into the buildout or how great your vibe is. It’s based on what someone’s willing to write a check for. In this episode, we are going to break down exactly how bars are valued using EBITDA, revenue, and asset-based methods and what separates the ones worth two times earnings from th...
If your bar’s promotions sound like “Happy Hour again,” your guest experience is already invisible Being visible online isn’t enough anymore, especially in Q4 when everyone’s screaming louder on social. The key to driving real traffic is a well-planned secret menu strategy that makes guests feel like insiders, sparks curiosity, and spreads faster than any special ever could This episode is your insider playbook on using secret menus to drive repeat visits, boost bartender pride, ...
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