The Secret to the Best Bar Shapes and Sizes for Restaurant Bars
Joel Phillips • January 1, 2000
HOW PROFITABLE ARE BARS FOR RESTAURANT OWNERS?
Bars are very important to restaurant owners for many reasons. Firstly, the bar relieves a potential bottleneck at the door and is a great place for guests while they’re waiting for their tables. This gives guests the benefit of sitting and relaxing after a hard day while waiting for their tables. Secondly, the restaurant owner also benefits by increasing profitability. Ahh, profitability – that magic word. I don’t think many would question whether alcohol is profitable to restaurant owners, but just how profitable
? Brace yourself, my friend. According to my Magnificent 7
colleague and hospitality industry expert, Kevin Moll, president of Restaurant Consulting Services:
"Alcohol sales often have the highest profit margins for restaurants." - Kevin Moll, President of Restaurant Consulting Services
According to Kevin: “For financially viable restaurants, the gross profit from alcohol sales typically hovers around 70%.”
In other words, alcohol contributes 70% to the gross profit for the entire operation! Kevin gave me some other inside information about how to improve bar profitability that I’ll share later in this post. From the above, it’s easy to understand why bar shape and size are so critical for a financially viable restaurant. Given the above, what’s the optimal shape and size for a restaurant bar?
WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON BAR SHAPES FOR RESTAURANTS?
Up until recently, from my experience, the most common shapes for restaurant bars are the L-shape and the linear shape (also known as the “shotgun” bar). Because both are adjacent to at least one wall, they often require the least amount of space – therefore providing the maximum area for table seating. Table seating has traditionally been the most important resource among restaurant owners, but from what we now know about bar profitability, the bar should not take a back seat – we need to optimize the shape and size of the bar.
SMALL BARS VS. LARGE BARS: HOW AND WHEN SHOULD EACH BE UTILIZED?
Restaurant owners who understand the undisputable value of owning a bar want to maximize its footprint. Sometimes, the biggest challenge is to avoid going overboard. On the other hand, due to space constraints, there aren’t as many options as possible for smaller venues. From what I’ve seen, when restaurant occupancy loads approach 100 patrons, more shape options are available. Here’s a rundown of the most common bar shapes we normally discuss with clients, and I’m going to break this down by restaurant size:
BAR SHAPES AND SIZES FOR SMALL RESTAURANT BARS
SMALL L-SHAPED BAR: THE MOST COMMON BAR FOR SMALL RESTAURANTS
The bar shown in Figure 1A is typical where bar length is limited. This is the most common bar I see for small restaurants. This bar occupies 207 square feet and accommodates 12 patrons, which yields 17.3 SF/patron. Now let’s understand how this looks in 3D, using Krowne Metal’s
new ‘ BarFlexPro
’, a fabulous interactive tool that enables anyone to build their own bar and discover how it will look in 3D! It’s very easy to use – I learned it in 10 minutes!
In my opinion, Krowne is the most progressive company and undisputed leader in the bar equipment industry. In Figure 1B I’m showing the very bar equipment for this bar using BarFlexPro. Here’s the exciting news: I’ve set this up so you can also get right into my 3D model by clicking this link.
I encourage you to get into my model and move things around – feel free to change this however you wish!
Figure 1A. Architectural plan view of small L-shaped bar Figure 1B. 3D plan view of small L-shaped bar equipment plan
SMALL LINEAR BAR: A GOOD SOLUTION FOR NARROW SPACES
The bar shown in Figure 2A was designed to occupy the corner of the room. Because this was installed in a hotel, we lost one seat due to the ADA accommodation. This bar occupies 225 square feet and accommodates eight patrons, which yields 28.1 SF/patron. Figure 2B shows this bar using BarFlexPro
and here’s the link to my model
. My recommendation for small bars is to maximize the seating.
Figure 2A. Architectural drawing of small linear bar Figure 2B. 3D model of small linear bar
BAR SHAPES AND SIZES FOR LARGE RESTAURANTS
LARGE L-SHAPED BAR: THE MOST COMMON DESIGN FOR LARGE RESTAURANTS
When occupancy loads approach 100 patrons, owners prefer larger bars. As seen in Figure 3A, this bar is 28’ long, occupies 292 square feet and accommodates 14 patrons, which yields 20.8 SF/patron. The BarFlexPro
model is shown in Figure 3B, and you can access the model through this link
.
Figure 3B. 3D plan of large L-shaped restaurant bar using Krowne’s BarFlexPro Figure 3A. Architectural plan of large L-shaped restaurant bar
PASS-THRU BAR: THE BEST ARCHITECTURAL SOLUTION FOR LARGE RESTAURANTS
In Figure 4A we see a 3-station pass-thru bar. This 30’ long bar occupies 325 square feet and accommodates 14 patrons, which yields 23.2 SF/patron. For owners who like their wait staff to have access behind the bar, this is a popular choice. As shown in elevation (ref. Figure 5), the pass-thru bar is my favorite for symmetrical bar design. For those with ample space, an adjacent free-standing drink rail (five patrons) can also be incorporated. My BarFlexPro
model (ref. Figure 4B) can be accessed by clicking here.
Figure 4B. 3D plan of pass-thru restaurant bar Figure 4A. Plan view of pass-thru restaurant bar
Figure 5. Elevation view of pass-thru restaurant bar
ISLAND BAR WITH ISLAND BACK BAR: NOT A GOOD CHOICE FOR RESTAURANTS
During initial conversations, some clients express an interest in a 25-35-seat bar. That isn’t very practical for L-shaped and Pass-Thru Bars, because most people simply don’t have enough space with which to work (island bars capable of seating 25-30 patrons require 40′-50′ of space). Figure 6A depicts a 3-station island bar with an island back bar. This bar occupies 533 square feet and accommodates 35 patrons, which yields 15.2 SF/patron. I love the island bar with island back bar, but this is the type of bar most suitable for sports bars and destination bars – but not restaurants
, because it’s too much of an attention-getter and looks just too casual for dining. But wait, I have a much better approach for island bars. Feel free to check-out my BarFlexPro
model (ref. Figure 6B) by clicking here
.
Learn how architecture, engineering, and construction firms hire remote professionals, choose nearshore or offshore talent, and keep control of the work.
Figure 1A. Architectural plan view of small L-shaped bar Figure 1B. 3D plan view of small L-shaped bar equipment plan
Figure 1A. Architectural plan view of small L-shaped bar Figure 1B. 3D plan view of small L-shaped bar equipment plan
