Corner Bar up for sale [Archive] - Sawatdee Gay Thailand the oldest and most popular gay forum on Thailand and South East Asia

September 18th, 2011, 19:18

My understanding after hearing all the not so nice details of the forced sale,is that if you have 3 million baht and a team of man boys to get the customers lining up, your do well with this prime site bar, if you know how to run a Bar there is so much potential with two nice apartments up stairs, and have a fun personality as Mike the owner does, your do well in whatever, low season or only expats who donтАЩt have as much to spend as tourists.

If you look at Ouds Bar you can see money can be made from femme acting boys and a good personality, but if you want to make a good living you only have to go to NICEBOYS or Samones Coffee Bar across the road from the all New Wild Colinial IRISH BAR about to be opened, and see Man Boys make the till ring, all night long that place is heaving with customer no matter what season it is.

In my book they have just a few choices, 1) to get a friend to keep an eye on the Bar, mainly the till and the boys who have access to the money, then have another friend who can deal with the staff who will make sure your stock is full and keeping the placetidy when it needs a good clean up. they have lots of good friends.

There is a Group who drink there nearly every night, who are close friends of Mike the owner, THE BARMY ARMY THEY CALL THEMSELVES, may be they can set up a temporary management group, who can keep the bar floating, until Mike can get back to take it back over say after a month or so.

2) The alternatives are Mike and Thomas close up and lose everything, which unless they are destitute and cant afford the rent would be crazy, if they cant afford to run it with no income, as it would take a mirical to find a new owner so fast, even though IтАЩm sure someone experience in this line of work could do well at this Venue, if of course they have the flights to go home .failing that, 3) they pay the rent and let a trusted Thai member run the bar, as Gary the previous owner use to do when he went home for a MONTH every year.

I personally think the fly in the ointment is the Thai lady boy/katoi, who has the bar in her name and has been known to hold the nice owners to ransom sometimes, if you can tell her youтАЩre going to have man boys woking there and they will be not talking orders from a katoi, as man boys cant respect that and wonтАЩt stay.

I wish them the best of luck and hope for a miracle soon for them.

The good thing is with quite a few New Bars opening for the high season The All New SCOOP SAWDEE BOYS BAR GO GO next to 7/11 now finishing its building work after the previous builder ran off with all the money given to him to build the bar, then JJJ, The EURO BAR lots happening to be happy with to bring more customers to the area.

Beachlover

September 20th, 2011, 22:55

My understanding after hearing all the not so nice details of the forced sale,is that if you have 3 million baht
So are you basically implying that 3 million baht is the asking price for this bar?

Did you get permission from the owners to blab this figure out for all the world to know? Is the figure verified or just completely made up like other figures you put out without any thought as to the implications for people involved?

September 20th, 2011, 23:17

Did you get permission from the owners to blab this figure out for all the world to know?

No I bet he didn't, and has probably caused problems as usual by doing so.

I think Gaybutton sums up mothersruin/LetMeThrowUp very well here:

http://www.gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2962&sid=4b1ea4b0c278ea4e19d9535ac3d51dd5

Yes, Let me tell u is certainly my role model. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all be more like him . . . ? Long one of my goals. I'd be able to write posts totally disregarding spelling, grammar, and coherency. I'd be able to brag about my 4-star hotel, my villa in Spain, my salubrious estate, and my great wealth. I'd be able to name drop about all my "dear friends." I'd be able to tell people how I am inundated with Email and PMs, seeking out my advice as if I were Solomon. I'd be able to brag about all my "stunners" that I find in toilets. I'd be able to tell people how I eat only in the finest restaurants while drinking only the finest wines. I'd be able to provide my sage advice to all the bar owners, who of course seek out my advice as to how to conduct their businesses and make them successful. I'd be able to brag about the number of views all my posts consistently get. I'd be able to tell everyone how I am privy to all the inside information, how I always do my homework, and how I have a spy network. And I'd have excuses for virtually everything.
Why, oh why can't I be more like Let me tell u?

The problem is we now have to put up with it all as well.

September 21st, 2011, 22:59

iF ANY ONE IS LOOKING FOR INSTANT FRIENDS, INCOME WITH A PLACE TO LIVE, AND PLENTY TO DO, INSTEAD OF VEGETATING, THIS MUST BE THE PERFECT PLACE TO BE.

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Re: The Corner Bar for sale
by TheCornerBar ┬╗ Wed Sep 21, 2011 2:13 pm

The Corner Bar in Sunee Plaza, Pattaya Thailand, is for sale. In business over seven years and doing well. Family health issues require my return to the US. The bar has seating for 60. Two, one bedroom, one bath, furnished apartments, are included in the sale. All furniture, fixtures, and inventory, are included. Rent for he bar and apartments is 18000b per month. Utilities run about 12000b per month. The bar takes in between 200000 and 300000b per month, depending on the season. I have MANY daily expat customers from the US and Europe. Their business alone pays the bills, even in low season. My father is seriously ill with cancer and I must return to the US to settle his affairs. 3,500,000thb O.B.O. www.thecornerbar-suneeplaza.com/ (http://www.thecornerbar-suneeplaza.com/)

Dboy

September 26th, 2011, 06:32

I thought Corner Bar was a partnership, with 3 or so partners..no?

Dboy

September 26th, 2011, 23:43

I thought Corner Bar was a partnership, with 3 or so partners..no?

Dboy

NO! But they do have a lot of advisors :)

October 5th, 2011, 23:33

Update on the Corner Bar is they have had an offer under the amount they were hoping for, but the strange thing is even though they say their fathers need urgent attention, which sound like they have no family left there to look after them, while they are absent, they are going to wait another 8 weeks to fly back in the hope of a few dollars more I would have thought if they did a deal with MONTY who is offering his services to either manage it, rent/lease it till someone comes forward with the money to buy it out right.
http://www.gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3711

Considering it is in one of the best positions and seems to be maki9ng a profit, even though many say they had seen staff pilfering from the till, a problem you get if you donтАЩt sit on it all night. There are 2 one bedroom apartments up stairs and an instant brigade of good friends who are regulars, but if its closed as they are threatening to do on the 5th December, the chances of selling is very limited, which would be a shame in the High season especially. So itтАЩs hard to work out what is really going on behind the scenes.
http://www.gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic. ... 2&start=40 (http://www.gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3572&start=40)

All yours for around $92,000 US just bring your tooth brush, for any one who wants a walk in instant retirement entertaining hobby, I would of thought you cound not do much better if this is your thing.

October 5th, 2011, 23:53

i asked one of the guys who works at this bar about buying it and he told me not to .. said it was very quiet and not many customers there atm !!!
so is it really profitable or is that just being said in the hope of a sale .. and what are you actually buying ? being as the bar is leased .. . i wouldnt mind owning a bar there but it would sure as hell need to make money and not just be a plaything.

October 6th, 2011, 00:03

so is it really profitable or that that just being said in the hope of a sale .. and what are you actually buying ? being as the bar is leased .. . i wouldnt mind owning a bar there but it would sure as hell need to make money and not just be a plaything.

mothersruin/LMTU is the most successful businesman posting in here, or so he leads us to believe, go to him for advice...

jinks

October 6th, 2011, 00:30

mothersruin/LMTU is the most successful businesman posting in here, or so he leads us to believe, go to him for advice...
AYOR

October 6th, 2011, 00:43

Yes your right combat, over the last 30 years I have made mostly a fortune and lost money on couple of projects, you win some you lose on others, in the UK if you lose money your useless and not to be trusted in business according to Banks, in the USA if you lose you have learnt how to not make the mistake again and many go on to put all the mistakes to good use, with their next businesses, anyone wanting to be successful in a business, look at who is doing it right, copy them, but do it better is my advice.

I would imagine all the Gay business are quiet now, this is the notorious sleepy monsoon season, just before the high season, Mike the owner always says he lives for free and it pays all his bills, outings to restaurants, Boys him Girls for Thomas, and makes a good profit, like any business, you donтАЩt look at one month, you look over the year, the last owner use to make a fortune, open all night some times and was very happy with the income, I think if we was to be honest and it is a very touchy subject, the katios man dressed as a lady, who has his name on the license as many farangs seem to do in case of problems with the boys in Brown, the only problem with that is lady boys insist on having the majority of lady boys working there, man boy sell, but will not work for lady boy managers.

I know this particular licensee us to try to hold them to ransom at times, so If I was going to buy it, get a licensee that is likeable and brings customers in, not frightens them away, even so there is a wonderful regualr clientel who make the place look busy, but how much they spend may be another thing, if you want the till to ring give the customers what they want, man boys in majority, even though Mike and Thomas were 2 of the nicest guys you could wish to meet. It would help if you have a pleasent personality, knew how to make the customers happy, have special occasions going on, may be boy bingo, quiz nights, a live band, cabaret, good snacks and cheap drinks, as well as cocktails and stiff doubles, there is no way you wonтАЩt make a profit, especially if you had a constant conveyor belt of handsome manly guys as waiters or hosts, customers can off, you would'nt be able to get a seat then. ItтАЩs up to you.

I would of thought if you got it back to the way the last owner ran it, fresh flower daily clean and refurbished, your till would be ringing its head off, especially if you kept and continuous eye on the till.

October 6th, 2011, 00:55

October 6th, 2011, 01:06

October 6th, 2011, 01:22

just a thought mothersruin ... why dont you buy it ?? seems to me you would make it the best bar in thailand bar none... o i like that haha bar none pun not intended
but why not .. you seem to know what it takes to make a million then if mike and thomas ever want to come back you could sell it back to them for a nice profit .. go for it.

Oh yes I get asked that all the time, but I have been in business allmost all of my life, made and lost a fortune, traveled the world at least 10 times from 2 to 6 stars, now I have more than enough to live very comfortable on, wonderful friends and plenty of time to enjoy it, why would I want to be stuck in sunee plaza every day, I could not think of anything worst, so many things to do and places to go, no thats more like a thing you would do, I'm sure just for fun. I have all the fun I need, any more and it wont be fun any more.
fair enough i just always thought most super rich business people lived for money and that was how they had there fun..
glad you are not one of those and im pleased you prefer to post on here about sunee all the time rather than be there !!
im all honesty it doesnt bother me atall how rich or poor you maybe .. im just gald you are having fun and keeping everyone upto speed with all the goings on and giving them the chance to earn a few baht .
ever thought to change your name to mother teresa ?? im sure youd look lovely in a nuns outfit ..

October 6th, 2011, 01:55

mothersruin/LMTU is the most successful businesman posting in here, or so he leads us to believe, go to him for advice...
AYOR

Nice one jinks :laughing3: :laughing3: :laughing3:

kittyboy

October 6th, 2011, 10:26

MY vast experience as a drunkard qualifies me for very few things and one of those probably does not include commenting on the wisdom of buying a boy (fem boy) bar in sunee plaza...but who the fuck cares...here is my opinion.

It strikes me that 3,000,000 baht is grossly overprice for a bar in sunee. I am a frequent visitor and have seen bars come and go and change ownership and my impression is that often the bar owner is losing money and sells for the price of the fixtures, furnishings and liquor stock.

Good luck to both parties whoever takes over the bar.

October 6th, 2011, 10:52

Hi,

The problem with many of them selling bars, and this is NOT a criticism of the Corner Bar, is that they try and get the next person to pay for their errors of judgement as well as trying to recoup the money they have had to spend (usually unwisely) on the premises.

They seldom achieve this.

Another point is now that Corner bar has come out in the open with their dates for leaving Pattaya, any person with a business brain will hang on in there to acquire the property at the cheapest possible price.

firecat69

October 6th, 2011, 13:20

I agree with Kitty, ridiculously overpriced . If it does 3,000,000 baht a year in business it would be lucky to make 600,000 baht at the prices they sell drinks for (doubles). That means at least 5 years to recover your investment or find someone else to pay you a silly price.

Generally accepted price for a bar is 1 years profit plus fixtures, inventory deposits etc. Sometimes you pay more because a lease is very hard to get in the building but there are limits to how much extra you pay.

Dodger

October 6th, 2011, 17:39

Business in general in Sunee Plaza (and Boyztown) has been steadily declining over the past decade. I would think this would be the first thing a potential invester would want to consider.

Beachlover

October 6th, 2011, 20:20

The thing you need to keep in mind is if you buy a bar in Sunee Plaza, you are servicing the absolute bottom of the market. It doesn't get any lower.

This has flow-on implications in terms of the staff willing to work there, the type of clientele you attract, their behaviour and buying habits.

It results in there being little money to be made. It's not a high-volume business. Nor are you making high margins. So you'll probably end up putting in a lot of work to make **** all of nothing. Do it for challenge or enjoyment but don't do it for the money and consider your investment "disposable".

October 7th, 2011, 01:17

The thing you need to keep in mind is if you buy a bar in Sunee Plaza, you are servicing the absolute bottom of the market. It doesn't get any lower.

Beachy you clearly don't like Sunee so you don't go there much and, with respect, your opinions on it are skewed.

I have always divided my time between BT and Sunee - but the division is now marginally in favour of Sunee whereas say 5yrs ago it would be 90/10 in favour of BT.
The sole reason for my change of habit is that BT seem determined to price themselves out of the market that I am willing to be in.
I do not know what market they are targetting but it is not your average punter!

Example #1 - in Copa 2800B for a bottle of JWBL
Example #2 - LCR almost $13 for fish and chips, almost $7 for a bowl of soup - and we are not talking Cordon Bleu cuisine, we are talking basic.

So, as a result I have been spending more time in Sunee and I therefore feel able to comment:

1. The boys are friendlier, more fun, and (seem) more grateful for your custom
2. There is no difference in behaviour of the customers - in fact I have never seen bottles and glasses being thrown about a bar in Sunee as I have in BT
3. Yes the prices are FAR cheaper - example: can't remember the new name of SKY BOY bar but they sell 2 Singha beers for 85b in the late afternoon, the boys are soooooooo pleasant and one is a real cutie. So why do I want to sit at LCR and pay over 250B for the same thing?

:dontknow: :dontknow: :dontknow:

francois

October 7th, 2011, 06:42

The thing you need to keep in mind is if you buy a bar in Sunee Plaza, you are servicing the absolute bottom of the market. It doesn't get any lower.

I knew there was a reason I miss Sunee so much; I count the weeks to my return.

Beachlover

October 8th, 2011, 10:07

Beachy you clearly don't like Sunee so you don't go there much and, with respect, your opinions on it are skewed.
Yes... I completely agree.

But none of this detracts from the main point of my post... that there's little money to be made there.

I'm not disputing your observations about prices and prostitutes and my comments about customers wasn't in reference to violence.

October 8th, 2011, 16:37

seems to be going off track a bit here ..
i read the reason for them selling the bar is because both the owners fathers are ill with the same disease which is very unusual .. and they are in a hurry to get back to the u.s. of a.
and yet not in so much of a hurry that they cant wait untill they have a chance to get a free flight each!!
the bar makes money all year round, it makes money even without the tourists
sounds like every day is a :party
are we really meant to belive all of that ?
or are they just cutting their losses and running ?

October 9th, 2011, 01:28

Dodger

October 9th, 2011, 01:47

Thanks for the update LMTU,

For some reason I had the 1.5 million floating around in my head which seems a reasonable price all things considerd.

As far as the new owner preferring femboy staff - that suits me just fine as well.

I'll be in town in 10 days and get the details from Michael...I'm hoping the new owner retains Ohn as bar manager...he's (she's) terrific.

October 9th, 2011, 02:15

What a shame , the downfall of another gay destination, oh well noting good lasts forever.

October 9th, 2011, 02:28

well im not a business man and dont really have much of an idea how to make a bar work..
but i would have thought that to buy one then fill it full of working boys/ girls that not many people want and then kicking out most of the regulars who at least spend a few baht there out isnt the best way to go about it.
but what do i know ... maybe thats a top class business brain buy it cheap make it worse prove that you have made sure the books show its taking less than when you brought it ... then sell it for more :idea:
must be a german thingy.. still good luck to them at least they are keeping it open for now :party

October 9th, 2011, 02:56

Not sure I agree with you Brithai. Some bars have some special views and seating that although customers might be regular, as noted they are regular one bottle drinkers per nite. Certain special tables or places might be 'reserved" at a 2 or 3 drink minimum to encourage those who would like to sit in these spots, have a good view of what's going on and spend some money.

RonanTheBarbarian

October 9th, 2011, 04:15

The best business model depends on the circumstances.

Leaving aside the issue of whether it is better to have more femme guys or more masculine guys as staff, (personally I like the more masculine guys, but i know tastes differ) the attitude a business owner should take to low spending customers depends on the traffic.

In a busy bar in a busy street in central London, it is best to have a policy of "pushing out" the customer who just buy one drink and sit on it, because you as a business owner know that they are taking up a seat that would be taken by a passing customer who would spend more money. Therefore they reduce the options to have cheap drinks by charging the same nearly for a cup of tea as a beer, and telling the staff to hassle slow-sippers every few minutes to buy another drink.

In a village cafe in a small town in rural Scotland, there is little need to hustle the customers out. In fact the longer they linger the better as they will prevent the cafe from looking bleak and empty. Therefore the canny busineess owner make sit easy for customers to linger!

There seems to be a bit of a disparity (from what I have seen) between the what the attitude of a lot of gay bar and cafe owners in Pattaya, SHOULD BE, and actually IS, towards low spending, lingering customers.

I remember, just before the first evening I ever went to Sunee Plaza, there was some bar-owner on one of the forums bitching about customers who come in and drink one glass of soda water all night. Fair enough I thought, customers like that taking up valuable seating space must be annoying.

I then went and visited Sunee. Strolling about at 7.00 pm, there were loads of bars that were empty or nearly so, and loads of boys calling to you to come in as you passed . I saw one place that had a cute guy outside trying to entice me in. I contemplated entering the place, but when I looked in, I saw there were no customers and about 7 host boys standing waiting, including the cute one. I knew I would feel like a goldfish in a goldfish bowl if I entered there as the only customer, so I passed. Ironically, what that bar and the others like it in Sunee needed was an old barfly or two inside, slowly sipping a drink, to make the place seem a little less intimidatingly empty.

I am not the only one who dislikes entering an empty bar. So, really, in the case of those Sunee bars at least, the sort of customer that sits on a beer all night is just what some of those bars want, because they are empty otherwise, and an empty bar does badly at attracting more customers. So having a few guys who come and want to pay 20 baht for boiling water for their teabag might be actually "helping " a bar overall in those circumstances!

Most businessmen in the hospitality trade understand these things, and realise having bars offering "happy hours" and selling rooms in hotels for half-nothing at quiet times are part of the general marketing of a hotel or bar.

However, amongst the gay business owners of Pattaya there seems to be a poorer comprehension of this. Perhaps it is because many of them only came into the hospitality business late in life after a career in some other field, and do not have that much experience of it, and so have not garnered the attitudes that go with it.

Therefore they take cheapskates personally, and sit there glowering at the guy dragging out his drink , thinking "that mean bastard only bought one drink in the last hour", when they should be thinking, "Thank God those two old guys have been sitting at the front of my bar for the last hour, it takes the empty look off the place at least!".

Obviously this model only applies in some bars, if you are a one of the busier gogo bars in Boystown, maybe with a show on at a particular time, it is obviously in your interest to adopt the model of pushing a high spend on your customers, but in my experience of Pattaya, there are few gay bars, (especially in Jomtien or Sunee) that are exactly short of places to seat new customers.

francois

October 9th, 2011, 06:50

What Ronan posts is true. The regulars over a year contribute more then I who splurge in the short term. When I see my friends at a bar I join them and my contribution to the bar makes up for their tea, soda water or glass of wine. If no friends I often ask my Thai bf to join me for a drink which he is happy to do.

October 9th, 2011, 08:16

in reply to justme and myself i dont think you need to be an expert in running a bar to make it work .. im sure i could make a profit out of the corner bar by doing things the other bars dont .. i.e. ??? anyone ever thought of having different things on different nights ?? im sure many farang as well as many thai like music so monday jamming sessions .. tuesday pool tournament weds darts tournament thurs bingo fri quiz .. there are so many things that bars could do if only the owners thought of something more than everything involving sex ... or is that to easy ??

October 9th, 2011, 08:36

No Brithai, it is certainly not as easy as it seems and it is also not as difficult as it may seems. Everyone is correct in that it depends on the style and location of the bar. My company used to have 2 adult bookstores that catered to the gay clientele. In those stores we encouraged loiterers as Roman was completely correct in that new customers would not stay if there was nobody to possibly cruise and play with. We had all sorts of vending machines to get snacks and drinks as well as game machines, so yes, forgetting what I did before as opposed to now, when I run a busier bar and one water for a few hours isn't always a good thing.

As far as Brithai, yes, coming up with new ideas all the time is important but coming up with the right ideas and ones that catch on with customers certainly are not as easy as it seems. Look around and look at the different ideas that the other bars have had and see that many just dont fly the way they were expected to, even at my place. You have to remember that if you have a particular group of regulars, well they aren't going to go out every single night so it will be hard to get a crowd when running a special every single night. But I guess that is the name of the game. You have to do what you think is best for your place and hope you can make it a winner. It certainly is not as easy as you make it appear, if it was, well everyone would have a bar and nobody would be going out of business would they?

kittyboy

October 9th, 2011, 09:02

Well I can put your mind at rest,тАЭ let me tell uтАЭ I know who is buying it for half price at 1.4 million baht in a desperate move from the owners, to get something out of the sale or go home with nothing,

I can not decide if mothersruin is really an idiot or just taking a piss on us all with his mindless postings....he is brilliant if he is taking a piss...he is retarded if not.

Anyway, even 1.4 million baht sounds like a dear price to pay for a bar...basically the owner is buying themselves a job that requires 12 hours a day of hanging around the bar to supervise the staff to make sure they are not stealing you blind....even for a drunkard such as myself that would get boring.

arsenal

October 9th, 2011, 10:04

brithai

With all due respect I think you are missing the point about The Corner Bar. Its strength and appeal is that nothing really happens in it. The customers, including me like to sit there and watch the goings on through the five 'windows' that look out onto the plaza, often with five different scenarios in each one. If you start having pool and darts tournaments then the pleasure of just watching will go. There are these things everywhere but what The Corner bar offers, that is unique.
If it was mine I would keep it as it is and the only change I would make is to offer a slightly more comprehensive menu of middle to high class sandwiches available all evening. All served with thin fries, coleslaw and a salad garnish for 120 Baht each. You know the sort I mean, the classic Club, BLT, BBQ chicken, bacon and melted cheese.

October 9th, 2011, 17:48

well arsenal that all sounds great but if the place isnt making money then it wont last forever.
and the thing about doing different things is to get more people into the bar.. and it wouldnt be an all night thing .. maybe just an hour or two im sure if there was prizes involved lots of the boys would join in .. and it also wouldnt be every day.
i used to go to a club that had bands play at the weekend and it used to be packed out.. people enjoyed it so much they used to come to the club during the week too so rather than having an empty bar 5 nights a week it was always pretty well full .. then someone decided it cost to much to keep paying for the band... and guess what within a month the place was back to being empty during the week ..
the moral of the story is less isnt always more.

witchhunt

October 9th, 2011, 17:53

There is no sale, only offers. When I have cash in hand, everybody will know. How many Rupees to the dollar now?

This was posted by the owner of Corner bar on Sunday afternoon. After all the scoops were posted.

October 9th, 2011, 17:55

arsenal

October 9th, 2011, 20:44

Brthai and Scotchman
I have never missed any point, not ever. :bot:

Everyone who writes on this and all the other boards goes into The Corner Bar and practically no one has a bad word to say about the place or the owner...know any other bars in Pattaya that can boast that eh. It has a very loyal clientele who while I personally find utterly ridiculous and not a little disgusting judging by the posts they put you know where nonetheless go there virtually every day of the year and spend considerable amounts of money. Even in May CB has a huge delivery of ice every night and at the end it's mostly gone. Other bars are empty and CB still has a dozen customers.

By their nature pool tournaments and suchlike completely change the atmosphere of an establishment and the liklihood is that many customers will take their custom elsewhere.

In Pattaya bar terms, it is a good business and in Pattaya bar terms there are no fantastic businesses. Perhaps in the past but no longer.

Do not underestimate the strain working seven days a week from afternoon to early morning has on someone.

October 9th, 2011, 21:41

arsenal i agree with you about the bar .. tho ive never seen 12 people in there.. it is a nice place to sit and watch the world go by.. but the idea of a bar is to get the world to stop and go in for a drink!!
not sure running it can be that much of a strain tho.. if you work out he cant actually do any work in the bar .. and if sitting at the end of the bar all night playing on a computer counts as work im sure i could do that..
that bar for where it is should be banged out all day and night.
i shall be in there most nights when i come back in february if its still open ... i sure hope it is.. its nice to sit in a bar and be left alone..
but surely the idea of a business is to make money ??

October 9th, 2011, 21:45

So it's for sale only because the owner has burnt himself out working all hours in this packed-out goldmine of a bar ?
Is that what you're telling us, Arsenal?

cdnmatt

October 9th, 2011, 22:20

Do not underestimate the strain working seven days a week from afternoon to early morning has on someone.

It's 2011. 80 hour weeks are the norm. If you can't handle them, retire. Or do like everyone else seems to do, and just go on welfare.

arsenal

October 10th, 2011, 05:50

Have any of you actually run a business and more specifically a hospitality business. Just wondering.

October 10th, 2011, 07:41

Have any of you actually run a business and more specifically a hospitality business. Just wondering.

Yes - how about you?

lonelywombat

October 10th, 2011, 12:44

Have any of you actually run a business and more specifically a hospitality business. Just wondering.

Yes me too. How about you?

arsenal

October 10th, 2011, 20:58

Of course. I wouldn't have posted the question if I hadn't.

Beachlover

October 10th, 2011, 23:06

Well I can put your mind at rest,тАЭ let me tell uтАЭ I know who is buying it for half price at 1.4 million baht in a desperate move from the owners, to get something out of the sale or go home with nothing, and those who love lady boys will be so happy with this Buyer as he already owns the CRAZY PUB and is a GERMAN Guy who just loves lady femme boy staff, , so the BARMY ARMY will be upset as he Intends he told me tonight, to shake things up and will not be selling water for those who bring their own tea bag for 20 any more and if others just want to sit on a Soda water all night, they will be told to not take the best seats in the bar then spend next to nothing.

Good Luck to the new owner, he is then going to put it up for sale for 2 million and Flip it over soon, at a later date, good idea, now why did I not think of that?
Ah, LMTU, "TheCornerBar" posted this on Gaybuttonthai AFTER you made this post;

There is no sale, only offers. When I have cash in hand, everybody will know.
This isn't the first time you've posted completely false information. You did the same when you claimed this board was sold for $xx,xxx and jinks had to publicly correct you.

Honestly, wouldn't it be simple courteousy to let the owner/s announce this for themselves instead of blithely putting out false statements with incorrect or exaggerated figures? Consider this objectively. Doesn't matter to me either way.

Beachlover

October 10th, 2011, 23:09

Everyone who writes on this and all the other boards goes into The Corner Bar and practically no one has a bad word to say about the place or the owner...
Ah, come on dude... I agree with the other things you said but on THIS board, I doubt even half the members have ever been to this bar.

It's 2011. 80 hour weeks are the norm. If you can't handle them...
Been there, done that (for about 5 years) and made sure I never have to go back to it!

There's no doubt you have to do those 80-100 hour weeks at some stage to get anywhere but whatever outcome you aim for should never involve doing MORE 80-hour weeks or just becomes a never-ending cycle or of delayed gratification and sacrifice. I reckon, after those first few years of your 20s, most people who still work 80-hour weeks don't actually need to.

kittyboy

October 11th, 2011, 08:07

I was wondering about the economics of owning a bar in sunee...not just the bar in question but in general.

If a bar has a lease for 20,000 baht and expenses such as water and electricity of another 15,000 baht plus the cost of hired help another 20,000 baht then fixed costs would be about 55,000. If the owner required another 45,000 baht a month to cover their investment of capital and time then bar would need to generate about 100,000 baht a month net. I am being very very generous with my figures as there are always hidden costs so figure another 15,000 baht a month in other costs...the BIB perhaps? for a total cost of 115,000.

Figure the markup on booze is 100 percent so a bar would have to have gross income of about 230,000 baht a month to generate the 115,000 baht. That is about 7700 baht a day and if the average drink sells for 75 baht then the owner needs to sell about 100 drinks a day just to cover costs.

I have no idea how much traffic a bar in sunee generates but 100 drinks a day every day seems like quite a bit given how slow I have seen some of the bars.

I realize that some places have apartments that go with the bar lease so the owner lives on premise which reduces living costs.

Am I even close in this analysis or is it completely off?

arsenal

October 11th, 2011, 09:09

kittyboy

I think some of your figures are quite accurate but some a little off the mark. The percentage on drinks can vary quite a lot. For example I would guess tha 100 percent on spirits is close. But on other drinks such as bottled beers and tea/coffee you are way below what they actually make. It's closer to 3-400 percent. As for some of the other costs: well only gogo bars pay the police a premium rate, host bars pay much less per month with the additional purchase of 'charity' tickets thrown in. The utilities bill for a host bar would be much less than a gogo bar because they don't have air conditioning.

I also think that anyone who buys a bar isn't using a bank loan to do so but rather their own money, which given the piss poor rate of interest available in the west doesn't need to generate much capital gain to be a better deal.

What is more, I am not sure that any of the bars pay VAT or income tax. I am prepared to be corrected on that but I am quoting a couple of bar owners.

lonelywombat

October 11th, 2011, 09:33

Just recently justme did a detailed breakdown on the costs of his bar and what his breakeven figure was. I am off to lunch but someone might care to check justme's post 4-6 weeks ago.

it might take some time reading them all.

But that was for a show/gogo bar and the cost for Corner Bar would be lower. justme did not say he lived upstairs but LMTU indicated there were several apartments upstairs at Corner Bar that are included in the rent. They could be let, occupied by the owner[s] or used as a short time room .

luvthai-2

October 11th, 2011, 12:28

I worked my way to being the General Manager of what then was the Holiday Inn on the boardwalk so i have had to deal with everything and anything.
I will be moving out of the cold north soo an back to the beaches of Daytona but will still keep traveling to LOS.

kittyboy

October 12th, 2011, 06:37

If a bar has a lease for 20,000 baht and expenses such as water and electricity of another 15,000 baht plus the cost of hired help another 20,000 baht then fixed costs would be about 55,000. If the owner required another 45,000 baht a month to cover their investment of capital and time then bar would need to generate about 100,000 baht a month net. I am being very very generous with my figures as there are always hidden costs so figure another 15,000 baht a month in other costs...the BIB perhaps? for a total cost of 115,000.

Figure the markup on booze is 100 percent so a bar would have to have gross income of about 230,000 baht a month to generate the 115,000 baht. That is about 7700 baht a day and if the average drink sells for 75 baht then the owner needs to sell about 100 drinks a day just to cover costs.

kittyboy

I think some of your figures are quite accurate but some a little off the mark. The percentage on drinks can vary quite a lot. For example I would guess tha 100 percent on spirits is close. But on other drinks such as bottled beers and tea/coffee you are way below what they actually make. It's closer to 3-400 percent. As for some of the other costs: well only gogo bars pay the police a premium rate, host bars pay much less per month with the additional purchase of 'charity' tickets thrown in. The utilities bill for a host bar would be much less than a gogo bar because they don't have air conditioning.

I also think that anyone who buys a bar isn't using a bank loan to do so but rather their own money, which given the piss poor rate of interest available in the west doesn't need to generate much capital gain to be a better deal.

What is more, I am not sure that any of the bars pay VAT or income tax. I am prepared to be corrected on that but I am quoting a couple of bar owners.

Do a sensitivity analysis and if the total costs including ROI is changed to 90,000 and you change the assumption of the markup to a profit margin of 60 baht for each 100 baht in sales the you get a required monthly sales of 150,000 to meet the 90,000 goal. Assume again 75 baht is the average drink price and you need to sell about 65 drinks a day.

Well I enjoy the corner bar and hope whoever buys it is successful.