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PODCAST

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

Chris Schneider, The Bar Business Coach

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

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All Episodes

8:30

Is Live Music Making Your Bar Money or Costing You?

The Bar Business Podcast: Bar & Pub Owner Profits,... ·

2026/10/05

Is your live music night actually making you money, or does it just look successful because the bar is full? In this episode, I’m digging into the real ROI of live music and other bar programming. We’ll look at what the event actually adds to your sales, what it really costs once you factor in the band, extra labor, comps, and other expenses, and whether there’s any real profit left. I’ll walk through the math using live music, but the same applies to DJs, trivia, and other programming...

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11:32

How to Improve Bar Profitability: The 50-Lever Framework

The Bar Business Podcast: Bar & Pub Owner Profits,... ·

2026/09/30

Improving bar profitability rarely comes from one big change. More often, it comes from fixing dozens of small problems across your costs, revenue, operations, staff, and guest experience. In this episode, I break down my 50-lever framework for improving your bar, why searching for one magic fix can keep you stuck, and how small operational improvements can compound into meaningful changes in profitability. I get into finding the small levers hiding inside your pour cost, labor scheduling, gu...

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13:44

Gut Instinct vs. Data: How Bar Owners Make Better...

The Bar Business Podcast: Bar & Pub Owner Profits,... ·

2026/09/21

Running a successful bar requires more than trusting your gut—and more than blindly following the numbers. In this episode, I break down how bar owners can use gut instinct and data to make better business decisions, including what experienced intuition actually is, where your instincts can mislead you, and what your bar data can and cannot tell you. I get into using data for pricing, menu engineering, labor scheduling, inventory, marketing ROI, and performance decisions while usi...

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14:02

Classic Cocktail Trends: Why Simple Drinks Are...

The Bar Business Podcast: Bar & Pub Owner Profits,... ·

2026/09/16

Classic cocktails are making a comeback as guests move away from overly complicated craft cocktails and toward familiar drinks like Espresso Martinis, Old Fashioneds, Martinis, and Negronis. In this episode, I break down the cocktail trends bar owners should be watching in 2026 and why simplifying your cocktail menu could improve guest confidence, consistency, speed, and profitability. I get into why classic cocktails are outperforming more complicated drinks, how decision fatigue and price s...

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11:26

Generational Drinking Trends Every Bar Owner Should...

The Bar Business Podcast: Bar & Pub Owner Profits,... ·

2026/09/14

Gen Z drinking trends are changing what customers expect from bars in 2026 but Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers are drinking very differently. In this episode, I break down the latest generational drinking trends and what they mean for bar owners trying to build a beverage program that matches how their customers actually drink. I get into Gen Z’s growing interest in mini cocktails, moderation, mocktails, functional beverages, and earlier drinking occasions; why Millennials are spending o...

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43:25

Chris Schneider & Brian Haan: How We Adapted Our Bar...

The Bar Business Podcast: Bar & Pub Owner Profits,... ·

2026/09/09

Last week, Brian Haan and I started telling the story of how we ended up running 86th Street Pub together. About 15 months into owning the bar, we hit the first major change that forced us to rethink what the business could become: the smoking ban. In this episode, I break down how Brian and I responded, not by fighting the change, but by using it as an opportunity to up our game. I get into how we cleaned up the bar, expanded the craft beer program, improved the food, built a faster l...

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42:14

Chris Schneider & Brian Haan: Buying, Managing, and...

The Bar Business Podcast: Bar & Pub Owner Profits,... ·

2026/09/02

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 ende...

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13:11

How to Increase Restaurant and Bar Revenue Without...

The Bar Business Podcast: Bar & Pub Owner Profits,... ·

2026/08/31

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,...

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32:20

How to Open a Restaurant From Idea to Opening Night...

The Bar Business Podcast: Bar & Pub Owner Profits,... ·

2026/08/26

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 r...

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13:46

How to Set Clear Staff Expectations and Build a...

The Bar Business Podcast: Bar & Pub Owner Profits,... ·

2026/08/24

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 sett...

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98:19

Po6: What a Female-Led Bar Team Taught Hong Kong...

The Bar Business Podcast: Bar & Pub Owner Profits,... ·

2026/08/21

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 i...

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33:09

From $200 to Shark Tank and Building an Event...

The Bar Business Podcast: Bar & Pub Owner Profits,... ·

2026/08/19

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...

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9:31

Happy Hour Profitability and How to Know If Your...

The Bar Business Podcast: Bar & Pub Owner Profits,... ·

2026/08/17

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 p...

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30:29

Bar Loans, Business Credit, and Getting Approved with...

The Bar Business Podcast: Bar & Pub Owner Profits,... ·

2026/08/12

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 accou...

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10:28

Signature Cocktails: Turn One Drink Into a...

The Bar Business Podcast: Bar & Pub Owner Profits,... ·

2026/08/10

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...

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15:49

The Pour Cost System: Calculate It, Track It, and...

The Bar Business Podcast: Bar & Pub Owner Profits,... ·

2026/08/05

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 ...

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10:03

How to Spot the Signs Before Your Regulars Leave

The Bar Business Podcast: Bar & Pub Owner Profits,... ·

2026/08/03

Most unhappy customers never tell you something is wrong. They simply stop showing up. In this episode, I'm breaking down why silence is one of the most dangerous signals in the bar business and how to recognize the subtle behavior changes your regulars make before they disappear. We'll talk about visit frequency, ordering habits, dwell time, body language, referrals, and how to build a simple system that helps you notice these patterns before they become lost revenue...

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12:22

Bar Marketing Strategy: How to Avoid Slow Nights...

The Bar Business Podcast: Bar & Pub Owner Profits,... ·

2026/07/29

Bar owners who avoid slow nights are not just lucky. They planned better. In this episode, I’m breaking down my Anchor Rhythm Tactical Marketing System and how it helps you plan your year, your week, and tonight. We’ll talk about anchor events, weekly rhythm programming, and tactical promotions you can use when you need a short-term revenue bump. Because if you are only posting when the bar is already slow, your marketing is late. The goal is to stop reinventing your marketing every week. Bui...

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7:42

Bar Breakeven Formula: How Turn Dollar Goals Into...

The Bar Business Podcast: Bar & Pub Owner Profits,... ·

2026/07/27

Looking at breakeven in dollars does not help you run your bar. A dollar target sounds important, but it does not tell you what to do. In this episode, I’m breaking down a better way to look at breakeven: turning the number into guest count. We’ll talk about fixed costs, contribution margin, average check, and how to figure out how many more people you actually need in the seats. Because saying you need another $1,500 a week is abstract. Saying you need 75 more guests is something you an...

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15:06

Bar Vendor Relationships: How to Get Better Pricing,...

The Bar Business Podcast: Bar & Pub Owner Profits,... ·

2026/07/22

Most bar owners treat vendors like a delivery service. That means they are probably leaving pricing, support, training, product knowledge, and market data on the table. In this episode, I’m breaking down how to turn your vendor relationships into real business partnerships instead of simple order-taking conversations. We’ll talk about what reps can actually provide, how to ask for better support, how to use supplier training with your team, and how to negotiate better terms when your state al...

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281 results

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