TYPES OF BAR

A bar’s owners and managers choose the bar’s name, décor, drink menu, lighting, and other elements which they think will attract a certain kind of patron. However, they have only limited influence over who patronizes their establishment. Thus, a bar originally intended for one demographic profile can become popular with another. For example, a gay or lesbian bar with a dance or disco floor might, over time, attract an increasingly heterosexual clientele, or a blues bar may become a biker bar if most its patrons are bikers. Bars can also be an integral part of larger venues. For example, hotels, casinos and nightclubs are usually home to one or several bars.

COCKTAIL BAR

A cocktail lounge is an upscale bar that is typically located within a hotel, restaurant or airport.

FULL BAR

A full bar serves liquor, cocktails, wine, and beer.

WINE BAR

A wine bar is a bar that focuses on wine rather than on beer or liquor. Patrons of these bars may taste wines before deciding to buy them. Some wine bars also serve small plates of food or other snacks.

BEER BAR

A beer bar focuses on beer, particularly craft beer, rather than on wine or liquor. A brew pub has an on-site brewery and serves craft beers.

FERN BAR

“Fern bar” is an American slang term for an upscale or preppy (or yuppie) bar.

MUSIC BAR

A music bar is a bar that presents live music as an attraction, such as a piano bar.

DIVE BAR

A dive bar, often referred to simply as a “dive”, is a very informal bar which may be considered by some to be disreputable.

NON-ALCOHOLIC BAR

A non-alcoholic bar is a bar that does not serve alcoholic beverages.

PARTS OF BARS:

• FRONT BAR
• BACK BAR
• UNDER BAR

FRONT BAR:

The front bar is the customer area, it is the meeting point for the customers and the bartenders where the customer’s order for their drinks and are served by the bartenders. The front bar should be functional and have adequate space for pouring the drinks and serving them.

The height of the bar is normally 42-48 inches. The width of the bar is 16-18 inches with the surface of water proof and alcohol proof material and should be easy to clean. Most bar surfaces are laminated plastic or made up of high quality granite. It may or may not have armrest running from one end to the other. If provided, around 8-inch space must be added up to the width of the bar and the armrest should be padded for comfort. The waiters pour the drinks along with the mixers, such as soda, water, etc. into the appropriate side.

Glass arranged in the glass rail (drip rail) which is recessed for about 3 inches at the bartender (George and Chatterjee, 2008). The vertical structure supporting the front bar, known as the ‘bar die’ is like a wall that separates the customers from the working area. The customer side may be padded, decorated with carving, or left plain.

A footrest runs the length of the counter on the customer side from the floor of about 9-12 inches. If sit-down bar is designed, it will have high stools, tall enough to convert the bar to table and each stool will have the space allocation of 2-feet length of bar. The stools should be very comfortable with proper height with rungs for footrest or the footrest of the front bar should be within the reach.

On elegant mahogany bars of the 1800s the footrest was a brass rail, and underneath it every few feet were brass spittoons. The prohibitionists made the brass rail a symbol of the wickedness of drink, along with swinging saloon doors .

The elements of the front bar- the surface, die, armrest, footrest and stools are part of the public perceptions, so their look must be carefully planned in conjunction with the total décor.

BACK BAR:

The back bar has a dual function: as a decorative display area and as a hard-working storage space. It is located at the back of the front counter leaving sufficient space for the bartenders to do their work.

The back bar consists of display rack set over the storage cabinets. The back bar holds all kinds of liquor bottles and sparkling- assorted glassware in an attractive manner which enhances the appearance of the bar. Often the back bar is lined with mirror at the back which reflects the bottles stored in the rack. It also acts as a merchandising device by displaying the bottles. The mirror adds depth to the room, helps the bartenders to observe the customers discretely, and the customers to view others in the room.

Many bars include pictures, posters, tainted glass, plants, antiques, etc. to make the back bar more attractive and to break the monotony. In most bars, the overhead slotted racks are fitted to store the stemware which makes the bar very attractive. The base of the back bar functions as a storage. The base of the back bar functions as a storage space and the part of it may be a refrigerated cabinet.

The extra stock, such as drinking straws, napkins, cocktail umbrellas, salvers, jugs, condiments, sugar, etc. are stored. The base of the bar may accommodate special equipment, such as bottle cooler, glass froster, espresso machine, non-alcoholic beverage dispenser, cash register, etc. The base bar is wider than the display rack. The design of the back bar must be functional and at the same time very pleasant to look at from the top to the bottom as it is the center of attraction in any bar and is in constant view of the customers.

The design must blend with overall decor of the bar. However, it must be visually pleasing from top to bottom, since customers look at it and it must coordinate visually with the décor of the room.

UNDER BAR:

This area is usually the last section of the bar to be designed, after the front of the bar has been created. It refers to the area under the front bar of the bartender’s side.

The under bar should be designed keeping in mind the kind of drinks to be made, equipment required, and mixes needed for the drinks. In other words, work flow must be considered while designing the under bar. It is the main centre for the entire bar operations as the bartenders will be facing the guests while preparing their drinks.

The under bar may be divided into many workstations according to the volume of the business and the length of the counter. Each station will have its own supply of fast moving liquor, mixes, ice, glasses, blender, sink, garnishes, etc. within reach.

The liquors in each station are grouped into well brands’ and ‘call brands’. Well brands are house brands that are served to the guest who do not specify a particular brand of liquor. They may just ask for scotch, bourbon, rye, gin, etc. Hotels will be serving the brand that is kept in stock. Call brands are the brands requested by the guest by name. For example, Blue Sapphire Gin, Johnnie Walker, Red Label, etc. If blender is required for most of the drinks then the blender may be provided in each section; otherwise kept separately at the back bar. Most busy bars will have automatic dispensing system for mixes in each station. If draught beer is served, beer dispensing unit must also be provided. Clean glasses should be grouped according to the type and stored in the glass shelves near the station, on the back bar or in the overhead racks, and the prepared glasses for the drinks should be kept ready in the glass rail or near the ice box. Storage area should be provided for storing reserve stock of spirits, wines, liqueurs, beers, and kitchen supplies.

Under bar should have provisions for waste disposal and hand wash. Some restaurants may not have dispense bar attached to it; so, the waiters or sommeliers will be collecting the drinks from the main bar. In that case, one or two sections must be completely devoted to catering to the needs of the restaurant guests. The bartender should have adequate area to collect the BOT (bar/beverage order ticket), prepare the drinks, issue to the concerned waiters/ sommeliers, receive empty glasses, empty bottles, prepare the bill, etc.

If separate section is not set aside, the restaurant staff will be forced to collect the drinks from the stations moving through the customers’ station. This will result in accidents and confusion. All the three parts of the bar—front bar, back bar, and under bar—must be functional keeping the requirements of the guests and the bar staff in mind. The minimum space from the back of the back bar to the front of the front bar is 8 feet for a comfortable operations.