Raising prices is awkward.

But not raising them can wreck your margins.

In this episode, Chris talks about using a seasonal menu change as a natural pricing reset for your bar.

Instead of randomly bumping prices and hoping guests do not complain, use your summer menu to rethink what stays, what gets cut, and where your margins need help.

Chris breaks down sales data, P-Mix, high-volume items, seasonal cocktails, fresh ingredients, and fast builds that are easier to sell at volume.

The goal is simple:

Make guests excited about what is new, not annoyed about what costs more.

Your summer menu is not just a menu update.

It is your cleanest chance to raise prices without starting a fight.

🔴 Start Here🔴

📌 If this is something you’re dealing with in your bar, don’t figure it out alone.

Join Bar Business Nation — the free Facebook group for bar owners talking through staff, slow nights, profit leaks, and better ways to run the business.

📢 Join the group here:
→ https://www.facebook.com/groups/barbusinessnation

🔴Additional resources🔴
Grab the books “How to Make Top-Shelf Profits in the Bar Business!” and “Menus that Sell” here:
→ https://barbusinesscoach.com/book/

A lot of bar reels look great.

But they do nothing.

In this episode, Chris breaks down why the gap between “looks content” and “feels content” is killing your social media ROI.

Pretty cocktails, neon signs, plated food, and clean bar shots can look good, but they do not always make people want to leave their house and come in.

What actually works is content that captures the feeling of your bar: the crowd noise, the energy at 10 p.m., the regulars, the birthday moments, the staff having fun, and the little real-life moments that make someone say, “We have to go there.”

If your bar is posting reels but not seeing those views turn into bodies in seats, this episode will show you what to start capturing instead

🔴 Start Here🔴

📌 If this is something you’re dealing with in your bar, don’t figure it out alone.

Join Bar Business Nation — the free Facebook group for bar owners talking through staff, slow nights, profit leaks, and better ways to run the business.

📢 Join the group here:
→ https://www.facebook.com/groups/barbusinessnation

🔴Additional resources🔴
Grab the books “How to Make Top-Shelf Profits in the Bar Business!” and “Menus that Sell” here:
→ https://barbusinesscoach.com/book/

What happens when the business you planned is not the business you actually build?

In this episode, I talk with Brandon McCraney, owner of Old Raleigh Distillery, about leaving corporate life, chasing whiskey, and opening a distillery during COVID.

Brandon shares how Old Raleigh started as a blending vision, how a change in North Carolina law turned him into a bar owner, and what it was like opening before he could even sell his own whiskey.

We also get into whiskey blending, one-off batches, cask finishes, and why building a bourbon brand takes more than a good product.

If you’ve ever had to pivot because reality wrecked your original plan, this one is worth listening to.

Sometimes the business you survive is the business you were supposed to build.

📌Connect with Brandon McCraney and Olde Raleigh Distillery:📌

Visit: Olde Raleigh Distillery website
Shop: Buy Olde Raleigh whiskey online
Join: Olde Raleigh Whiskey Society
Visit in person: Tasting room in Zebulon, North Carolina
Book: Distillery tour or event space
Follow Brandon: @brandonmccraney on Instagram
Follow Olde Raleigh: @olderaleighdistillery on Instagram

🔴 Start Here🔴

📌 If this is something you’re dealing with in your bar, don’t figure it out alone.

Join Bar Business Nation — the free Facebook group for bar owners talking through staff, slow nights, profit leaks, and better ways to run the business.

📢 Join the group here:
→ https://www.facebook.com/groups/barbusinessnation

🔴Additional resources🔴
Grab the books “How to Make Top-Shelf Profits in the Bar Business!” and “Menus that Sell” here:
→ https://barbusinesscoach.com/book/

Most bars say they do private events.

But most bars do not have a real system for booking them.

In this episode, Chris breaks down why private events are one of the most underused revenue streams in independent bars, especially when slow nights are harder to fill.

He covers what to put on a one-page event inquiry sheet, how to think about food and beverage minimums, when to take deposits, why you should not discount your minimums just to close, and how fast follow-up can make or break the booking.

Because private events are not just “extra business.”

They are pre-sold guests, guaranteed minimums, and revenue you can lock in before the night even starts.

🔴 Start Here🔴

📌 If this is something you’re dealing with in your bar, don’t figure it out alone.

Join Bar Business Nation — the free Facebook group for bar owners talking through staff, slow nights, profit leaks, and better ways to run the business.

📢 Join the group here:
→ https://www.facebook.com/groups/barbusinessnation

🔴Additional resources🔴
Grab the books “How to Make Top-Shelf Profits in the Bar Business!” and “Menus that Sell” here:
→ https://barbusinesscoach.com/book/

Experience does not always mean someone is a good hire.

In this episode, I talk about why hiring bar staff based on experience alone can backfire.

A resume may tell you they know the job.

But it will not tell you if they are warm, coachable, curious, resilient, or right for your culture.

And that is the part that keeps guests coming back.

We break down what to screen for in interviews, why technical skills are easier to train than genuine hospitality, and how to stop hiring experience just to fire attitude later.

Your next great team member may not have the longest resume.

They may be the person guests actually want to come back for.

🔴 Start Here🔴

📌 If this is something you’re dealing with in your bar, don’t figure it out alone.

Join Bar Business Nation — the free Facebook group for bar owners talking through staff, slow nights, profit leaks, and better ways to run the business.

📢 Join the group here:
→ https://www.facebook.com/groups/barbusinessnation

🔴Additional resources🔴
Grab the books “How to Make Top-Shelf Profits in the Bar Business!” and “Menus that Sell” here:
→ https://barbusinesscoach.com/book/

Gen Z is not impossible to manage.

A lot of bars are just managing them like it is still 2005.

No clear growth path.
Vague schedules.
Random communication.
Feedback only when something goes wrong.

Then owners act shocked when younger staff leave.

In this episode, I talk about what actually makes Gen Z leave bar jobs and what keeps them around.

It is not always more money.

It is clarity.
Feedback.
Growth.
Ownership.
And a reason to care.

If you keep losing younger staff, maybe it is time to stop blaming Gen Z and look at the management.

🔴 Start Here🔴

📌 If this is something you’re dealing with in your bar, don’t figure it out alone.

Join Bar Business Nation — the free Facebook group for bar owners talking through staff, slow nights, profit leaks, and better ways to run the business.

📢 Join the group here:
→ https://www.facebook.com/groups/barbusinessnation

🔴Additional resources🔴
Grab the books “How to Make Top-Shelf Profits in the Bar Business!” and “Menus that Sell” here:
→ https://barbusinesscoach.com/book/

What if your bar was built to look good, but not to make money?

That might sound harsh.

But if your bartenders are walking laps, reaching too far, making a mess, or fighting the layout every shift, your design is costing you more than you think.

In this episode, I talk with Tobin Ellis about how bar design impacts speed, service, bartender fatigue, and profit.

We break down why every wasted step matters, why pretty bars can still be operational disasters, and why seconds behind the bar turn into real money.

If your bar looks great but your bartenders are fighting the layout every shift, you should listen to this.

Because a bar that looks great but slows your team down is not good design.

It is expensive decoration.

🔴Check out Tobin Ellis and his work on operational bar design.
📌Learn more here:
→ https://www.barmagic.com/
→ https://www.instagram.com/tobinellisdesign/

📌Grab Tobin’s book, “Bar Design Essentials”, here:
Amazon:
→ https://www.amazon.com/Bar-Design-Essentials-Bars-Everyone/dp/1732648255

🔴 Start Here🔴

📌 If this is something you’re dealing with in your bar, don’t figure it out alone.

Join Bar Business Nation — the free Facebook group for bar owners talking through staff, slow nights, profit leaks, and better ways to run the business.

📢 Join the group here:
→ https://www.facebook.com/groups/barbusinessnation

🔴Additional resources🔴
Grab the books “How to Make Top-Shelf Profits in the Bar Business!” and “Menus that Sell” here:
→ https://barbusinesscoach.com/book/

Where is your bar’s money actually going?

Probably not where you think.

A heavy pour.
A spill nobody logs.
A comp that never gets rung in.
A free drink for a friend.

One small thing after another.

In this episode, I talk about micro loss, the tiny leaks that quietly wreck your margins without looking like a big problem.

If your sales look fine but the numbers still do not add up, this is where to look.

Your bar may not have a theft problem.

It may have a visibility problem.

🔴 Start Here🔴

📌 If this is something you’re dealing with in your bar, don’t figure it out alone.

Join Bar Business Nation — the free Facebook group for bar owners talking through staff, slow nights, profit leaks, and better ways to run the business.

📢 Join the group here:
→ https://www.facebook.com/groups/barbusinessnation

🔴Additional resources🔴
Grab the books “How to Make Top-Shelf Profits in the Bar Business!” and “Menus that Sell” here:
→ https://barbusinesscoach.com/book/