Which are quintessentially American sodas and bars snacks?
Pretzels are good, but not the big fluffy German kind…the small crunchy Mr. Pretzel kind. Smoked almonds are also good. Avoid anything with a shell because they inevitably get on the floor and become a hazard. No pistachios or peanuts. Goldfish crackers are good too. Cheap salty snacks that are given away free are always a good way to go, they seem to magically translate into more beer sales. I like bars that keep a stock of games around. Chess board, dominoes, scrabble, deck of cards and cribbage board, etc. Don’t have the music too loud, also. People want to converse!
If your friend wants to create the classic American dive bar, here are some good guidelines: * No windows in the building. (Obviously, this may be hard to do, if building choice is already made.) * Peeling, painted sign outside. At least two thirds of the time, the bar’s name is the posessive form of a person’s name. This person is often, but need not always be, the owner. * Very few “good” beers on tap. Again, this is a place where you will have to deviate if you want to have people actually appreciate the bar, rather than the atmosphere. The vast bulk of the flow at a local dive bar is of the common American pilsners. * Sodas are available only in cans, and generally you will have only Coke products, or only PepsiCo products. Coke is more common everywhere, but Pepsi increases in proportion in the southeast. * Lots of neon lights, usually beer advertisements. * A video poker machine on the bar. * A run-down jukebox with no song in it less than 15 years old. * One or two pool tables w
You want the bar to have an “American” theme — devise some fake corporation and make it seem as if this bar is a single franchisee under the umbrella of a larger, multi-national conglomerate. Give your drinks silly, corn-ball names, then put ™ next to every one of them on your oversized, laminated menu. Force all employees to wear brightly colored vests that are festooned with buttons and pins (see “Office Space” for more details). Give your establishment a ridiculous mascot, preferably some sort of anthropomorphized food item urging the customer to eat it. And top this off with an unsubstantiated urban legend where a secret, ultra-religious group allegedly owns a large percentage of the “company”‘s stock. Viola, you’ve got yourself an American establishment.
Ok I had this long thing typed out but I’ll try and cut down on redundancy. Wood, brass, not well-lit and dirty is your typical “Moe’s Tavern” bar. Keep everything simple. I have no business experience on operating foreign resteraunts in Lisbon but if it’s anything like American you’ll have to “Spanishize” it. Too much American stuff people aren’t going to go for it. If no one eats Frito-Lay chips in Spain what makes you think they’ll eat them at this American bar? Novelty value once but what about repeat? Use Spanish snacks with an American twist instead. It’ll probably be cheapest (I’m totally clueless on international beer distribution) to import just one brand, AB or Miller probably. A cute idea would be to import several kegs a month of different microbrews in the US. These are usually really good and would be a good way to keep people coming back (Boulevard one month, Sierra Nevada another). My guess is Spanish palates probably won’t like the cheap, light American beer so the mic
Well, I didn’t take Mig’s question to mean *dive* bar. I read as successful bar, which could be dive or up-scale or middle of the road. Round where I live, there are a few things that will make a successful bar…. besides the most obvious thing of all: a good happy hour. First, and foremost: pouring the strongest drinks in town. The bars here that get the most repeat business are the ones that gives you triple-pours as standard pours. Beer is beer, and unless you are offering some unique beer or really good discounts, I don’t see anyone distinguishing themselves by their beer. The only bars around here that make money off beers are the ones that have like 100 beers on tap or something similarly unique. So be known for your cocktails, and the rest is easy money. Second, if the drinks are equivalent elsewhere, it is the entertainment that might make someone a regular. A good bartender goes a long way. But as far as entertainment around here, the bars that get the most customers usually
