Why does a bar gradually become unpopular when it used to be busy?

[Anonymous]

is this bar/pub i've been to a lot over the years. it managed to survive through covid and the year after 2022 was still pretty busy and seemed like before covid but last 2 years 2023 and 24 .

its really struggled especially later at night , the people don't seem to be coming in as much, not like they used to. i recall going there in the fall in past years on a Friday and there'd still be people there. not the same crowd as summer but still mainly full with regulars and locals

but this year on some fridays is like literally no one there , barely more than a couple tables with people.

Updates

1 y

might have some answers as to why its not busy , when i was downtown noticed a bar further up the street was like packed never been in it but it does some live music and a kareoke night on Friday , it appears people might be going there instead. cause its not busy again from what i saw and google says its less busy than usual once again

Updates

1 y

this place had a rough Tuesday pretty much empty all night according to google liv , new specials seemed to be having little impact. at what point does owner just send the poor servers home for the night and try again tomorrow.

Updates

1 y

still appears to be slower than normal despite it being start of Christmas holiday party season here and no sign of the party crowd who used to go there on fridays. i didn't go in but was nearby and it didn't seem that busy , saw a few people leave i didn't recognise. one was so drunk they feel into snow bank when getting in friends car. the place with karaoke up the street seemed busier but not sure if that where former customers went or not

[exitseven]

I wonder that myself. I do not go into bars anymore but there have been places where the line was out the door to get in and all of a sudden nobody goes there and soon the place closes. There was a local place that was legendary for a while. I went there one night and the place was all of a sudden empty. I never figured out why.

[Asker]

that actually happens a fair bit in the world of bars. for a bar to be super popular than its not and all of a sudden gone.

the owner of this bar seems to have a lot of money to keep it going through the slow times , is perhaps why it hasn't closed down. although you have to wonder how much longer he can afford to pay to keep it open if its not busy even on a Friday night?

it seems like it needs a major revamp or owner needs to sell and let someone else try something new in the location

bars seem to go out of style for various reasons , often a new bar appears nearby and takes away the business. sometimes trends change and bar just isn't trendy. often there is just too many bars in the same area and it forces some to exit as not enough money to be made

[exitseven]

There was a local bar in the town I lived in years ago. It was always a nice place and the owner was a good guy. I remember that he had a buffet on Superbowl Sunday for his customers and it was always a good place to stop for a beer after a tough day. The place always made money but he decided he wanted to retire to the coast. He bought a mini golf place near the ocean and sold the bar to some guy that told me to my face that he wanted to make it an upscale place with gourmet food and wanted a more upscale clientele. I do not know who he thought he was talking to but I never went back and within a year the place closed and now the building has been demolished and it is a parking lot.

[Asker]

i assume this owner will want to retire someday as well , he already spends the winters in florida.

i'm not sure what it could be turned into instead , it has a good location downtown and is on the water. many of the reviews on google indicate people really liked the location but restaurant itself not so much

so could be an ideal place to put something else in its place

but not convinced yet that owner actually plans to sell yet , he seems stubborn and only cares about hiring hot white girls to work in restaurant. he must be losing money to keep it open , it hasn't been busy for like 5 or more Friday nights in a row , google liv bar was tiny. it also has very few servers at moment as most went back to school , moved away or are on trips out of country

[Asker]

another Friday night going to be interesting to see what goes down here , although somehow feel like it be a shock if its busy especially being November and things normally quiet here. if they can't get people to come out on a Friday would really seem like there finished as a bar until owners decides to actually make significant changes to the business and addresses reasons why its not popular anymore

[Asker]

may finally have some answers as to where the " customers " have went to instead , i was downtown and place empty like its been every Friday lately and at 10 30 pm google says its less busy than usual and like empty

when i was leaving the downtown noticed this former coffee house that is now a small live music bar was like packed , its in kind of a weird location up a street so i wouldn't normally pass it or see it at all when downtown. apparently it does kareoke on Friday and is very busy. so maybe everyone is going there instead now?

makes you wonder when owner will wake up and do something about losing the Friday night business to another spot

[Asker]

they just made a post to instagram , they plan to stay open this winter and now have new food and drink specials. such as half off certain menu items on certain days. which is actually a pretty deep discount , there doing half off wings on Thursday but its not really know as a place to go for wings like a sports bar is.

also some drink specials such as $ 5 shots on Friday / Saturday

apparently the owner is tired of being empty and going to fight and try and save his sinking ship , it even looks like a sinking ship when you drive by , have this white thing covering part of the roof for winter.

was only posted to instagram though as there not even on facebook anymore and don't have a website so not really sure how many potential customers will see the post. i suppose it might bring some people back in but doesn't address the core problems

such as sex appeal based hiring and wacko manager or problem of bar being past its prime and in need of actual renewal

[Asker]

but according to google liv is currently almost no one there Live: Less busy than usual , really tiny red bar so like empty

so be curious to see if specials bring any one in or not in the coming days

seems like owner has decided to fight for business by reducing prices than to actual address the reasons why people are not coming in to his restaurant anymore

most of the issues on google reviews were about customer service and the staff than really the price. he made the decision to not hire qualified servers if they weren't good looking enough for his standards

[Asker]

weird update , just noticed another restaurant in town posted specials to instagram the same day this one did but not sure who did it first. the post even looks oddly similar , shows everyday of the week vertically and specials beside each day

so pathetic if owner and manager of this place copied idea from the other bar after seeing there post about specials that day , seems to off to believe one of them didn't copy the other its like almost the same post

[dreamstar72]

Blame cost and people hanging out due to technology. Really who can talk and/text in a crowded place.

[Anonymous]

Is it by a university? I know a bar with a bad rep right now because of underage college students getting drunk and the bathrooms smell like vomit

[Asker]

no its in a small city ( 20,000 ) , doesn't really have many youngest customers at all rate now as all the students from this area are away at school. some come in during the summer or holiday breaks though

it does seem to have a bad rep though , a lot of bad reviews on google and a girl during summer when at another bar told me the place " scared her " although she didn't explain why exactly

the owner only seems interested in hiring hot white girls as servers. but doesn't seem to know or care what actual women customers would want in a bar and so actual women aren't coming in much anymore as customers

[Opinion Owner]

I see.. nice assumption. Maybe the service sucks and the food doesn’t meet ones’ expectations. One person has an issue and they tell a friend who tells a friend who tells a friend and that’s how you gradually lose business in the industry too

[Opinion Owner]

That weird vibe your friend had is a vibe on noting too.. maybe the place didn’t seem welcoming enough, the ambiance, cleanliness.. so much

[Asker]

there is many comments on google about the service not being good , here is an actual review for it , people think the servers are more interested in talking at bar than serving , i've seen them do this many times

Understaffed and very poor customer service. Servers were gossiping by the bar, they can see we are standing and looking at them but no one acknowledged us.
Food: 1/5 Service: 1/5 Atmosphere: 1/5

[Asker]

that girl is like blonde very attractive , perhaps she was being hit on by strange men there or some other reason she didn't like the place that much. i think she only went in originally cause she was friends with one of the servers

[Opinion Owner]

Probably

[Asker]

another Friday night here , going to be interesting to see if anyone comes out somehow think we already know the answer and that is no.

you have to wonder why the owner doesn't make the necessary changes to keep place appealing and popular with customers who seem less and less interested in it

its like obvious place isn't popular anymore yet he doesn't want to do anything to try and fix the problem

but will update if i see anything or its busy or empty again

[Opinion Owner]

Out of topic, but by chance, we’re you diagnosed with Aspergers

[Asker]

it wasn't busy last night even with tyson fight on , a nearby sports bar also had it on and seems people went there.

i also noticed there is a former cafe up the street that dos kareoke on Friday now and it appeared very busy

i sometimes had issues talking with people there but tried to make a genuine effort to get to know the staff and talk to them. as it was often a busy bar it wasn't always possible to talk to everyone

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

Something’s probably changed in terms of management or quality of the product

[Asker]

the manager changed around 2020 , the longtime manager left cause of covid and new business she was into. this new manager somehow managed to make it through covid but not seems hopelessly lost and without a clue what she is doing. owner is still the same but he's rarely actually there and seems to manage using his phone and security cameras more than actually being there

the products being offered are mostly the same , at least in terms of drinks , beer , shots. its changed menus several times not entirely sure why but food seems ok although some complaints on google maps

they didn't do as much live music as before , been less consistent and many nights none at all

[Asker]

also mention another possible reason for why its bar nights are failing so bad is the lack of single women

its odd the owner has been very successful if not obsessed with hiring young women as servers. the manager is also a women in her 30's.

but despite all these girls as staff they seem to have no idea what younger women want in terms of a bar and can't get them to come in. even a lot of the staff do not go there at all on bar nights

so makes sense why its struggling so bad as a lot of single men typically go to bars where they know there is a lot of single women even if they don't especially like the bar itself if it has a lot of singles they'll go in to try and meet someone

so unless they can figure out a way to get single women to come back in would seem like there doomed

[Asker]

i found out last night ( it wasn't busy yet again even with tyson fight on tv) that there is a small live music venue up the street open and it appeared very busy when i drove by.

it used to be a cafe but renovated into this small yet cozy music venue , i've never actually been in but was aware it was there.

but its been doing kareoke nights every Friday for a while according to its social media , so appears people may be going to them instead of coming into this bar for its regular Friday nights which don't really feature much of anything anymore

customers apparently got bored and moved on to this other bars karaoke nights instead , i suppose karaoke can be fun but its never really been something i've done

the bar we've been talking about used to do karaoke nights years ago on Wednesday but stopped around 2015 or before covid but definitely not done any for a long time

[DryGermanGuy]

A bar/club we went to achieved that by employing the most incompetent DJ I have ever encountered. The guy managed to empty the dance floor with one bad song choice.

[Asker]

the music at that place wasn't very good either , manager had weird tastes and though others wanted to listen to her garbage.

i went there once for an NHL game 7 playoff game and she played like techno music during the game instead of the sound of the game , it was like so off and so weird to do that especially for a game 7

note didn't ever really have a dj , just there play lists on there phones being played through the music system

sometimes on Friday / Saturday they'd do live music but wasn't every weekend and often seemed to be the same guy every weekend

[Nikki1989]

Bar prices are insane these days.

[Asker]

it did have some specials although they weren't well advertised and sometimes if not all the time servers would forget to discount it

it also does drink specials from 3 - 4 everyday although that is typically a slow time slot and it clearly needs a better special during peak hours to actually bring people in at night

[Christopherthegreat]

Cost I reckon

[Asker]

the complains on google maps are more about customer service than price. although i'd imagine price could still be an issue for some these days

it has a lot of negative reviews on google although more about restaurant part of business than bar nights

the bar nights used to be the big money maker now there like losing money and owner paying servers to stand around and talk and do shots with themselves

[Christopherthegreat]

It’s a shame. Nothing like a good pub

[Asker]

i know seems like its almost or already past the point of no return and now we have to sit back and watch it die

[Christopherthegreat]

Hopefully not. My company was looking at buying somewhere over but it’s a bit of a departure from our usual industry

[Asker]

i originally though it could be turned around by finding a " new manager " and by coming up with some better promotions / reasons for people to go in there certain nights

it doesn't even have a trivia night despite fact every other pub/micro brewery i know does one

i felt its Friday / Saturday nights needed a rebrand into something more interesting / fun but it seems to have so many problems. i also discovered owner is violating our employment laws by discriminating against other qualified applicants to only hire certain white women who meet his physical standards for body

the laws here clearly state you cannot discriminate against a job applicant based on there age , sex , ethnicity etc. he's even going as far as to not post ads on legit job sites so he doesn't get resumes from people he doesn't want to hire , he seems to only hire former hostess and friends of existing servers as servers

[Christopherthegreat]

That kind of corruption exists more than you know!

[Asker]

yeah its common for certain employers to want to hire attractive younger women over others but he took it to the extreme in terms of what he was willing to let work there and what bod they needed to have

but seems to have backfired as i think a lot of female customers would of had no issue with an attractive male server and perhaps its contributed to them not feeling totally comfortable there as there intimidated by the servers good looks

[Christopherthegreat]

One place used to hire really young staff, so do our cafe though. But that’s a bit different. It’s not a pub

[Christopherthegreat]

One place used to hire really young staff, so do our cafe though. But that’s a bit different. It’s not a pub though

[Asker]

he only wants really young female staff for servers or hosts , he does allow younger men to work in the kitchen its almost all men

the hosts are like under 18 cause when you turn 1 here can serve alcohol , they seem to have fun with the job but don't seem to grasp concept that he only wanted them there cause of looks and age right

he's hasn't been hit with a complaint yet , likely because he doesn't post on legit job sites so he's less likely to get a resume from a gay male server cause there is no way for them to apply for job right?

[Asker]

ops should read turn " 18 " not 1

[Christopherthegreat]

The cafe at the leisure centre I janitor at hire as young as 14. But that’s good because they learn to work early!

[Asker]

is other businesses that hire younger students here like summer stores and candy stores , its perhaps not unusual to hire young women that age to work in a restaurant.

the red flag is that he isn't hiring any men or older women as servers and seems to go all out to make sure none even apply , there simply not welcome as staff under his ownership , he won't allow them to work there under any circumstances ever

[Christopherthegreat]

I understand what you’re saying

[Asker]

i'm not entirely sure if this is why things are slower there now or not? if the all hot female staff thing is turning off people perhaps.

think being a small town , restaurant is located in a city of 20,000 , men aren't really as interested as he'd think in his girls as they mostly already have boyfriend's and its sort of a weird tease when they know they have no chance with them

and perhaps the female customers feel intimadated by all the hot women and don't feel the men who go there are there to meet them rather go for the hot servers

either way not entirely sure why people aren't coming in as much , as even the google reviews don't say why , most seem to be from tourists and random who passed through this year not the locals who normally fill the place but haven't been in nearby as much last 2 seasons

[Christopherthegreat]

I’ve heard worse

[Asker]

its not clear exactly why the people aren't coming in. i recall being there on the labour day weekend so last weekend of summer it was a Saturday night. i was on the outdoor patio with a male friend chatting around 10pm , there was 4 bartenders working all 20's all fairly good looking but not really any other customers

and by like 11 pm it was clear no one was coming out , like it was still empty maybe 1 table had like 4 or 5 other people. the bar has another indoor area and when i went there was like 30 or 40 people there and 3 other bartenders serving.

but like no one really came out and this was suppose to be there last weekend of summer and obviously if they had 4 bartenders scheduled to work the outdoor patio they expected people to show up which they didn't. so clearly there not sure either when or why its not busy

[Asker]

true other bars have done worse but this is a pub/restaurant in a small town of 20,000 . we've not exactly the kind of place where this sort of business locates. we've never even had a strip club and you wouldn't really see the types of bars / restaurants here you'd find in a larger city

the only place locally i can think of that even does anything similar is this small sports bar , he only hires hot women as servers no hosts or high school students though. but it's not even open late like closes at 9 or 10 pm and no pictures on social media of those girls so he's not really advertising them to the world

although place i'm talking about doesn't post about the girls on social media either is like nothing about them on there page and like not even any tagged photos of them if you look through pictures taken at bar which seems odd as you think with so many hot girls working there , there'd be some pictures of them at bar

[Christopherthegreat]

Dm me I’ve got similar story

[Asker]

where just talking about a bar you can share your story here

as for mine it continues to sit near empty , Live: Less busy than usual at 7 30 pm Monday but fall here is quiet so wouldn't really expect it to be busy , the surprise was there was nights during the summer when it was near empty and in past years had been full

[Christopherthegreat]

I can’t

[Asker]

have to get back to you kind of busy , not sure how it could be anything worse than what went on at my bar but i haven't even got into the worst stuff yet.

[Christopherthegreat]

Message 👍

[Asker]

i checked google liv some more like literally everything in my town was not busy or insanely slow on Monday night except for the gym which was packed apparently.

the line was insanely small at this place , i'm actually wondering if its even staying open some nights as its so slow , perhaps owner is willing to cut his loses and close early to save money , like close at 9 pm or 10 pm instead of staying open later , make sense to close early if there is that little business and only thing busy is the gym not downtown bars

[Christopherthegreat]

Message haha

[Asker]

i tried to message but said i needed to follow you, so i followed but it still wouldn't let me message

[Christopherthegreat]

Done.

[Asker]

they suddenly came out with new specials for winter , owner seems desperate and going to fight for business even if it means losing money to get people in

there now doing food specials on certain days Mon - Thursday and Sunday but not fri/sat. example 50 % off wings on Thursday

and some drink specials too like $5 shots on Friday and cheaper beer from 10 - 11 pm but they did that before and when i was there i'd never get the lower price , server never ring it in or claim i ordered at wrong time.

but seems really desperate , perhaps it will bring some people back in but not really sure it will work as owner seems unwilling to address core issues ( sex appeal based hiring , discrimination , stale concept / bar , customer base that has grown up and moved on , like the people who were 21 and went there every Friday back in 2018 when i was actually busy are now like married and have jobs maybe even kids they ain't coming back in. ) they need a new customer base but aren't really getting the new students to come in much not like the ones before them did

according to google liv its not too busy , was a tiny red line a few minutes ago but got bigger so maybe a group came in. i'm personally not sure it will work , might bring in some business but i really think this place needs a much bigger make over and revamp

[Asker]

update things have yet to improve much there i didn't actually go in last night but was downtown and it didn't seem that busy. no one outside smoking and only the odd person/group leaving , saw no one new enter or go in and this was around 9 -10 pm ish when you think it be busy.

was also no sign of anyone arriving at 10pm for there drink specials which run from 10-11 pm , seems really odd to do them for only 1 hour and appears customers could care less and its not working at bringing people in

Live: Less busy than usual at 5 20 pm sat its not even busy either so even dinner hour rushes aren't really happening

another place just closed down , was a wing place 15 minutes outside of town in a small hotel , it only opened this year but had been fairly busy when you drove by. but owner of hotel had some dispute with people running wing place and now its closed but might re open under a new name and under management of hotel

owner of this place must be losing a lot of money this winter at the rate things have been going , seems like every day is slower than normal and even typically busier days like Friday haven't been materialising into bar nights

seemed to be people at that small live music spot that does karaoke on Friday nights , it seems to be the hot spot on Friday now , but odd never heard anyone i know or in a bar here say they were going there so don't know who goes there or not