Thinking about a new bar for your restaurant and you’re stressed because you’re quickly running out of ideas? What’s the secret to the best shapes and sizes for restaurant bars? How much space is required? Exactly what are the options and tradeoffs between restaurant and bar seating – and which one will provide the best profit? All these questions need to be answered. Implementing a new bar can be overwhelming, and mistakes can be costly. Over the years, I’ve designed many bars for restaurant owners. Because I’m working on bar design solutions with clients from all over, new ideas are constantly presented. Meanwhile, bar equipment, draft beer, wine and cocktail dispensing systems are changing all the time. Quite frankly, there’s a lot to know. Through all this, my perspective changes over time, and I believe that’s a benefit to our clients.
Most importantly, we can’t talk about bar design without discussing the financial impact, because the two are inextricably intertwined. I often wonder if restaurant owners are truly knowledgeable about how their bars contribute to overall profits; hear what an industry colleague and expert has to say – you might be shocked. Today, I’m excited to share with you what I believe are the best bar shapes and sizes for restaurant bars. As a bonus, I’m going to tell you about a groundbreaking new 3D design tool by Krowne that will help you get totally involved in the design process!
How Profitable are Bars for Restaurant Owners?
Bars are very important to restaurant owners for many reasons. Firstly, the bar relieves a potential bottleneck at the door and is a great place for guests while they’re waiting for their tables. This gives guests the benefit of sitting and relaxing after a hard day while waiting for their tables. Secondly, the restaurant owner also benefits by increasing profitability. Ahh, profitability – that magic word. I don’t think many would question whether alcohol is profitable to restaurant owners, but just how profitable? Brace yourself, my friend. According to my Magnificent 7 colleague and hospitality industry expert, Kevin Moll, president of Restaurant Consulting Services:
"Alcohol sales often have the highest profit margins for restaurants."
- Lower Labor Costs. Labor costs behind the bar are generally lower than in the kitchen.
- Large Markups. Alcohol can be priced with large markups, sometimes up to four times the wholesale cost.
- Long Shelf Life. Unlike perishable items such as produce and meat, alcohol has a longer shelf life, thereby reducing waste and preserving profits.
According to Kevin:
“For financially viable restaurants, the gross profit from alcohol sales typically hovers around 70%.”
In other words, alcohol contributes 70% to the gross profit for the entire operation! Kevin gave me some other inside information about how to improve bar profitability that I’ll share later in this post. From the above, it’s easy to understand why bar shape and size are so critical for a financially viable restaurant. Given the above, what’s the optimal shape and size for a restaurant bar?
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What are the Most Common Bar Shapes for Restaurants?
Up until recently, from my experience, the most common shapes for restaurant bars are the L-shape and the linear shape (also known as the “shotgun” bar). Because both are adjacent to at least one wall, they often require the least amount of space – therefore providing the maximum area for table seating. Table seating has traditionally been the most important resource among restaurant owners, but from what we now know about bar profitability, the bar should not take a back seat – we need to optimize the shape and size of the bar.
Small Bars vs. Large Bars: How and When Should Each be Utilized?
Restaurant owners who understand the undisputable value of owning a bar want to maximize its footprint. Sometimes, the biggest challenge is to avoid going overboard. On the other hand, due to space constraints, there aren’t as many options as possible for smaller venues. From what I’ve seen, when restaurant occupancy loads approach 100 patrons, more shape options are available. Here’s a rundown of the most common bar shapes we normally discuss with clients, and I’m going to break this down by restaurant size:
BAR SHAPES AND SIZES FOR SMALL RESTAURANT BARS
Small L-Shaped Bar: The Most Common Bar for Small Restaurants
The bar shown in Figure 1A is typical where bar length is limited. This is the most common bar I see for small restaurants. This bar occupies 207 square feet and accommodates 12 patrons, which yields 17.3 SF/patron. Now let’s understand how this looks in 3D, using Krowne Metal’s new ‘BarFlexPro’, a fabulous interactive tool that enables anyone to build their own bar and discover how it will look in 3D! It’s very easy to use – I learned it in 10 minutes!
In my opinion, Krowne is the most progressive company and undisputed leader in the bar equipment industry. In Figure 1B I’m showing the very bar equipment for this bar using BarFlexPro. Here’s the exciting news: I’ve set this up so you can also get right into my 3D model by clicking this link. I encourage you to get into my model and move things around – feel free to change this however you wish!
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- Figure 1A. Architectural plan view of small L-shaped bar
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- Figure 1B. 3D plan view of small L-shaped bar equipment plan
Small Linear Bar: A Good Solution for Narrow Spaces
The bar shown in Figure 2A was designed to occupy the corner of the room. Because this was installed in a hotel, we lost one seat due to the ADA accommodation. This bar occupies 225 square feet and accommodates eight patrons, which yields 28.1 SF/patron. Figure 2B shows this bar using BarFlexPro and here’s the link to my model. My recommendation for small bars is to maximize the seating.
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- Figure 2A. Architectural drawing of small linear bar
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- Figure 2B. 3D model of small linear bar
BAR SHAPES AND SIZES FOR LARGE RESTAURANTS
Large L-Shaped Bar: The Most Common Design for Large Restaurants
When occupancy loads approach 100 patrons, owners prefer larger bars. As seen in Figure 3A, this bar is 28’ long, occupies 292 square feet and accommodates 14 patrons, which yields 20.8 SF/patron. The BarFlexPro model is shown in Figure 3B, and you can access the model through this link.
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- Figure 3A. Architectural plan of large L-shaped restaurant bar
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- Figure 3B. 3D plan of large L-shaped restaurant bar using Krowne’s BarFlexPro
Pass-Thru Bar: The Best Architectural Solution for Large Restaurants
In Figure 4A we see a 3-station pass-thru bar. This 30’ long bar occupies 325 square feet and accommodates 14 patrons, which yields 23.2 SF/patron. For owners who like their wait staff to have access behind the bar, this is a popular choice. As shown in elevation (ref. Figure 5), the pass-thru bar is my favorite for symmetrical bar design. For those with ample space, an adjacent free-standing drink rail (five patrons) can also be incorporated. My BarFlexPro model (ref. Figure 4B) can be accessed by clicking here.
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- Figure 4A. Plan view of pass-thru restaurant bar
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- Figure 4B. 3D plan of pass-thru restaurant bar
Island Bar with Island Back Bar: Not a Good Choice for Restaurants
During initial conversations, some clients express an interest in a 25-35-seat bar. That isn’t very practical for L-shaped and Pass-Thru Bars, because most people simply don’t have enough space with which to work (island bars capable of seating 25-30 patrons require 40′-50′ of space). Figure 6A depicts a 3-station island bar with an island back bar. This bar occupies 533 square feet and accommodates 35 patrons, which yields 15.2 SF/patron. I love the island bar with island back bar, but this is the type of bar most suitable for sports bars and destination bars – but not restaurants, because it’s too much of an attention-getter and really looks just too casual for dining. But wait, I have a much better approach for island bars. Feel free to check-out my BarFlexPro model (ref. Figure 6B) by clicking here.
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- Figure 6A. Plan view of island bar with island back bar
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- Figure 6B. 3D plan of 35-seat island bar with island back bar
Narrow Island Bar: My Number One Choice for Large Restaurants
I was introduced to this bar shape several years ago by a client who absolutely loved this style. Quite frankly, I hated it at first. As shown in Figure 7A, this bar is much narrower than the one we just reviewed. The width of the bartender aisle should be at least 36”, and some city codes want them as large as 60” – which is absurd.
What I Like about Narrow Island Bars
In general, what’s superb about island bars is the ability of people across the bar to interact. What I strongly disliked about this bar, originally, was the lack of an overhead architectural component. In other words, when this type of bar is built purely as a base unit (with nothing above), it looks incomplete. The overhead component is not only necessary (from an architectural perspective), but from an operational vantage point as well. You see, there’s no way to fully-equip this type of bar with underbar stainless equipment alone, because there isn’t enough glass storage – and no way to display the liquor.
How to Supercharge a Narrow Island Bar Design
When we add an overhead bottle and glass storage component (ref. to Figure 8), the architectural styling begins to gel. If you really want to dial this design up, add a radius split soffit with downlighting (LightTape is my favorite), as shown in Figure 9! We design all these custom components and create shop-level design drawings for fabrication. This 30’ long bar occupies 395 square feet and accommodates 20 patrons, which yields 19.8 SF/patron! To me, this is the ultimate bar for a larger restaurant, because it’s very stylish and delivers a strong architectural statement, whether it’s in the center of the room or off to the side. See my BarFlexPro 3D model (ref. Figure 7B) by clicking here.
In my opinion, the narrow island bar with a split soffit and overhead bottle-and-glass rack is the ultimate restaurant bar.
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- Figure 7A. Plan view of narrow island restaurant bar
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- Figure 7B. 3D model of narrow island restaurant bar
What You Need to Know about ADA Design for Commercial Bars
While reviewing the bar layouts I’ve presented in this article, you might notice that some plans show ADA accommodations and others don’t. The decision of whether or not to include that is entirely the client’s. We encourage all our clients to comply with ADA because it’s federal law. Besides, it’s considerate to be inclusive to those who are physically disadvantaged. Figure 10 depicts a typical ADA detail we offer for commercial bars.
I’ve written much about this topic and I urge everyone to become more knowledgeable about this, because it is federal law. Here’s a couple of articles I’ve written that might be helpful:
How to Supercharge Your Bar Profits
There’s a new movement afoot in the bar industry. Earlier, I discussed the significance of bar profits to a restaurant’s overall profitability. My good friend and expert restaurant consultant, Kevin Moll reminded me of the value of pre-batch cocktails. Developing this program can create yet greater bar profits. According to Kevin, pre-batch cocktails “reduce ticket times and limit waste.” The additional benefit is consistency. According to Jon Taffer (of Bar Rescue fame)
“Drink consistency is of the utmost importance for a successful bar.”
That’s it for now. See you soon and as always, best of luck!
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