# OPening a bar in Spain



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

How not to do it!!
How to open and run a bar in Spain | DavidJackson.info


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> How not to do it!!
> How to open and run a bar in Spain | DavidJackson.info


this is my favourite bit atm




> Just got a load of plastic tables and chairs off a beer rep! Lovely. I’m going to put them out on the pavement where people have to walk around them. That’ll get their attention!
> [later]
> Hello, it’s Mr _Policía Local_ again. What? Public nuisance? Can’t put them there? Need to get a permit to use the pavement? Never heard of such a thing. What? Got to pay a tax? *******s. Wouldn’t do that, etc, etc. It’s that swine from Bar Fred who tipped them off, I reckon. Just because I do Bingo same time as him, so we have to split the customers instead of doing it on alternate days.
> ​


​
for years bars here have put tables on pavements & in parking spaces - tacitly allowed by the ayto - they would be fined on a fairly regular basis but it was cheaper than getting a licence

of course, those who had legit terraces on private land or paid for licences were not happy

the new administration started to clamp down on it a year or so back in discussion with traders associations - initially saying licences would be issued quickly & at a reasonable cost, and that in certain areas where space permitted, bars could have tables on the street without a licence as long as they stayed within the allowed area

of course - this was all largely ignored so the local govt issued a deadline of 1st May for all unlicensed tables etc to be removed (it applies to shops with goods or advertising boards blocking the pavements too) .... & of course the majority ignored it....

so the police came along with lorries & removed the lot....

​


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Some of the comments are hilarious! Especially the one from 'Carole' , followed by his reply.
:rofl:


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

gus-lopez said:


> Some of the comments are hilarious! Especially the one from 'Carole' , followed by his reply.
> :rofl:


Yes that was my favourite comment. Hysterical...


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## David1979 (Feb 15, 2013)

I seriously don't see the infatuation with opening a bar. Long hours, drunken British tourists etc.

Doesn't sound like much of a dream to me!


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

We had a bar restaurant for a couple of years and quite enjoyed it and we didn't lose that much money. Incidentally the only drunken people (three) who had to be ejected in those two years were all Spanish.


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## David1979 (Feb 15, 2013)

jimenato said:


> We had a bar restaurant for a couple of years and quite enjoyed it and we didn't lose that much money.


Did you actually make money though?


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

David1979 said:


> Did you actually make money though?


We existed. We were no better nor worse off after two years and it was very hard work. I'm glad we did it. I know of several non-Spanish who run bars successfully - and many unsuccessfully of course.


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

I wouldn't advise anyone to do it but one way of avoiding some of the pitfalls is to do what we did. We knew the bar and were regular (too regular!) customers for 5 years before we considered it. 

We did it partly to see if we could make a go of it and partly to keep it open - we didn't want to see it closed. It has now been taken over by another non-Spanish couple and is doing well. 

It is in a very particular and special location.

So those are my two recommendations - Location and lots of prior knowledge.


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

David1979 said:


> Did you actually make money though?


When he took it over he had an Ocean going yacht !


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

gus-lopez said:


> When he took it over he had an Ocean going yacht !


LOL. Actually I sold it a couple of years previously. Now if you really want to lose a lot of money - buy an ocean-going yacht.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> How not to do it!!
> How to open and run a bar in Spain | DavidJackson.info


And maybe this is the way it should be done.
Un bar típico bar en España





We had a local caff when I was a student which was The Golden Spur WSM High Street, and Pub was the Brit (Britannia). 
Good old days!


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> And maybe this is the way it should be done.
> Un bar típico bar en España
> Mi bar de toda la vida - #Benditosbares - YouTube
> 
> ...


Do you remember Maximillian's and the Three Queens?


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

That's a sweet ad. There's a bar in Santander that I feel is just like that one. The mother and son who run the bar couldn't be sweeter; the mom walked us to a restaurant one night when we asked them for a recommendation about where to have dinner. These are people who we only interact with every now and then to have a coffee, and they bend over backwards to be kind to us. 

_Benditos bares,_ indeed.


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