becoming a bar manager

Restaurant and bar management are often used synonymously to describe what often are two separate entities. While managing restaurants and bars share a great deal, there are certain inexplicable differences between bar-only and restaurant-only businesses.  In fact, a well-apprised manager should be familiar with these differences and be able to answer to state and local authorities if confronted with a challenging situation regarding alcohol sales and service.  Here are a few ways managing a bar differs from managing a restaurant.  

Laws and Legal Drinking Age

Perhaps the most obvious differences between bar and restaurant management are the local, state, and federal laws that govern bars, bar owners, and employees.  While you may find that most restaurants have an attached bar or at least serve alcohol, certain laws may alter the way business is conducted between bartenders, servers, and customers.  

In the United States, the legal drinking age is 21.  Some states also have statutory provisions that allow minors to consume alcohol when accompanied by a parent, legal guardian, spouse, or other legally-authorized adult over the age of 21; any individual choosing to purchase alcohol, however, must be 21.  While the legal drinking age has changed several times since Prohibition ended in 1933, all states maintain the legal drinking age of 21.  

State Licensing and Certification

After Prohibition ended and the 21st Amendment was passed, the states (not the Federal Government) were allowed to control alcohol laws.  As a result, each state has some form of alcoholic beverage commission, often abbreviated as "ABC."  Therefore, each state has the final say in how alcohol sales, consumption, and distribution are regulated and each one has its own specific laws relating to the cause.  

As a bar manager, you are required to have the necessary state certifications to serve, sell, and tax alcohol.  Oftentimes, the requisite servers’ licenses are relatively easy to obtain and may require as little as a small fee and completion of a state-mandated online or classroom training course.  However, the ramifications for not obtaining the necessary state certifications could be extremely costly.  Fines can range anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars depending on the severity of the violation and states will often revoke an individual or bar's license to sell all together if laws are broken repeatedly. 

ABC and beverage laws when you run a bar

Responsible Service

Responsible alcohol service is part of what every state requires businesses to sell alcohol and maintain the necessary certifications.  Understanding how to responsibly sell alcohol is the cornerstone to every state's ABC program; however, failure to sell responsibly can result in criminal and civil punishment as outlined by state laws.  While most food servers are required to have food handler's permits and likely bear no direct liability for any food-related health problems a customer may incur, alcohol servers and bartenders are often held 100% liable for their actions and the business can be penalized equally.  Failing to follow the state's guidelines for responsible service can result in fines, cancellation of service certification, and incarceration in extreme cases.  

Responsible alcohol service isn't rocket science, however, and using common sense will likely get any bartender, alcohol server, and bar manager out of any bind and release liability.  Remember, you can always refuse service to anyone who may be a troublemaker.

Alcohol Taxation and Inventory

Taxation of alcohol is extremely important and strictly enforced in the United States.  Just ask Al Capone.  Maintaining accurate sales and tax records for state and Federal authorities is paramount to any bar manager maintaining his or her coherence with the law.  Not only is alcohol sometimes taxed differently than other sales merchandise, inventory must be strictly maintained and always accurate.  

In some states (Texas, for example) a daily record of alcohol inventory must be kept.  Any discrepancies must be accounted for, and inaccurate records can lead to fines or revocation of selling licenses by the state ABC.  Inventory is always necessary for maintaining any credible business operation, but the extra attention to detail required for bar managers and owners is a major difference from other restaurant management occupations.

Take the Worry Out of Restaurant and Bar Management

Managing a bar can seem daunting, and starting out it often is quite confusing.  There's really no need to worry; however, the state and Federal governments offer myriad opportunities to learn and earn licenses and offer continuing education for alcohol service.  On the other hand, you could enroll in ECPI University's Bachelor of Science in Food Service Management program and get hands-on experience from qualified faculty and professors in order to gain the valuable knowledge necessary to manage the bar or restaurant of your dreams. It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!

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