Tap Room Business Plan [Sample Template]

Do you want to start a Tap room night club and need to write a plan? If YES, here is a sample Tap room business plan template & feasibility report.

If you are an aspiring entrepreneur and are interested in starting a bar related business, then you should consider opening a tap room business especially if you live in a city that attracts tourists that are comfortable with such locations.

This is a business that has proven overtime to be highly successful if well-positioned. Below is a sample tap room business plan template that can help you to successfully write your own with little or no difficulty.

A Sample Tap Room Business Plan Template

1. Industry Overview

A tap room is a facility that is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises; a room in which alcoholic drinks, especially beer, are available on tap; a bar in a pub or hotel. An ideal tap room are characterized by a unique culture centered around a casual and friendly atmosphere, hearty food and drink, and good music.

It is important to state that the tap room business falls under the nightclub and bar industry. The nightclub and bar industry is indeed a very lucrative industry especially in countries/cities with healthy nightlife. In the united states alone, statistics has it that the nightclub and bar industry generate a whooping sum of $20 billion in revenue annually from about 45,000 recognized bars and night clubs in the US.

The distilled spirits industry generates around $100 billion in United States of America. For those that run bars and night clubs, their major sources of revenue generation are the sale of assorted beers, distilled spirits, liquor, martinis, wine, food and non – alcoholic beverages.

Alcoholic drink which is the major selling point for bars and nightclubs accounting for 37 percent of the revenue generated by nightclubs and bars in the United States is manufactured by more than 3,000 breweries (both conventional and microbrewery).

Statistics has it that the United States of America produced about 196 million barrels (23.0 GL) of beer in 2012 alone, and consumes roughly 28 US gallons (110 L) of beer per capita annually, and a larger percentage of this beers are sold in bars and nightclub, and in 2011, the United States was ranked fifteenth in the world in per capita consumption, while total consumption was second only to China.

This goes to show that bar and nightclub business is indeed very lucrative in the United States. There is no single bar and nightclub or tap room that has dominate market share in the industry hence smaller tap rooms and bars and night clubs can successfully make profits.

Statistics has it that in the United States of America alone, there are about 70,382 registered and licensed bars and night clubs (tap rooms inclusive) responsible for employing about 422,875 people and the industry rakes in a whooping sum of $27 billion annually. The industry is projected to enjoy 2.9 percent annual growth between 2014 and 2019.

Although people still gather to socialize in tap rooms cum bars and nightclubs, just as they have always done in time past, but with factors such as driving while intoxicated and increase in crime rates, the drinking pattern in bar is being affected.

Also, the growing concern as regards health and fitness toward the end of the 20th century was part of what redefined non – alcohol consumption in the US. In essence, the rate at which people consumes beers and other drinks both alcoholic and non – alcoholic is what determines the growth of bar and nightclub industry.

Any entrepreneur who wants to start a tap room business in the US would definitely be confronted with tough competition.

The truth is that you will not only compete with other pubs in your location or city, but you would be competing with every other entertainment option where beer and other alcoholic drinks are sold. In night clubs, people do not only drink and socialize, but they also dance if they choose to and get entertained.

It is important to state that in as much as starting a tap room business can be profitable and rewarding, the success of any new tap room in the United States is not automatic. The chances of a new tap room struggling within the first 6 months of launching can’t be ruled out.

As a matter of fact, it can take between two to five years before most tap rooms can recover their initial investment. In order words, just like loads of new businesses, the statistics for pubs/bars do not favor the startups, you just have to have a long – term investment plan if you intend starting your own tap room business.

2. Executive Summary

Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc. will be located close to one of the largest residential estates in Los Gatos – California. We choose this city because of its strategic location in California. Los Gatos is bounded by the City of San Jose to the north and east; the City of Campbell to the north; the Cities of Monte Sereno and Saratoga to the west; and unincorporated County of Santa Clara and the County of Santa Cruz to the south.

We were able to secure a one-year lease of a vacant pub in the location and we are fortunate to secure a facility with an option of long – term renewal on an agreed terms and conditions.

We can confidently say that our well – crafted beers are going to be handmade from an all-malt mash in our uniquely built copper brew house and our brewery process is sure going to be a combination of the time-honored art of classical craft brewing and carefully applied, state-of-the-art modern brewery methods which will be healthily served via our tap room.

The facility we intend starting our tap room business has the capacity to accommodate about 25 tables and a minimum of 100 seats. It also has enough space to accommodate our back-office operations, storage room and microbrewery.

We will work towards ensuring that our tap room is constructed in such a way that it will meet the expected standard required by the authorities and in such a way that it will be relaxing and conducive for networking and socializing not ignoring the fact that at all times good music (live band, karaoke and jazz et al) will be played at the background to create the ambience that our customers will cherish.

Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc. is all out to give beer lovers in Los Gatos – California value for their money. One thing that is certain is that Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc. will operate in the neatest of environment and excellent customer service will be what we are known for.

Much more than selling locally brewed beer in Los Gatos, we will create an environment where customers can network with each other in a relaxed environment while enjoying their brewed beer in our tap room. We are not going to struggle to attract customers because of the positioning of our tap room, but we will strive to build a loyal customer base by offering unique flavor beer in a relaxed and conducive environment.

Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc. is owned by Mr. Eddy Gomez and his immediate family members. Mr. Gomez has over 15 years’ managerial experience in the bar and night club industry and he will be bringing the experience to the table to help build Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc. to become the number one tap room in Los Gatos – California.

3. Our Products and Services

Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc. is going to operate a standard Tap room that will make available every activity, services and products that can be found in a standard bar and nightclub in the United States. These are some of the products and services that will be found in our tap room;

Beers
Locally Crafted Beers (Pale Beers, Amber Beers, Dark Beers, Hebrew Beers, Gluten Free, Organic Brews, Cider et al)
Wines
Distilled spirits
Liquor
Martinis
Food
Non – alcoholic beverages
Tobacco

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

Our vision is to build a business that will be the melting pot for beer lovers in the whole of Los Gatos.
We want to become the talk of town when it comes to tap rooms in the whole of Los Gatos.
Our mission is to establish a tap room business that will create a standard of excellence in the industry.
We want to grow our tap room business to be listed amongst the top 5 tap rooms in the United State within the first 10 years of opening our doors to the general public.

Our Business Structure

Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc. is established to be a pacesetter when it comes to how a standard tap room should be run in Los Gatos and even in the United States of America.

We have the goal of assembling a team of dedicated workforce who will give our customers excellent customer service at all times, a team that will ensure that we will continue to have repeated customers and a team that will indeed make us the melting pot of all lovers of night life in Los Gatos – California.

Below is the shape and structure we will build Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc. on;

Chief Executive Officer (Owner)
Tap Room Manager
Bartender/Baristas
Accountants/Cashiers
DJ
Greeters/Customer Service Agent/Table Attendant
Cleaners
Security Officers

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Officer – CEO:

Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results
Creating, communicating, and implementing the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
Responsible for providing direction for the business
Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
Evaluates the success of the organization
Carrying out staff induction for new team members

Tap Room Manager:

Responsible for managing the daily activities in the tap room
Ensure that the facility is in tip top shape and conducive enough to welcome customers
Interfaces with vendors
Reports to the Chief Executive Officer
Attends to Customers complains and enquiries
Prepares budget and reports for the organization
Responsible for Training and Development in the organization
Responsible for procuring of raw materials and equipment
Handle any other duty as assigned by the CEO

Bartender/Baristas:

Interact with customers, take orders for drinks and snacks.
Plan and present tap room menu.
Check identification of the guest to make sure they meet age requirements for purchase of alcohol and tobacco products.
Mix ingredients to prepare cocktails and other drinks.
Prepare alcohol or non-alcohol beverages.
Assess customers’ needs and preferences and make recommendations
Make lists of supplies in conjunction with the bar manager / management
Prepare inventory or purchase requisitions as needed to replenish supplies.

Accountant/Cashier:

Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports
Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or more properties.
Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
Responsible for administering payrolls
Ensuring compliance with taxation legislation
Handles all financial transactions for the company
Serves as internal auditor for the company.

Disc Jockey (DJ)

Coordinate karaoke sessions
Ensures that customers are entertained with the best of music with Irish theme per time
Manage the sound system for the tap room
In charge of music collections
Providing music at events.
Responsible for mixing music tracks.

Greeters/Customer Service Agent/Table Attendant

Open door and welcome customers
Ensures that customers feel relaxed and at home
Handle customers’ enquiries
Assess customers’ needs and preferences and make recommendations
Serve customers in a friendly and helpful manner.
Determine when a customer has had too much alcohol and if required refusing any further serving on a polite way.
Handle any other duty as assigned by the pub manager

Cleaners:

Clean up after customers
Clear ashtrays as and when required.
Wash glassware and utensils after each use.
Maintain a clean working area by sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, cleaning of glass doors and windows, etc. if required.
Ensure that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
Handle any other duty as assigned by the tap room manager.

Security Officers

Ensure that the pub facility is secured at all time
Control traffic and organize parking
Give security tips to staff members from time to time
Patrols around the building on a 24 hours’ basis
Submit security reports weekly
Any other duty as assigned by the tap room manager

6. SWOT Analysis

Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc. is established with the aim of becoming the melting pot of all lovers of social life in Los Gatos and to become a pacesetter when it comes to how a standard tap room should be run in Los Gatos and even in the United States of America which is why we have taken our time to analyze and conduct SWOT analysis.

No investor would want to invest his or her hard – earned money without assessing the risks involved in the venture and also his or her capability to deliver and make profits from the business. In view of that, Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc.® Tap room hired a business and HR specialist to help conduct SWOT analysis for the business and below is a summary of the result that was generated;

Strength:

Our strength as a tap room business are our customer service, highly secured and safe facility, availability of a wide range of assorted drinks, beverages, tobaccos and food. We can boast of having some of the best hands in the industry, excellent facility, excellent ambience and perfect location for a tap room in a metropolitan and bubbling city like Los Gatos.

Weakness:

Going through our Business model, we came to the conclusion that our perceived weakness could be that we are a new tap room business in a highly competitive city like Los Gatos, and we may not have the financial muscle to sustain the kind of publicity we want to give our business.

Opportunities:

Consumer spending measures the total amount Americans spend on services and goods, both domestically and abroad. Changes in overall consumer spending are reflected in other trends including alcohol spending. Consumer spending is expected to increase going forward, representing a potential opportunity for the industry.

Threat:

The current Dietary Guidelines for Americans set forth by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommend that women do not consume more than one alcoholic drink per day and that men do not consume more than two alcoholic drinks per day.

Alcohol is listed by the USDA as one of the highest-calorie beverages consumed by adults. Consequently, demand for industry products is inversely correlated with the healthy eating index. The healthy eating index is expected to remain flat in going forward, representing a threat to industry revenue.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Trends

In recent time, the societal shift away from alcoholic drinks toward healthier lifestyles is to a larger extent contributing to a steady decline in the amount of individual spending allocated to trips to tap rooms / bars and nightclubs plus the fact that nobody wants to be caught driving while drunk.

As a matter of fact, it is now becoming trendy to find nightclubs and bars educating their customers on the danger of driving while drunk.

The recent market trend in the nightclub and bar industry is such that the increase in the number of consumers choosing entertainment for home consumption rather than at bars or nightclubs is on the increase. This trend is surely going to have lasting impacts on nightclub business.

Statistics has it that the number of bars are forecast to decline slightly but that does not in any way affect the revenue generated by those who are still in business. In fact, the revenues are expected to grow as the economy improves and consumer spending increases. The industry revenue is projected to grow to about 2.5 percent per year over the next 6 years.

Tap rooms do not only compete with one another alone, they also share the available market with other businesses like bars and night clubs, microbrewery, restaurants, hotels, casinos and outlets that retails drinks for home consumption.

8. Our Target Market

As a standard Tap room, Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc. will offer a wide range of services and products hence we are well trained and equipped to service a wide range of clientele base.

The target market for our tap room cuts across people of different classes. We have done our feasibility studies and market survey and we were able to identify those who we expect will patronize our business. Below is a list of the people that we have specifically design our tap room (products and services) for;

Corporate Executives
Business People
People in the entertainment industry
Sports Men and Women
College Students
Tourists

Our Competitive Advantage

We are aware of the competition that exists in the industry in Los Gatos, but the truth is that despite the fact that the level of competition in the tap room business is pretty high, one thing is certain, if you know how to drive traffic to your tap room, you will sure make huge returns from the business.

Good enough, the owner of our tap room has the magic wand to attract beer lovers; he has done it with several nightclubs and bars that he has managed all across the United State of America. Part of what is going to be our selling point in Los Gatos is the fact that we operate a standard tap room in a perfect location and also that our facility is highly secured.

Another factor that will give Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc. competitive edge is that we have enough packing space to accommodate the number of customers our tap room can contain per time. We are not ignoring the fact that we are among the few tap rooms in downtown Los Gatos – California that sell almost all the brands of beers, wines, distilled spirits, liquors et al.

Lastly, our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category in the industry meaning that they will be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our aims and objectives.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

Sources of Income

Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc. is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the industry and we are going to do all it takes to attract clients on a regular basis. Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc.® will generate income by offering the following products and services;

Sale of Beers
Sales of Locally Crafted Beers (Pale Beers, Amber Beers, Dark Beers, Hebrew Beers, Gluten Free, Organic Brews, Cider et al)
Sales of Assorted Wines
Sales of Distilled spirits
Sales of Liquor
Sales of Martinis
Sales of Small Chops
Sales of Tobacco

10. Sales Forecast

When it comes to tap room business, if your tap room is cozy, relaxing, well stocked and centrally positioned, you will always attract customers cum sales.

We are well positioned to take on the available market in Los Gatos – California and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income/profits from the first six months of operations and grow the business and our clientele base.

We have been able to examine the tap room market, we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. Below are the sales projections for Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc., it is based on the location of our business and other factors as it relates to tap room start – ups in the United States;

First Fiscal Year (FY1): $250,000
Second Fiscal Year (FY2): $350,000
Third Fiscal Year (FY3): $750,000

N.B: This projection was done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and any major competitor offering same products as we do within same location. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

Top of the list on our marketing and sale strategy is generating a buzz for our tap room via word-of-mouth. We intend running a standard tap room that can favorably compete with other leading pubs and nightclubs and bars in the United States hence we are not going to rely only on the conventional ways of marketing.

Part of the marketing and sales strategies that we will adopt are;

Open our tap room with a party so as to capture the attention of residents who are our first targets
Seek out partnerships with hotels – either to offer their clients a discount on our beer, or to potentially have a stand open at their location to serve their customers.
Have in-store ads to promote the fact that people can get a discount if they share a photo of our tap room on Instagram and mention our brand. We will also use a sign outside our store, and have our staff mention this to customers.
Let existing customers redeem a glass of beer or any alcoholic drinks if they bring along a friend and also if they make a social media post about this with one of our hashtags.
Engage in direct marketing and sales
Encourage the use of Word of mouth marketing (referrals)

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

Regardless of the fact that our tap room is well located in Los Gatos – California, we will still go ahead to intensify publicity for the business. Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc. is a standard tap room hence we will ensure that we create the buzz that will make people in and around Los Gatos know about us and what we do.

We are quite aware that one of the effective ways of promoting our tap room is to create special internal promotions. Here are the platforms we intend leveraging on to promote and advertise Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc.;

Place adverts on both print (community – based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
Sponsor relevant community programs
Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook, twitter, et al to promote our brand
Run Instagram contests where customers can share their photos of our tap room. The photo that receives the most “Likes” can be rewarded with a discount or a free beer or any other drink.
On certain days of the week (ideally in areas where we have low foot traffic), let people know they can get a reward (like a free beer) if they post an Instagram photo of our products and mention our brand’s hashtag(s).
Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations all around Los Gatos – California
Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
Position our Flexi Banners at strategic positions in our location.
Ensure that all our staff members wear our customized clothes, and all our official cars and distribution vans are customized and well branded.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

The prices of our beers, beverages, and tobacco will be what is obtainable in the market. In fact, we will try as much as we can to sell below the industry’s average so as to attract loads of customers. We also have plans in place to discount our products and services once in a while and also to reward our loyal customers.

Payment Options

The payment policy adopted by Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc. is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different customers prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation of the United States of America.

Here are the payment options that Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc. will make available to her clients;

Payment with cash
Payment via credit cards
Payment via online bank transfer
Payment via check
Payment via mobile money transfer

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our clients make payment for our products without any stress on their part.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

If you are looking towards starting a tap room business, then you should be ready to raise enough capital to cover some of the basic expenditure that you are going to incur. The truth is that starting this type of business does not come cheap.

You would need money to secure a standard facility in a secured environment, acquire sound system, pay your workforce and pay bills for a while until the revenue you generate from the business becomes enough to pay them. The items listed below are the basics that we would need when starting our tap room business in the United States, although costs might vary slightly;

The total fee for registering the Business in the United States of America – $750.
Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits as well as the accounting services totaling – $1,200.
Marketing promotion expenses (2,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of $3,580.
The cost for hiring business consultant – $2,500.
Insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $2,400.
The cost of accounting software, CRM software and Payroll Software – $15,000
The cost for payment of rent for 12 months at $1.76 per square feet in the total amount of – $105,600.
The cost for tap room facility remodeling – $25,000.
Other start-up expenses including stationery – $500
The amount needed for phone and utility deposits – ($2,500)
Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $60,000
The cost for start-up inventory (assorted beers, assorted tobaccos, assorted cigars and alcoholic drinks and non-alcoholic drinks) – $26,027
Storage hardware (bins, utensil rack, shelves, glasses case) – $3,720
The cost for counter area equipment (counter top, sink, ice machine, etc.) – $9,500
The cost for serving area equipment (glasses, flatware) – $3,000
The cost for store equipment (cash register, security, ventilation, signage) – $13,750
The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Computers, Printers, Telephone, TVs, Sound System, tables and chairs et al) – $4,000.
The cost of launching a website – $600
The cost for our grand opening party – $5,000
Miscellaneous – $2,500

We would need an estimate of two hundred and fifty thousand ($250,000) to successfully launch our tap room in Los Gatos.

Generating Funds/Startup Capital for Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc.® Tap room

Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc. is owned by Eddy Gomez and his immediate family members and they intend to finance the business alone. Although they have plans to make the tap room manager part owner of the business after 10 or 12 years of service, but that does not stop him from reserving over 80 percent stake of the business for himself and his family.

Since they are the sole financier of the business, they have decided to adopt the following means to generate startup capital for the business;

Generate part of the startup capital from his personal savings and sale of his stocks
Source for soft loans from family members and friends
Apply for loan from the bank

N.B: Mr. Eddy Gomez and his family have been able to generate $100,000. The breakdown shows that they generated $75,000 from their personal savings and sale of their stocks and they generated $25,000 soft loans from their family members and friends.

The balance of $150,000 will be generated as loan facility from the bank. All the papers and documents have been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

Top on the list of the plans we have to sustain Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc. is to ensure that we continue to make available a wide range of beers and other alcoholic drinks, deliver quality services, improvise on how to do things faster and cheaper. We are not going to relent in providing conducive environment for our workers and also the required trainings that will help them deliver excellent services at all times.

We are quite aware that our customers are key component to the growth and survival of our business hence we are going to continuously engage them to give us ideas on how to serve them better and the products they want to see in our store. We will not waste time in adopting new technology, best practices and diversifying our services once the need arises.

Enjoy Life® Tap Room, Inc. will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and re – training of our workforce is at the top burner.

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of three years or more. We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.

Check List/Milestone

Business Name Availability Check: Completed
Business Registration: Completed
Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
Securing license from music companies: In Progress
Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
Application for business license and permit: Completed
Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
Renting of facility and remodeling the facility plus installation of sound system et al: In Progress
Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
Generating capital from family members: Completed
Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
Writing of Business Plan: Completed
Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
Printing of Promotional Materials: In Progress
Recruitment of employees: In Progress
Purchase of the needed furniture, electronic appliances, office appliances and bar accessories: In progress
Creating Official Website for the Company: Completed
Creating Awareness for the business both online and in the neighborhood: In Progress
Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
Opening party planning: In Progress
Establishing business relationship with vendors – suppliers of all our needed cigars, wine, alcoholic and non – alcoholic drinks, tobacco and small chops et al: In Progress