Running a bar for fundraising event CLUELESS!!!!!!!

ktflosspot

Hi All,
We are arranging a fundraiser in November and want to do our own bar as it is going to be held a community hall.
We have only ever had our events in pubs before so have not had to think about running our own bar.

Luckily we have willing volunteers to serve on the night but i'm confused about licensing laws and what to serve / charge to make the best profit

Anyone out there done this before that can give me a wee hint or two?
Any advice appreciated.
Cheers KT

Savvy_Sue

I would start by talking to the venue to check the terms of their licence: is your event covered or do you need to apply for a one-off licence?

nickj_2

i'm not 100% certain but i think you now need to have a licensed person on site to sell booze , it's their responsibility to sort out any permits etc .
ask your pub if they can supply someone ,
i think you can get info at your local council offices

flea72

you cant SELL alcohol unless you have a licence, but you can ask for a donation (fixed price)

Flea

numptyuk

all you need to do is apply for a temperary events notice,cost £22 your local authority liccensing will send you the form whitch is prety straight forward.they need 21days notice before the event so get the form in early.then on the night you can sell alcohol at wat ever price you want.

harassedmumof4

I'm on a PTA committee and we looked into this, even if you charge an entry fee with vouchers to be exchanged for drinks, you need a license. The only way out of it was for everyone to bring their own alcohol. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Savvy_Sue

harassedmumof3 wrote: »

The only way out of it was for everyone to bring their own alcohol.

Which may not raise as much money, but certainly makes things simpler!

the more I think about this, the more I think the OP needs to talk to someone who knows what they're doing, ie who's done it recently, under the new licensing laws, or KNOWS the new licensing laws.

kittykat100

You need to know someone who is a personal licence holder. They can then apply for a temporary events licence for the premises, they can then oversee the running of the bar. They do have to be on the premises though through out your event. The other alternative is to look for a mobile bar. These people will already have the necessary licences and will be able to run it for you.

Just look in the yellow pages

Kittyx

bap98189

We run a bar twice a year for our charity dances. Running a bar is easy, and can be quite fun, but you must have people that are willing to work behind it. More importantly, you must have people willing to collect glasses throughout the night and do the washing up. there will be a lot of washing up.

You do need a license, but it is easy to get one for a single night as long as you are a recognised organisation. You need to contact your local council and ask for the licensing department. They send you a form to fill in and I think it takes 6 weeks or so to process. Our local council charges a £10 fee for each application, although that probably varies from council to council.

The easiest way to deal with drink etc. is to talk to a local off-licence. Some of them are used to events like this and will let you have the drink on sale or return and loan you the glasses free of charge. I'm not sure if the supermarkets still do this. Safeway used to but that was about 10 years ago. Our local off-licence even drops the stuff off and picks everything up at half past midnight - all for free! Not bad service considering we only buy about £200 of drink from them.

A few other pointers we have learned over the years:

Don't serve loads of spirits as you will not be able to return any opened bottles. No point opening a £10 bottle to sell a single shot. We only offer the basics, whisky, vodka, bacardi, possibly gin - those we know people will drink.

Beer is easy as it comes in cans or bottles and you can return anything you don't sell. We usually have lager, a bitter, guiness and a cider, but it will depend on your customers what will sell.

If you think people will buy it, you can sell real ale very easily. It is a zillion times better to drink than canned beer and can work out cheaper. There is bound to be a small brewery in your area. Give you local brewery a ring and they will usually loan you the tap and all the equipment if you take a cask or two. It will need to settle for 24 hours though so you can only do it if you have access to the venue beforehand.

You will find it much easier if you have some optics, but you will need somewhere to mount them. If not, just buy a couple of measures and work from those.

Allow at least 2 hours to set everything up, especially if it is your first time.

How many people you need depends on the number of guests. We typically have 100 people at a dance and find 2 people can serve drinks OK, but you will need another 2 to collect glasses and wash up. if people aren't willing to work non-stop, get other folk to do it in shifts.

Ice - get loads of it, keep it in a coolbox. Our off licence gives us a couple for free, but it is easy to make it yourself at very little cost if you buy loads of those ice-cube bags. Don't fill your freezer with them that morning though. We did that the first year and there was so much in there they took a full 24 hours to freeze.

You will never have enough change. Get a massive float

Banks normally need a few days notice if you want a float as they don't tend to hold any small change nowadays.

Don't use cans for mixers, they are much more expensive than bottles.

Pricing - you should get 6 glasses of wine, and 21 measures of spirits from a bottle.

Wine - make sure you sell it by the correct measure. A glass of wine should be 125ml, which is a lot smaller than most people realise.

Stick the white wine in the coolbox full of ice to keep it cool

If you are expecting a lot of kids, buy cans and sell those as your soft drink. Kids tend to smash a lot of glasses.

Round your prices off to the nearest 10p. Makes change much easier and service faster.

Write out your price list beforehand and stick a couple of copies on the wall. Makes life easier for everyone.

Bring plenty of bin bags.

Towels too. You will need lots of towels.