The Bar Business Podcast: Smart Hospitality & Marketing Secrets For Bar & Pub Owners
Are you spending more time stuck behind the bar than building a business that runs smoothly without you?
If you're a bar owner who feels overwhelmed by the day-to-day grind of hospitality and is struggling to balance operations, marketing, and profits this show is for you. Chris Schneider, with over 20 years in the industry, created this podcast to help you overcome burnout, increase profits, and create a business you can enjoy—not just endure.
Join us every Monday and Wednesday to:
- Get expert strategies to boost profits while attracting loyal customers.
- Learn bar marketing tactics, menu design hacks, and leadership tools that simplify operations.
- Build the bar or pub that you have always dreamt of owning.
Ready to take control of your bar’s success? Start by tuning into the fan-favorite episode: 5 Strategies to Boost Bar Profits This Week: Quick Wins for Bar Owners.
Episodes
207 episodes
Party of Six - Unlocking Bar Success: Simplify Menus, Boost Profits, and Control Inventory Now!
Are you struggling to balance menu complexity with profitability in your bar? Discover the surprising insights that could transform your business strategy.In this episode of Party of Six, Chris, Dave, and Cliff dive deep into the intric...
•
Season 99
•
Episode 3
•
1:04:11
The Dry ROI Playbook: How 80% Margin Non-Alcoholic Drinks Are Outperforming Your Best Cocktails
Bars aren’t losing money on non-alcoholic drinks.They’re losing money by misunderstanding them.As guest behavior shifts toward functional, botanical, and alcohol-free options, the bars winning right now aren’t guessing, they’re fo...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 204
•
31:08
The 3-Minute Miracle: How the 1-3-1 Rule Saves Bar Owners Hours Every Week
Why does every “quick update” from your manager turn into a 20-minute conversation?Most bar owners don’t realize how much vague communication is slowing decisions, increasing burnout, and keeping them stuck in the weeds instead of runnin...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 203
•
12:33
Great Managers Aren’t Born: How Hospitality Leaders Are Made with Andrew Roy
A lot of people in hospitality end up managing without ever being taught how to manage. You’re good at the job, you get promoted, and suddenly you’re responsible for people, numbers, and decisions you were never trained for....
•
Season 4
•
Episode 202
•
40:50
The Local Search Double Win for Bars: How SEO + AEO Drive More Customers from Google and AI
Why does your bar show up on Google, but not when someone asks ChatGPT where to go for a drink? That’s happening more than you think, and it’s costing bars real customers. People haven’t stopped searching, they’ve just started askin...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 201
•
12:32
200 Episodes Strong: Celebrating the Voices That Built Us
Join us as we celebrate the 200th episode of the Bar Business Podcast, a journey shaped by the insights of our fantastic guests and your support as listeners.We reflect on the meaningful contributions from industry leaders and the evolut...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 200
•
32:03
The January Inventory Reset Every Bar Owner Needs for Better Cash Flow
January slows down, but the inventory almost never does. After December, most bars are sitting on too much product, bad pars, and shelves that look fine until cash flow tells a different story.In this episode, we break down h...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 199
•
11:39
The Leadership Development System: How to Build a Strong Management Bench
If running your bar feels like everything still runs through you, that’s a problem that only gets bigger over time. Being great at the work often turns into being stuck doing all of it.In this episode, we break down why bar owners get t...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 198
•
28:32
January Revenue Recovery Playbook for Bar and Restaurant Owners
Are you bracing for the January slump every year, watching sales dip and wondering what to cut first?The holidays are over, guests pull back, and revenue almost always takes a hit.In this episode, we break down why the January dro...
•
Season 4
•
Episode 197
•
9:43
A Bar Owner’s Year-End Reflection: Gratitude, Rest & What's Coming in 2026
From the outside, everything looks fine. The bar is open, people are coming in, and the work gets done. But underneath it, there’s a quiet heaviness from long days, nonstop decisions, and pressure that never fully lifts.That weight isn’t...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 196
•
8:55
Year-End Audit for Bar Owners: 5 Questions That Reveal What’s Really Holding You Back
Running a bar can look successful on the surface while still leaving me overworked, frustrated, and questioning whether the business is actually supporting the life I set out to build.Small compromises, avoided conversations, and fear-ba...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 195
•
8:04
Party of Six - Bar and Restaurant Staffing Solutions: Reducing Turnover and Building Culture
Discover the evolving landscape of staffing and turnover in the bar and restaurant industry with insights from global experts.Explore how COVID-19, Brexit, and generational shifts are reshaping employment dynamics. Learn why investing in...
•
Season 99
•
Episode 2
•
59:30
The Lean Bar Business Model: How Simpler Operations Drive Higher Profit Margins
Running a bar gets harder when everything becomes more complicated than it needs to be.Extra menu items, excess inventory, and unnecessary systems quietly hurt margins and make daily operations harder to manage.In this episode, we...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 194
•
22:53
.png)
The Gift Card Profit Maximizer: How Bars Can Make $5K in 10 Days With Gift Cards
Most bars don’t sell as many gift cards as they could.They’re easy to miss, rarely mentioned by staff, and usually treated like an afterthought, even during the holidays.In this episode, we break down how simple 10-day gift card p...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 193
•
11:19
.png)
2026 Bar Marketing Calendar: ROI-Driven Promotion Strategies for Higher Revenue
Most bars don’t have a marketing problem.They have a reaction problem.One slow night, one competitor promo, and one random idea, and suddenly the whole month spirals into discounting, rushed events, and staff burnout.In this...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 192
•
22:58
.png)
December Bar Waste Audit: How to Stop Profit Leaks in Food Cost, Pour Cost, and Inventory
December is supposed to save your year, but for a lot of bars it quietly becomes the month with the biggest waste bill.You’re packed, bottles are flying, the kitchen is slammed, and somehow the money left over never matches how hard you ...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 191
•
10:17
.png)
Complete 2026 Business Planning Session: Strategic Roadmap for Bar Growth
Planning next year for your bar usually happens in between shifts, on scraps of paper, and without real numbers.You look at last year’s sales, talk about cutting labor or pushing promos, and still end up guessing why the profit is not wh...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 190
•
27:46
Bar Marketing for December: Holiday Party Booking Formula to Fill Your Slowest Nights
The first week of December is sneaky.Weekends look fine, Saturdays feel solid, but Sunday through Wednesday? Crickets.And every slow night you let slide is revenue you’re quietly leaving on the table.In this episode, I bre...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 189
•
10:18
.png)
From Bartender to Bar Owner: How Steve Lewis Turned a Biker Bar into a Community Favorite
Owning a bar hits different when it’s all on you.You’re not just pouring drinks anymore, you’re the plumber, the promoter, the peacekeeper, and the one who signs the checks when the fridge breaks.Steve Lewis bought a local biker b...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 188
•
35:02
.png)
10‑Minute Thanksgiving Week Staff Briefing That Prevents Service Meltdowns
The night before Thanksgiving? You already know it's gonna be chaos. Servers stressed, kitchen buried, and everyone's moving a little too slow for the volume about to hit. But if you’ve got 10 minutes befo...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 187
•
12:57
Why Discounts Don’t Work: The Secret Customer Retention Strategy That Boosts Bar Profits by 40%
Getting people through the door is hard, but getting them to keep coming back? That’s where most bar owners drop the ball. Discounts might feel like the move, but they’re quietly killing your margins and not building real loyalt...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 186
•
28:29
The 5-Minute Daily Habit for Restaurant Owners to Find Their Most Profitable Hours
You can have a packed dining room and still be bleeding money, and most owners don’t realize it until it hurts. The real problem isn’t that you’re not busy, it’s that you’re guessing which hours actually pay the bills instead of looking...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 185
•
10:41
.png)
Why Great Bars Still Go Broke with Bruce Nelson on Profit Pricing and Cost Mistakes
Think your bar’s doing okay just because you’re busy? Think again. A packed house means nothing if your menu is underpriced, your costs are off, and you're bleeding money in ways you don’t even see. In thi...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 184
•
35:39
.png)
How to Run a 20-Minute Competitor Price Audit to Maximize Your Bar's Profits
You’re probably undercharging your beers and overpricing your cocktails and not even realizing it.If your pricing is based on “what everyone else is doing,” you're not being strategic, you’re just gambling with your margins.This e...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 183
•
6:17
.png)
Party of Six - Crafting the Perfect Bar Ambiance: Lighting, Music, and More
And now, it's time for something different....The Bar Business Podcast has joined with industry experts to bring you a new panel podcast every month, Party of Six: The Pulse of Bars and Restaurants. I am joined by some amazin...
•
Season 99
•
Episode 1
•
57:14
.png)