Tap room employees

[JDFargo]

I am trying to figure out how many employees I will need for our tempory tap room while we finish our full taproom. We will have a 40 seat room that will expand to 60 seats when the weather is nice. We are planning on being open Th, Fr and Sat for a total of about 20-25ish hours and are able to sell pints, growlers, swag and other offsale. We are also located close to a college that has about 14k students and we are also located close to downtown. Since we are the only brewery in town(which is about 180k with surrounding area) I know we will get our butts handed to us. I figure a minimum of 3 turns but a half dozen or more is likely. My business partner is conviced that we can staff it with volunteers from friends and family but I have worked in bars for years and I know we will be slammed. I am just trying to come up with a feasible number. I also prefer the idea of paid employees because I can rely on them much more. What have been your experiences?

Sköl!

[lhall]

Are you doing table service or just order at the bar? We have a similar setup but only take orders at the bar, and we usually have three bartenders and one barback collecting and washing glasses. On our busiest days we set up and staff a separate cashier for merchandise and tour ticket sales.

[ChesterBrew]

Paid employees will always be preferable to volunteers -- volunteers can be flighty in regards to schedule, and quite frankly, will make up for the fact they're not being paid by liberally helping themselves to both beer and merchandise.

As to the number, it depends in part on how your space is configured. Is merchandise going to be paid for at the bar or at a dedicated register? How large is the bar area? There's a point at which having multiple people is helpful, but depending on the space, you may find that people are continuously tripping over each other to get to the tap handles from various sides. I personally think one person at the register and one person at the tap handles is fine, but even 2 working the taps helps a lot. And, you definitely need at least 2 at any given time so that kegs can be switched out as needed.

As to frequency of turns... my experience working in a tasting room is that 1.5-2 hours per turn is what you can expect.

Cheers!

[JDFargo]

Thanks for the replies.

We are doing bar only service and the space is very open(it is out of shipping receiving area).

We figure since there is no other brewery in the area people will come in and taste, have a pint or two and then fill a growler. I guess I would rather be prepared and not get caught with my pants down.

Sköl!

[ChesterBrew]

Oh - one other thing - be sure to make sure your servers (volunteer or paid) are 100% in compliance with state laws regarding serving alcohol.

I work at a brewery in DE right now as I'm setting up my own place, and was required to go through mandatory server training to be able to do so. Here in MD, someone on-premises at all times has to go through a different mandatory training program. Requirements vary from state to state...

[Bainbridge]

Relying on volunteers probably a bad idea. One trained person with bar service experience can do the work of three confused, dysfunctional volunteers. And it'll show: in the form of long lines, dirty glassware everywhere, confused checks, skipped tabs, disgruntled customers, etc.. Also, there is a legal limit to what and how much you can do with unpaid workers, so check your state's regs. Helping out in a pinch? Ok. Long term? Who wants to work for free forever?

We try to always have at least two people in the brewery and taproom. Seats about 50 but we can have twice that if we're slammed. Open seven days a week. One or two very competent bartenders handling the taps depending on busy/slow times, and typically myself or someone else just being around in case kegs need changing, someone wants to talk to me about something, a distant friend shows up unannounced, glasses need collecting and washing, it's busy and we need a retail keg to go out, we're out of toilet paper, a faucet starts leaking or a draft line is misbehaving, there's some other kind of emergency, etc..

My opinion is that from a legal and, frankly, responsible employer perspective you don't want to find yourself with a lone staff member, accidentally and seriously hurt from slipping or lifting a keg or something, in front of a full taproom.

[einhorn]

Volunteers to come and sacrifice their weekend for the sake of pouring and serving beer? Pay peanuts, get monkeys.

[JDFargo]

Yeah this is what I figured. I would much rather have people that are paid simply because it creates a different relationship. When someone is helping on their own free time it is easier to become disgruntled and apathetic. Our servers have to be server trained which is a city offered course which we cover the cost of. I prefer to be in compliance with the law whenever possible.

Thanks for the info! Have a good weekend and Sköl!