1954 Practical Bar Management by Eddie Clarke

PRACTICAL BAR MANAGEMENT

Bar then the room should have everything in harmony,a d6cor of red and green, furnishings in keeping, with tall back-to-back settees and window boards complete with flower boxes. Careful thought must therefore be given to every detail, bearing foremostin mind thatthe decor chosen will not date or deteriorate and that after a time it will not drive the customers to distraction. It must never be allowed to become dull or shabby. A Cocktail Bar must always be intriguing, up to date, fresh and clean. Ventilation Referring now to the planning of a room, and the different factors in their respective order,the matter of ventilation demands a high priority. The bar is always the most crowded area of any establishment, and although natural ventilation may be provided by window openings,it is not always adequate to deal with tobacco fumes and the concentration of used air produced from the many people gathered together in its limited space, therefore it is always advisable to install some mechanical means to deal satis factorily with this problem. A constant supply offresh air to preserve the cleanliness of the atmosphere is an absolute necessity to business; the public of to-day are much more fresh-air conscious than they were in the past. Nobody cares to stay long in a confined space, breathing in heavily-laden, smoky, bad air—^it is depressing and eventually becomes unbearable. Needless to say the ideal apparatus for a bar is an air-condition ing plant. It diflfers from natural ventilation inasmuch as it deals mainly with the treatment of the air and not so much with its movement. With air-conditioning the air is cleaned and the temperature is controlled at a suitable level, so that inside the room it remains the same at all times no matter what external conditions may be like. During the summer the air in the bar will be clean and cool, in the winter clean and warm. Heating Speaking of winter reminds us that the colder days of this season greatly outnumber those of summer,impressing on us the urgent need of artificial heating. Apartfrom the personality ofthe bartender, the Cocktail Bar itself should always give a"warm

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