Singles Bar Business Plan

Colloquy Grog Shop sells the following:

• Eight microbrew beers on draft and in bottles: beer is served for two reasons.  One, alcohol reduces inhibition, making it easier for people to meet and interact. Two, draft beer generates wonderful profits.  Microbeers are chosen because they are of higher quality than large production beers and our target segment prefers them.
• Espresso, cappuccino, coffee, and other coffee/espresso drinks: coffee and coffee-related drinks are hugely popular, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.  Northwesterners expect good coffee/espresso at most food/drink establishments and it is often associated with good conversation.
• An assortment of different tapas: tapas are chosen because they can be relatively easy to make, the offerings can be changed frequently, and tapas are more community oriented, meaning they are designed for a table/multiple people to share.  This reinforces Colloquy Grog Shop mission of bringing new people together.

The service offerings are based on a system for singles to meet new people.  This is accomplished through a structured conversation system.  The Grog Shop is divided into two sections: a smaller section of tables for general customers, and another larger section for singles to come and meet new people.

The singles section is composed of 4-top tables (tables for seating for four). Each table will be marked with a topic of conversation in the center.  Throughout the evening as there is turnover of the table or the conversation is exhausted, the server will introduce a new topic. The topics are far reaching, some are recent news or sports, while others are intelectual, and some are philosophical.  The bulk of the topics will be of the latter varieties as people that are interested in meeting people through the conduit of conversation will typically prefer heavier stuff to provide more insight into that person.

If you ask a majority of single 25-45 year olds, most will say they have difficulty meeting new people.  Regular bars are not an ideal place to meet people because beyond their visual image, it is quite difficult to learn anything material about the person to determine if there are commonalities. The typical bar has loud music and is not geared up for serious conversation.

Colloquy Grog Shop creates a setting in a bar/coffee shop that encourages thoughtful conversation, allowing patrons to gain insight into the other singles.  The key to the conversation system is structure.  The rules are clearly established.  Singles sit down at specific tables and discuss the assigned topic of conversation. The conversation is used to elicit insight into the other person, their values and perspectives as well as implicit, and sometimes explicit, insight to their background and past. 

The structured conversation system is successful because it is reduces ambiguity or uncertainty in the singles social scene allowing people to feel more comfortable in the setting and open up more to the new people.  Additionally, for intellectually-minded people, it allows them to find people with similar interests, whether the similarity is based in the topic of conversation of more generally in conversation itself.