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from the volunteer-labor?-that'll-never-work dept.
Chicago-based "Geek Bar"-- where bartenders dress in labcoats and serve geek-themed drinks-- has been saved from financial ruin by a combination of crowdfunding by patrons, and a sizable personal loan. But The Chicago Reader asks, Geek Bar's fans rescue it from oblivion—but was it worth saving?
It sounds like a feel-good story, something inspired by the kind of movie sometimes screened at the ten-month-old bar. You know, the ones where the scrappy outcasts band together to save their beloved sanctuary from the clutches of evil. But former employees and volunteers now wonder if the bar was worth saving.
Nine and a half months after it first began slinging Cthulhu-themed cocktails, Geek Bar Beta still feels like an experiment, one that hasn't gone according to plan. Former employees say paychecks began bouncing last fall, soon after the bar opened.
The article tells a tale of a business that is obviously loved, but plagued by mismanagement, poor employee relationships, financial woes and an over-reliance on community support and free labor. What value does the "geek" label have, when the underlining business is unsustainable? What extraordinary value does the concept bring that justifies such extraordinary efforts to keep it afloat?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by zafiro17 on Thursday August 13 2015, @09:15AM
The funny thing about crowdsourcing and crowdfunding is that it allows deals to get exposure (and sometimes funding) that are inherently ridiculous. Say what you will about the business community, they earn their bread and butter by identifying deals that are likely to be sustainable and put their weight behind them. That is a generalisation of course, and the business world probably gets it wrong as often as it gets it right.
Glad this interesting thing got 'fixed' in the short term via community action and funding. But unless they fix what got them into the jam in the first place, they'll be back for more sooner rather than later (the Greek economy, same story).
Looks like, for a starter, you've got to fire management, write a decent business plan, and get on with it. Charm and curiosity alone don't a viable financial deal make.
Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why several of us died of tuberculosis - Jack Handey
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 13 2015, @10:36AM
Offer free drinks.
Replace the bartenders with robots.
Encourage generous donations to the tip jar.
Problem solved.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by scruffybeard on Thursday August 13 2015, @12:28PM
Based on the article, it sounds like this is only a short term band-aid. The owners seem consumed with growing this into some kind overnight national brand. They hired a director of business development to license their cocktails, meanwhile they are bouncing paychecks, and can't pay their employee's health benefits. The restaurant industry is brutal, with some of the highest failure rates for small businesses. I think they need to focus on building a small local bar. Rome wasn't built in a day!
(Score: 2) by bradley13 on Thursday August 13 2015, @01:20PM
Exactly. It's pretty obvious that they went into this with (a) unrealistic expectations and (b) far too little cash. Lots of it was originally funded by a kickstarter campaign, and they've never delivered the promised rewards. The design they wanted for the original bar didn't meet code for emergency exits, which they blame on the city, instead of on their failure to pay attention to regulations.
A nice enough idea, but apparently clueless (and underfunded) people trying to implement it. Anyway, Chicago?
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by The Archon V2.0 on Thursday August 13 2015, @02:08PM
> Lots of it was originally funded by a kickstarter campaign, and they've never delivered the promised rewards.
Yeah, that's enough to make me draw the line right there. I don't mind a few delays, but making new promises when you haven't fulfilled the OLD promises? Nope. At best, you're robbing Peter to pay Paul; at worst, you're robbing Peter AND Paul and running away with the money.
I had one of the KSes I gave a few bucks to years ago recently send out an update that said something like "We're still working on it. Come join our Patreon for more updates!" Really? Fool me once, shame on you....
> A nice enough idea, but apparently clueless (and underfunded) people trying to implement it.
The comment thread there already has one person accusing the "Fleet Admiral" (ew, how L. Ron Hubbardish) of mismanaging another thing called ArtsAppeal. Hmmm. If I had any horse in this race I'd be looking into that accusation pretty hard.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by M. Baranczak on Thursday August 13 2015, @02:14PM
(Score: 1) by Francis on Thursday August 13 2015, @11:47PM
This is one of the reasons to start out with a food cart or a small restaurant that can't hold more than a half dozen tables. The real costs of running a restaurant are the rent, salary and related, the actual food and things you sell are a small part of the bill.
Also, if you do it right, take out can be quite lucrative. Obviously, alcohol isn't going to be legal for take out in most areas, so that might be an issue, you have limited ability to use that to subsidize the other services.
(Score: 4, Informative) by M. Baranczak on Thursday August 13 2015, @01:42PM
(Score: 3, Interesting) by The Archon V2.0 on Thursday August 13 2015, @01:47PM
> The owners seem consumed with growing this into some kind overnight national brand.
Yeah, shame there was no previous bars catering to a similar demographic that had nationwide expansion plans. Because if such a brand existed, the closing (or never-opening) of all but the flagship bar would be a good sign that there's no market for it. It's tragic that they had absolutely no examples anywhere in the western world to look to.
On a completely unrelated note, did you guys see this awesome Wikipedia article? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mana_Bar [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2) by scruffybeard on Thursday August 13 2015, @02:51PM
An excellent example. I am not sure I would say there is no market for something like this, but given that it is a new(ish) concept, the owners need to focus all of there concentration on making the prototype successful. I think that it would be a minimum of 8 years before you could start growing a business like this. You have to find a balance between your fun concept and what will bring in a steady stream of customers.
(Score: 2) by The Archon V2.0 on Friday August 14 2015, @01:41PM
Yes, I was perhaps a bit rough in my wording. There might be a market for it but not substantially more than any theme bar. Certainly not enough to assume your ideas will catch on like wildfire.
The more I hear about the guy running this the more sure I am of one thing: If the market was as good as he thinks, he'd be out-competed by someone else anyway.