Tap-N-Pour LLC

Raising 150000 for a start up self-serve tap house in my small rural hometown.

Tap-N-Pour is a start up self serve tap house dispensing beer, cider, wine and seltzer. This model reduces patron wait times for drinks and reduces labor needs increasing revenue and efficiency and a 20% increase in customer spending. I am new to the tap house business as an owner but have owned a street hot dog vending business in the past. I am well educated healthcare professional holding a doctorate degree who has years of experience in leadership and management as a facility director. This has involved hiring and staffing, budgeting, billing, coding, customer service, treatment, time and space management all that the business was profitable. Healthcare and food/beverage business are very similar in providing a service to please your customers and at the same time generating revenue that exceeds cost. I am a strong, dominant and driven woman who sets a goal, makes it happen and does what it takes to succeed. As a new entrepreneur diving into this business adventure scares me silly and excites me. Because I do not have a strong finance background, I have teamed up with the SBA for assistance in business classes and mentoring to improve my chances of success and growth. My vision is to grow and expand adding more facilities in other locations and to inspire other women.

This tap house will be unique to other bars in the area because consumers will be able self pour their own alcoholic beverage, deciding the quantity of beverage they would like to drink. Self-pour taps offer speed, convenience and a new and different experience for consumers. Consumers have the opportunity to sample a variety of alcoholic beverages with minimal risk or investment. Guests receive a pour card used to activate the tap and immediately be able to serve themselves as often as they want, without waiting for a drink and every ounce poured is ounce is tracked avoiding lost sales due to free samples or over-pours. They are more convenient because there is no waiting for a server or fighting trying to get to the bar to get a bartender’s attention. Customers simply walk up to the tap and pour their own beverage empowered via technology to control their beer-loving destinies. With this technology, each ounce poured is tracked and added to a tab. This concept is also a unique experience because of rotating flavors, producers, and product variety.

Mission Statement

· To create community by providing a friendly and welcoming unique hometown hang out place filled with fun, laughter and positive energy.

· To nourish a spirit of experimenting and tasting and inhibitions are left at the door.

· To create a culture of beer curiosity and tasting temptations allowing the new and experienced beer enthusiast to responsibly expand their beer palate.

· To strive to seek local beer, wine, spirits, ciders and seltzers to support local businesses and to be able to give back to the community where I was raised and to remain grateful to the community that supports us.

· To provide a place of learning with knowledgable and friendly staff.

· Welcoming- Family is important. Employees, customers and community will be treated like family- Enjoy your visit and make your self at home. Meet friends and make new ones. Strive to make customers feel important and valued every time they step through the door.

· Community- Embracing the community by giving back and utilize local products and goods whenever possible. Embrace the key components of hospitality and tolerance to facilitate public fellowship and build community.

· Responsibility- ensuring positive and responsible alcohol consumption and respect to local laws.

· Integrity- creating a pour house based on honesty, operating and making decisions with sound judgement and a sense of pride creating a social and work environment that is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. I am ethical in my decisions, respectful of others and demonstrate professionalism at all levels ensuring that I create a business that will make my family and community proud.

Vision
To develop a gathering placethat promotes and inspires individuals to create and enjoy unique shared experiences in their lives. A place that is full of laughter and chatter with clinking glasses full of cheer. A place that everyone feels at home and wants to come back again tomorrow. A place to create a tasting experience every visit.

Goals and Objectives

· To attract locals, social gatherers who are primarily motivated by environmental elements and the vibe, travelers, beer enthusiasts, new beer drinkers, large groups for work gatherings, and other large social events, and group drinking tours.

· To become Allegany and Cattaraugus county’s premier self-serve craft beer and wine taproom that offers high-quality local alcoholic beverages, food, games and customer service.

· Create value for our customers by solving the following problems: eliminating long wait times for a drink refill during peak hours, alleviating the pressure of leaving gratuity, cost and experiential restraints of having to commit to a full pint, fulfilling the growing trend of speed and delivery with our self-serve concept, and provide a local social gathering place to enjoy alcoholic beverages.

· Increase sales year after year by 10% by placing a strong emphasis on marketing analysis, industry analysis and trends, and integrating customer feedback with research and development.
· Increase advertising effectiveness by 7% from year one to year two; utilize social media and website metrics to increase effective delivery of brand campaign messaging.

· Increase brand recognition through direct market advertising and all social media outlets.

· Working in the tap room, cultivating a community environment amongst team members to encourage worker retention and have a reputation of a positive place to work.

· To exhibit gratitude and give back to the community.

Keys to Success

· Product quality: Tap -N-Pour believes in product quality through excellent customer service by training my staff on key elements such as the knowledge of the industry, attentiveness, integrity, and accountability. Tap-N-Pour staff will be provided with individual training and a written handbook identifying team member expectations. The staff will be provided education and resources to broaden their knowledge of the craft beer industry and the products being offered.

· Quality food: Tap-N-Pour will have a basic menu serving finger foods, individual style pizza, hot dogs and basic sandwiches that will appeal to a variety of tastes and budgets while complimenting the beverages being offered on the tap wall.

· Retail Merchandising: Tap-N-Pour will offer quality merchandise to patrons.

· Tap-N-Pour will maintain a strong focus on costs and operations by hiring quality management and staff who have a passion for the industry and our key principles, while utilizing automated computer control (PourMyBeer’s magic box)

· Investment in employees: Tap-N-Pour will pay its employees livable salaries and paid time off. This will help with employee retention and help create a reputation for being a good employer.

· Community Involvement: Tap-N-Pour plans to regularly donate to community events, fundraisers and charitable organizations, and host socials that will encourage and engage the community.

· Maintain a clean and spectacular visual design and open layout with mass appeal.

Location Analysis
Tap -N- Pour will be located in historical down town Cuba, NY at 18 W. Main St., a historical downtown building. Cuba is my home town with a small community that has a population of just over 3,000 people, located off interstate 86. The location boasts large store front windows in the heart of downtown surrounded by other retailers and the Palmer Opera House. Being located on Main Street in downtown creates a great opportunity to increase brand awareness through increased sales and allows the opportunity to build a long-lasting relationship in the community.

I chose Cuba, NY because of it’s recent growth of new businesses and an effort within the community to revitalize the downtown area. The Chamber of Commerce and the Village of Cuba have an economic development strategy for improving the business environment in Cuba to make it more business friendly to foster economic revitalization. Examples of this growth and revitalization includes the refurbishing and occupancy of various downtown business buildings and store fronts, renovations of the second floors of these buildings into higher end apartment living, the opening of a new dine-in restaurant, the continued growth and activities at the Palmer House; a historic entertainment and event center, and the continued growth, remodeling and renovations of Cuba Lake cottages. This location will allow for convenient parking and convenient access for people living in the community and the lake area, people visiting from neighboring towns and people visiting the local downtown business and attending downtown events. Cuba also boasts several points of interest and tourist attractions that include Amish farm goods, the attraction of boaters and anglers to Cuba Lake, Cuba Cheese Shop, Seneca Oil Spring, Empire City Farms, Main Street and South Street Historic Districts, the Genesee Valley Greenway Trail, Allegany County Antique Trail, Cuba Historical Museum, community festivals (i.e., Dairy Week, Garlic Festival, Alpaca Festival), private and public land that attract deer hunters, Maple Lane RV camp, and private camps. The downtown area also has a veteran’s club drinking establishment requiring a membership, dine in restaurant, coffee shop/cafe and breakfast/lunch diner. Cuba also has several other Veteran’s clubs located just at the edge of town, several restaurants located near Cuba Lake, a seasonal BBQ food establishment, two fast food business, and two convenience stores. Downtown area also supports several small business, a grocery store and chain merchandise stores.

The space is 2500 square feet offering the required space needed for operation allowing seating for 70 customers. Operation includes 30 tap PourMyBeer self-serve beverage wall, a small kitchen, combined storage and office space, open concept layout for communal-style seating at tables and counter tops, a lounge and shuffle board gaming area. The location will require completion of a 2nd bathroom and addition of kitchen and storage space. It will be handicap accessible from a ramp at the rear of the establishment. The initial lease term is 24 months on the property at a monthly rate of $1100. Evidence shows that a downtown location is also favored because brewpub volumes are positively associated with nearby clustering of other drinking establishments.[1] The budget will allow for completion of all components necessary. Construction cost planning is currently in development. Contact has been made with the township zoning, health department and engineer. I will work towards ensuring that the tap room is designed so that it will meet the standard requirements by the authorities and at the same time be a place that has an inviting and good-time vibe where a patron will have an “experience”. The establishment will be one that will be respectful of the residence living in the second floor housing avoiding late hours and excess noise, promoting a peaceful and non-threatening environment.

Business Environment
Tap-N-Pour will be a unique place in my home town that will promote a casual and friendly atmosphere. I grew up in Cuba and want to return to my roots, creating a place where I can share my love for craft beer and my love for socializing and hanging out with my friends. One of the reasons I chose Cuba was because I visit often and desire to go out with my friends for a drink but the only options are the veteran’s clubs that require a membership and only offer a small selection of non-craft beverage options. They often only have one bartender who is less than excited to provide excellent customer service. If there is a crowd, there is a long wait for service. Tap-N-Pour will stand out from other bars because it will feature an ever-changing array of craft beers, ciders, seltzers and wines on self-pour tap walls. Self pour alcohol will include local/regional craft beer, wine, cider, and seltzer. The variety of alcohol will satisfy most beer and wine enthusiasts. As Cuba is growing and revitalizing, the community would benefit from a more upscale drinking establishment to gather. I desire to create a new vibe in town as a gathering place for friends to network or to just hang out to socialize.My vision is to create a relaxed ambiance that offers customers a friendly social atmosphere where they can catch up with old friends, meet new ones and enjoy high quality crafted beverages. It will be a place where people can spend a lazy Saturday afternoon hanging out with the opportunity to learn about the beer and developing tastes for beers that they may never have had any other opportunities to try.

The establishment will maintain a clean and spectacular visual design with a historical vintage but eclectic flare and an open layout with “grandma’s” dining room and kitchen tables, a lounge area with couch and easy chairs, a high counter area for standing and communal-style seating to create a social atmosphere. A few televisions will be disbursed throughout the establishment, participation with Untappd, classic board games will be provided along with shuffleboard. Individuals are able to taste test as many craft beers and other beverages as they would like, while engaging with other customers and meeting new friends having a great time!

Fun will also be promoted by hosting theme nights and activities with so many possibilities to include acoustic guitar, music trivia, trivia, twister, cards, mug club/night, toga night, music bingo, paint night, art night, beer master - how to drink beer, food paring, speed dating, movie night, friend speed meet/greet, meet up group hosting, social club hosting, charity night, open mic night/ talent night, stand up comedy, tasting event, dance night/lessons, karaoke night, buy a friend a drink, wine/beer tasting event, pop-up catering, blind tasting -guess the beer, new beer- exclusive member tasting, green trail/hiking mile acknowledgement, business reward for attending a local business, pop-up craft brewer/wine promotion, D&D night, Magic the card game, treasure hunt bar crawl, events coordinated with other bars in surrounding areas, poker night, plant night, pre-game pep rally, fantasy league headquarters, celebrate national days such as May 4th-Star Wars day, April 1st -comedian, July 21st - hot dog day, Sept 19th- talk like a pirate day, Oktoberfest, open theater- be dramatic- promote a play- gallery night, Office day- that’s what she said- Sr. night specials, solid gold Sunday- bring your own vinyl and the list is endless but the vibe is fun and awesome!

Products and Services

· Local Crafted Beers- 21 taps frequently changing flavors

· Local Ciders - 3 taps frequently changing flavors

· Local Seltzers – 3 taps frequently changing flavors

· Local Wines – 3 taps (1 red, 1 white, 1 sweet) frequently changing flavors

· Non – alcoholic beverages in bottles or cans in self serve cooler with possible options of pop, ice tea, juice, and free water available

· Food- Keeping customers in your space and spending money is always a goal making all efforts to have happy, relatively sober (ish), and fed customers. Several food options being considered include initially will make available a very small, simple limited menu of finger/snack foods such as flat bread pizza, hotdogs and grilled cheese sandwiches with a flare, nachos, chicken fingers, mac & cheese, shepard’s pie, BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, Italian sausage sandwich and charcuterie boards with local products.

· Mug club

· Growlers

· Crowlers custom filled and pre-filled in self-serve cooler

· Four packs pre-filled in self serve cooler

· PourMyBeer Direct draw draft system

· Offer board games and shuffleboard table

Jobs/Business Structure

Five value characteristics to be part of the team

· Curiosity (knowledgeable, willing and eager to learn)

· Friendliness

· Excitement

· Compassionate

· Team player (jump right in)

As the business is getting started, one person will complete multiple positions. As business grows and booms, more staff will be added to ensure quality service and maintain a high level of customer satisfaction.

The Team

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) - Owner

· Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining staff.

· Creating, communicating, and implementing the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.

· Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals

· Responsible for providing direction for the business

· Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company

· Evaluates the success of the organization

· Carrying out staff induction for new team members

· Responsible for managing the daily activities in the tap room

· Ensure that the facility is in tip top shape and conducive enough to welcome customers

· Interfaces with vendors

· Attends to Customers complains and enquiries

· Prepares budget and reports for the organization

· Responsible for Training and Development in the organization

· Responsible for procuring of raw materials and equipment.

· Communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results

Receptionist/Greeter/Cashier

· Ensures that customers feel relaxed and at home

· Handle customers’ enquiries

· Assess customers’ needs and preferences and make recommendations

· Serve customers in a friendly and helpful manner.

· Determine when a customer has had too much alcohol and if required refusing any further serving on a polite way.

· Handle any other duty as assigned by the CEO

· Scan driver’s license, credit card, issue activation card

Manager

· This person will be the owner’s daughter who has 3 years of management experience at Sheetz to include food service and staff training. She will also be involved with marketing efforts utilizing her marketing and graphic design degree.

· Assist with menu planning and oversee kitchen duties

· Carrying out staff induction for new team members

· Responsible for managing the daily activities in the tap room

· Ensure that the facility is in tip top shape and conducive enough to welcome customers

· Ensures that customers feel relaxed and at home

· Handle customers inquiries

· Assess customers needs and preferences and make recommendations

· Serve customers in a friendly and helpful manner.

· Determine when a custom needs to be discontinued from consumption

Beer specialist

· Provide education in self pour process and assist at tap wall

· Interact with customers, take orders for drinks and snacks.

· Plan and present tap room menu.

· Check identification of the guest to make sure they meet age requirements for purchase of alcohol and tobacco products.

· Mix ingredients to prepare cocktails and other drinks.

· Prepare alcohol or non-alcohol beverages.

· Assess customers’ needs and preferences and make recommendations

· Make lists of supplies in conjunction with CEO

· Prepare inventory or purchase requisitions as needed to replenish supplies.

Bus/dishwasher/Cleaning

· Clean up after customers

· Wash glassware and utensils after each use.

· Maintain a clean working area by sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, cleaning of equipment and tables.

· Ensure that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock

· Handle any other duty as assigned by CEO

Cook/Chef

· A short order cook quickly and efficiently prepares food that is quick and easy to cook where the focus is on fast service and simple meals and is able to handle multiple tasks simultaneously.

· Keep food prep, counter tops, tables, sinks and work space areas clean following health department guidelines.

· Cook foods using various food cooking and prep equipment.

· Take orders, serve customer food to pick-up area.

· Responsible for ordering and stocking kitchen and food supplies.

· Planning and managing work orders to ensure all items of an order are finished and served at the same time.

· Rotating food, labeling, and dating food in the coolers as required by health department.

· Prepares ingredients ahead of time to speed up the food preparation process during business hours.

· Follows all health department guidelines for safe food handling.

· Monitors and keeps food temperature at prep and during service within an acceptable range.

· Monitors and records refrigerator and freezer temperatures.

Accountant (Contracted)

· Responsible for preparing financial reports and financial statements for the organization.

· Provides managements with financial analyses and accounting reports

· Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.

· Performs general ledger accounting, and financial reporting.

· Responsible for assisting in developing and managing financial systems and policies

· Ensuring compliance with taxation legislation.

· Serves as internal auditor for the company.

Inner Working

· Tap -N-Pour will be located in Cuba, NY. Hours of operation will be as follows: Monday and Thursday 12:00pm-7:00pm, Friday 3:00pm-10:00pm, Saturday 12:00pm-10:00pm and Sundays 12:00 pm – 8:00 pm.

· Searl Development will be constructing the tap wall build out design based on PourMyBeer specifications. The company will also construct the kitchen space, and subcontract the electrical work, flooring, and wall coverings. A price estimate has not been obtained at this early planning stage.

· Tap -N-Pour will be made up of 10 touch screen tablets from the PourMyBeer vendor, with each tablet offering three different kinds of beer, wine, seltzer or cider. This will offer our customers a variety of 30 different alcoholic beverages. The company completing beer line installations has not been secured in this early planning process. PourMyBeer will install the actual touch screen tablets (Magic Box).

· Tap -N-Pour will be a family friendly establishment that will provide board games, light food menu, and non-alcoholic beverages that will be offered in single serve containers.

· While our business model empowers our customers to pour their own beer, we will still have employee beer ambassador and hosts. These individuals will provide exceptional customer service by greeting each customer as they enter the establishment, and explaining to them how our self-serve technology works, while also educating and recommending beers to our customers. A strong emphasis on customer service and education will be implemented.

· Customer safety is monitored through limited pour sessions. Each customer is granted a 32-ounce pour session to begin and once they reach this limit, their beer card is deactivated. A friendly Responsible Alcohol Management Program (RAMP) certified employee then has to check on the customer to make sure that they are okay to continue taste testing. If so, the employee reactivates the customer’s beer card for another 32-ounce pour session. This interaction allows us to use the same discretion as abartender.

· Kitchen equipment will include stove, oven, small pizza oven, microwave, air fryer, refrigerator/freezer, sinks, dishwasher, ice maker and flat top grill.

External Resources

Tap -N-Pour will rely on working relationships with other companies for legal services, point of sale systems, accounting, marketing, pour house renovations, keg sales, tap and cooler installation, and Pour My Beer self-pour technology. Currently companies are being sought to develop a working relationship to complete these services.

Legal Environment

Tap-N-Pour is organized as a Limited Liability Company (LLC). Tap-N-Pour will be required to file for several permits and licenses. As the owner, I will pursue and meet all legal requirements. Assist will be sought from the hired lawyer once obtained. Procedures, permits and licenses include organized as a Limited Liability Company, Federal EIN, NYS liquor license (in the process), Health department license, village zoning permit, and village sign permit.

Financial Plan

Tap-N-Pour is projected to open May 25, 2023. Up until this point there will be no sales income. During the time prior to opening, efforts will be focused on brand development, name recognition, marketing, renovations, legal permits and licenses, staff training, capital purchases, establishing operational accounts for food and keg purchases.

Pricing Structure

The pricing structure used for projection is based on averages. In practice, prices will be based per product, ensuring markup is appropriate. All beverages poured will be measured and charged by the ounce. This is tracked by the PourMyBeer technology system (Magic Box). There will be a reduction in per ounce pricing for grab and go cans, crowlers and growlers. Revenue is anticipated to increase each month from opening. The expected opening date is for May 25, 2023, in time for Memorial weekend and to kick off the summer. Volume assumptions were generated from IPourIt pro-forma formulas based on their data collection from all of their locations. PourMyBeer’s direct competitor is IPourIt. IPourIt is also a self-serve beverage dispensing company that is a breakaway company from PourMyBeer. Both are using similar technology and business platform, competing in the same market, making their data collection relevant for PourMyBeer systems.

Assumed average pricing are as follows:

· Beer will average $.50/ounce

· Wine, seltzer and cider will average $1.08/ounce.

· Assumptions include the average check including beverage and food will be $32. It is also assumed based on industry metrics that draft beer sales are estimated to be at least 3.5 barrels/seat/year. This breaks down to 0.5-0.75 beers/person/hour on slower days and 1-1.25 beers/person/hour on busy days. Busy days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) would be considered 100% occupancy and slow days(Thursday and Monday) would mean 60% occupancy. The weekly average in .76 beer/person/hour. Sales depend on weighted serving sizes and by monthly traffic expectations below.

· 4-pack 12 oz - beer ($.42oz) - $20

· 4- pack 12 oz – seltzer / cider ($.52/oz) - $25

· Growler 64 oz – beer ($.44/oz) - $28

· Growler 64 oz – seltzer / cider ($.54/oz) - $35

· Crowler 32 oz - beer ($. 44/oz) - $14

· Crowler 32 oz – seltzer / cider ($.54/oz) - $18

| Sales | | Volume |
| | Food | $94,176.00 | 16.2%
| | Draft Beer | $432,000.00 | 74.1%
| | Wine/Seltzer/Cider | $38,880.00 | 6.7%
| | Growler/Crowler/Mug | $11,708.00 | 2.0%
| | Retail Merchandise | $6,000.00 | 1.0%
| Total Sales | | $582,764.00 | 100.0%
| | | |
| Cost of Goods | |
| | Food | $28,252.80 | 30.0%
| | Draft Beer | $86,400.00 | 20.0%
| | Wine/Seltzer/Cider | $7,776.00 | 20.0%
| | Growler/Crowler/Mug | $2,342.00 | 20.0%
| | Retail Merchandise | $3,000.00 | 50.0%
| Total Cost of Goods | $127,770.80 | 21.9%
| | | |
| Total Labor | $145,691.00 | 25.0%
| | | |
| | Prime Cost | $273,461.80 | 46.92%
| | Gross Margin | $309,302.20 | 53.08%
| | | |
| Total Other Variable Expenses | $116,552.80 | 20.00%
| | | |
| | Total Controllable Costs | $390,014.60 | 66.92%
| | Controllable Income | $192,749.40 | 33.08%
| | | |
| Fixed Expenses | |
| | Occupancy Costs (Lease) | $52,448.76 | 9.00%
| | Other | $40,793.48 | 7.00%
| Total Fixed Expenses | $93,242.24 | 16.00%
| | | |
| | EBITDA (Operating Income) | $99,507.16 | 17.08%

Projections are for 30 taps (21 taps for beer, 3 taps for wine, 3 taps for cider and 3 taps for seltzer). Based on IPourIt data, it is assumed that the volume from each tap will be 2500 ounces per tap per month. The data collected identified that 96% of the volume poured will be beer and 4% will be the combination of wine, seltzer and cider.

Projections show a 10% growth for the second fiscal year (FY24), a 10% growth into the third year (FY25). Projections show 10% increase in cost of goods.

Operating Expenses

· Rent and utilities - monthly rent, walk-in cooler refrigeration costs, electric, water, phone, internet, music and licensing, untapped fees and monthly POS charges.

· Salaries and wages – salaries for the owner and managers which will grow with the business, wages for the 2 part time people, accountant cost.

· Insurance – premiums for employee health insurance, business owner’s liquor liability insurance, and worker compensation

· Legal & accounting – recurring permit fees, accounting software, payroll processing, lawyer fees as needed.

· Maintenance & other expenses - This includes glass breakage, cleaning supplies, yearly replacement of hoses in the tap system, bar snacks, coasters, extra paper goods, and miscellaneous items.

Startup Expenses

Start up costs for Tap-N-Pour LLC include the following subgroups :

· Renovations (Construction)

· Equipment & Supplies

· Permits & Legal Fees

· Starting Inventory

· Operating Capital/Financial Cushion

Conclusion

The recent craft beer boom, as well as consumer taste changes favoring more fast and casual food and drink experiences, both lend themselves to making self-pour dispense model a market pleaser. With a strong emphasis on quality service and food, as well as operational maintenance, customers will get the best experience possible. And with the greater efficiency and lower product waste granted by self-pour technology, profit margins are likely to be high as well. We want to provide an ideal location for craft beer lovers and any customers wanting to have a fun and new experience, while bringing a new and fresh approach to the tried-and-true bar and pub model.

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Key Facts