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Opening a Kava Bar

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donkey_jaw

Newbie
Hey guys. New to kava but as someone who suffers from anxiety and stress, Kava appears to be one of the few "legal" ways to deal with it safely. The closest Kava Bar is a little over an hour from me. Long story short I'm interested in opening a Kava Bar as I see this is a great way for people to meet, hang out, enjoy the benefits of Kava. Im even considering going to the closet Kava Bar and doing something like a non-paid internship for a week or 2 so I can learn the basics, get a better understanding and know for sure if its the right path for me.

Can you guys provide any insight to opening a Kava Bar. I will be serving Kava of course, tea, coffee and smoothies. I will be opening the establishment in a city with several hundred thousand people. Do Kava Bars make decent money?
 
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Deleted User01

Opening a Kava bar is the same as opening a restaurant. You might look at the statistics to see the attrition rate for restaurants before you jump in. I'll bet you will be looking at a location where a restaurant recently closed. It 's a tough business. Kava is even tougher because you need the right mix of clientele. Near a college would be ideal in my opinion.
 
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donkey_jaw

Newbie
Thanks Deleted User01. It will be in a city center near 3/4 colleges. I'm way too familiar with the restaurant scene. I was in talks of opening my own but am done working in the food industry. I would offer prepackaged foods and fresh fruit of course.

Do you know of any profit margin of Kava Bars? For example a basic kava drink costs between $5-6. How much does that drink cost to make ( I'm talking about the cost of kava root), not the other expenses ( rent, employees, utilities etc)?
 
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Deleted User01

Ok, good to know that you already have experience and you are in a promising market (people with high IQs). I have no idea on the financial info. Perhaps Bula Kava House (who I though was around here a minute ago) could help you. Honestly, you need to see some financials and backed up by volume numbers. If only you could buy an existing kava bar then you could demand those numbers and then make an offer at half price. :LOL: I know, I'm being mean but it would be a good start. :sneaky:
In any event, good luck and good hunting.
 
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donkey_jaw

Newbie
Yes. The one I've visited in the past is what inspired me to open one. I would love to open one there but its not my style to steal someones idea in that location. I have just noticed that this website has a chat feature. Way cool.
 
Palmetto

Palmetto

Thank God!
I have only been to one kava bar, and it was a major letdown. Mostly teenage potheads as a clientele. The bartenders didn't know much about kava, despite it being predominantly marketed as a kava bar. They pushed K@ more than kava, and some other assorted things to ingest.

I think you might need multiple things to pull people in. Perhaps host alcoholics anonymous or anxiety sufferer meetings there.
 
Edward

Edward

Aluballin' in the UK
Kava Vendor
It might be better to style yourself as a cafe selling tea, coffee and snacks but have a kava menu. Once you get people in then you can talk to them about kava. I think it's a tough game to start selling kava in an area that hasn't already got a kava bar as no one will know about it. Imagine your second week trading after the initial interest dies down. You need to build long term relationships with people who will frequent you daily because they'd rather sink a few shells with you than go to the bar for a beer. Most people don't get kava due to the taste and reverse tolerance. I always say you have to need kava and then it will start to work for you. Convincing enough people to come in and buy kava on a daily or weekly basis isn't going to happen right off the bat so ease into it and try and bring in some revenue in other ways first. That's just my thoughts.
 
Krunkie McKrunkface

Krunkie McKrunkface

Kava Connoisseur
donkey_jaw said:
Thanks Deleted User01. It will be in a city center near 3/4 colleges. I'm way too familiar with the restaurant scene. I was in talks of opening my own but am done working in the food industry. I would offer prepackaged foods and fresh fruit of course.

Do you know of any profit margin of Kava Bars? For example a basic kava drink costs between $5-6. How much does that drink cost to make ( I'm talking about the cost of kava root), not the other expenses ( rent, employees, utilities etc)?
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My impression is that you sell a drink that costs you 50 - 60 cents to make for anywhere from $4 - $6, but still the margins end up being tight, unless the place becomes very popular. Or they sell kr@

The main functions of a kava bar are to provide a place for young and middle aged men with acoustic guitars to perform and to provide a place for young women with tattoos to go during the day that they can plausibly tell their parents is a "job" but unfortunately neither really helps your cash flow. My guess is you would have to have a critical mass of hip young people with money to make a go of it. There are some such places in this country and so they do OK. Some do very well, in fact.

But from what you are saying in your original message, it sounds more like you want to just be part of a great warm kava circle, rather than open a kava bar and make a go of it with the accompanying risk from hell and potential legal and financial nightmares. I think the key is to make sure exactly what it is you want before you go chasing it, but once you're sure, go after it with a ruthless, brave killer instinct and nail that sucka. Of course, that's probably true of most endeavours, especially starting a business and especially starting anything even remotely related to the hospitality industry.
 
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Deleted User01

Good point Krunkie. Kava could? be treated like alcohol which brings up the legal mess. I wonder if you got too krunked, could you be pulled over for DUI? Also, do you have to card the customers? So many gray areas. As I said earlier, BKH is doing well. Maybe a visit to them is in order. Judd is an old hand in the Kava Bar business and I'm sure he could give you some sage advice.
 
Krunkie McKrunkface

Krunkie McKrunkface

Kava Connoisseur
Deleted User01 said:
Good point Krunkie. Kava could? be treated like alcohol which brings up the legal mess. I wonder if you got too krunked, could you be pulled over for DUI? Also, do you have to card the customers? So many gray areas. As I said earlier, BKH is doing well. Maybe a visit to them is in order. Judd is an old hand in the Kava Bar business and I'm sure he could give you some sage advice.
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DWI, yes, driving while impaired. It doesn't matter what the substance is, it does not have to be alcohol. If you have consumed too much of some substance that impairs your driving abilities, yes, you can get a DWI. And you can get it while riding a bike.

I believe virtually all kava bars refuse to sell kava to anyone under 18, and most refuse to serve to anyone who visibly appears to have consumed alcohol and all strongly advise against any mixing of alcohol and kava on the same day.
 
violet

violet

Do all things with love
Krunkie McKrunkface said:
DWI, yes, driving while impaired. It doesn't matter what the substance is, it does not have to be alcohol. If you have consumed too much of some substance that impairs your driving abilities, yes, you can get a DWI. And you can get it while riding a bike.

I believe virtually all kava bars refuse to sell kava to anyone under 18, and most refuse to serve to anyone who visibly appears to have consumed alcohol and all strongly advise against any mixing of alcohol and kava on the same day.
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Echo this. I've witnessed someone given a DUI on a bicycle. DUI and DWI can be interchangeable in some places, separately distinguished in others. Bottom line is anything causing any type of effects that might be impairing (including lack of sleep) can be reason enough to be charged with DUI/DWI. I think this could have a lot to do with why minors aren't usually permitted to be served at kava bars.
 
Zaphod

Zaphod

Kava Lover
This question has come up several times over the years on the forum, but I am not aware of someone who has asked the question and then successfully went on to actually open a bar....maybe I am wrong. It would be worthwile to scan through those past threads because there was some really good advice about locations, and atmosphere for making a good kava bar successful. You might also want to check out this thread:
http://kavaforums.com/forum/threads/seems-like-local-regulations-keep-getting-it-wrong.12518/
To quote verticity:
"Yeah, my understanding from Judd at Bula Kava House and others who know about the FDA regulations is that that is in fact the letter of the Federal law: bars are technically not allowed to serve kava as a beverage because it is classified as a nutritional supplement. However, the degree of enforcement of that technicality varies widely in different locales."

Good luck in your venture - I know I wish I had a kava bar local to me to hang and imbibe with like minded folks.
 
kastom_lif

kastom_lif

Kava Lover
Henry said:
I think it's a good idea to start with a pop up or mobile version of a mini kava bar. This way you build a network of potential customers, learn the ropes etc without having to invest a lot of money
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A kava truck sounds like a good idea. You could target those "food truck nights" that are becoming popular in cities. Avoid getting stuck with a brick n mortar business that's in a bad location...just drive to where there are customers.
 
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