The Arc Pub - 3 months since opening

Tomorrow 'The Arc' will have been open for 3 months. It's been a huge learning curve for both myself and Jason, as neither of us had ever owned a bar before. Since our opening, a lot of what we've done has been a bit of trial and error, but it's noticeable to me that every week, things are running smoother and smoother.

We have received suggestions from people and whilst there are some things we can't do, like make the ladies toilets bigger or be closer to the U-bahn, there are other things we've managed to improve. For example, we had a bit of negative feedback about the quality of the air when it gets crowded. Well our extractor fans are working as of last week and it's certainly made a huge difference to the heat and the smokiness in the bar.

Anyway, what we were really after, was some feedback. A lot of you have now been and we'd like to know what you like or don't like about our bar, so that we can make improvements to ensure you have a good watering hole to come to.

Thanks a lot to TT so far for the support you've given us. Without you, it all would have been so much more difficult so far...

Cheers,
H

Bring back the jalepeno poppers!

Hazza,
buy some proper vinegar for your chips! The chips are good though, a weekly special on the menu would be good (shepherd's pie, steak and kidney pie, that sort of thing). What about getting that Australian pie bloke to do you a load to go with the rugby?
Cheers for actually showing Middlesborough matches, I might be the only person that appreciates that, but I do. I like being an old git sitting watching Boro on my own on the sofa ha ha.
Congrats on the three months
Katrina

I like it, and I think you're doing really well.

The U-Bahn problem is
- for wimps and
- easily solved by taking the 27 tram from Karlsplatz, only 2 minute walk from the Schellingstrasse stop

you could maybe hang up timetable in the entrance, I always forget when the tram goes and there's no shelter to wait there in winter..

Glad the air is improving. Had a really nice evening there on Saturday, all cosy and relaxed.

Keep up the good work!

i agree with the vinegar, timetable & what? there were poppers?!

Hazza think everything is running really well, you seem to take a sports request from TT and react to this very fast, the activities (e.g. Quiz night) seem to be working well.

Some times the service is a little slow, but anyway a GREAT JOB ! Keep up the good work.

Cheers to The Arc for staying open all night for the Bostonians to watch their beloved Red Sox win the world series.

And love those 'Baby Guinesses'!

Try working on running tabs for people.

Add a meal deal for sports games - 2 beers & a burger. A bit like a Happy Meal, just without the toy. Though a Toy would be nice as well!!

great idea! Or Air Miles!

My God, imagine how far the average TTer could fly on the beers consumed this year...

Hey haz-man,

Well, I love the place. Smokiness would be my concern too, but I am glad that it is being sorted out.

- As 3 Lions said, a meal-deal sounds like a great idea.
- Being a board games fan, it would be cool if you could stock up on some popular games. Of course, I have a chess bias.
- Train and timetable idea is really useful.
- Happy hour!

All the best man!
Cheers!
xargon

How about doing some home brewing ? Or are there laws (ofcouse there are) about this ?

I really enjoyed by cheeseburger with bacon and fries the other night! Lecker!!! But i agree with Katrina about the specials cos the menu, although very good, is not large, and specials that change frequently would keep the culinary experience fresh.

And on the wall opposite the big screen you need three TVs in a row so whe there is another rugby bonanza you canwatch them all without twisting your neck

I am not a fussy drinker, Helles will do me most of the time, so i can't comment on your selection of other stuff, but the Augie is good, and Newcie Brown makes a nice change, so you have everything i need on that front.

haven't eaten there in awhile, but is the food still served on paper plates? i took 2 non-TTers with me and they didn't like that at all. made the food seem cheaper than it was.

Yeah, have to agree with Elfenstar. I don't mind a burger and/or chips on a paper plate, but a salad and other stuff should be on a proper plate.

Get a PS2 to use on the big TV in the corner. With the big sofa, it'll be just like yer front room.

oh yeh,w hile we are on techno stuff, a Wireless Hotspot (with free access) would be good.

I'd get the X-Box behind the bar. You can charge people by the hour for it when there is no other sport on of course. Get Pro-evolution soccer(Apparantly thats the best one) and perhaps a couple of other sports games.

hazza, once you get all those other simpler suggestions down, you and Jason might think of investing something into the atmosphere of the pub. You have a great sorta layout, but the generic beer banners on the walls make the place seem a little too cheap, sports bar-like when it could be cozier and relaxing. I was disappointed you covered one of the wall paintings with the dart board, when it could have gone on the adjacent, blank wall. This is a very girl thing to think about, I know, but one of the things I like best about Kilian's is it feels cozy. Unfortunately, I've no detailed suggestions on this front.

hazza, i like what you guys have got running. the air quality is very good even when full as last weekend, which i find comfortable. as i never order food i can't coment on that, although the scraps that have been thrown too me on various occasions have been good, nothing over the top solid beer balast. i think the selection of sports is good and when it comes to giving people what they request on what screen you guys are flexibility in person. i'm a guy so decoration is something my wife talks about(she likes the place too cider junkie that she is), but maybe you should leave it as it is and let i grow organicley you know flags and momentoes from you punters favourite teams. what has narked me once and a couple of peolpe more often is the speed of service, being under stafed on sports days or having to cope with massive food and drinks orders at the same time is a proplem which i'm sure you guys will get in grip. maybe a timetable of ifferent sports shown would be good, ie six nations, heineken cup matches etc.
my tupence worth, what time is the england-sa game tomorrow?

Small thing, but I'd really appreciate some coat hangers! Easy to get, simple to install - just go for it. I hate crumpling my jacket on a seat.

Other than that, in those 3 months I believe you've made more out of the place than anybody else could have done.

Running tabs...put it on the beer mats...works well. Hate having to pay after each order.

I agree. Running a Tab is great, but mark it on a beer mat. The old O'Reilys way of just telling you how much you had drunk at the end of an evening always left you feeling robbed because it was always more beers than you could remember drinking. Tabs don't work when it's mobbed though, cause people get mullered and walk out or lose there beer mat.

I like the place. Better than I expected. Well done... Selection of darts would be good !

Thanks everyone for your comments.

It's nice to get some feedback and some ideas. Because of our complete lack of experience before we started this, it's sometimes hard to know what we're doing right or wrong. Feedback (especially on areas we can improve on) are really appreciated in helping us stay on the right path.

Just to respond to a few of the points so far:

1. Jalepeno Poppers are unfortunately very expensive to buy. We basically dropped them in favour of spring rolls for the time being. We're also a bit short on freezer space. We'll probably buy another one soon(ish) and then we'll be able to add some more variety on what we can offer.

2. Food specials. It's a good idea, and something we may introduce with time.

3. Service speed - It's hard to know how many staff to have on all the time. We've had dead nights where we've had 3 people standing around doing nothing. Other times, we've been flat out with 1 person. This is definitely something we'll develop more of a feel for when we get more experience.

4. Home Brew - Not something we're going to go for. Do you really want to drink my half-arsed attempts at making beer instead of Augustiner?

5. Paper plates - We've started serving salad on real plates and fried food in baskets. The only thing we still serve on paper plates is the burgers. We may well replace them at some point.

6. PS2 & Wireless LAN - something for us to look into definitely.

7. Decorations - This is something I've thought about but had no ideas for. I'm a crap decorator and have no real idea what might be good. If anybody does have any thoughts on what we can do, then I would appreciate some ideas for us to work on.

8. Coat Hangers - excellent idea with winter basically already here. I'll get onto that next week.

9. England v SA kicks off at 3:30pm

Thanks for your ideas and suggestions so far. Keep 'em coming. Even after this thread dies, you all know I'm on TT a lot and if you ever have any suggestions or comments you can PM me with them.

Cheers,
H

Oh - I forgot about the Tabs.

We've tried a few things here and at the moment we'll keep tabs only if it's really quiet or if we know you well. If it's too busy, tabs become awkward - If a group at a table is too large then it's easy to lose an overview of who's drinking what and people tend to move around a bit. People who move don't always take their beer-mats with them either...

We lost a bit of money already because tabs weren't settled properly - If anyone has a good suggestion as to how to keep tabs and still be sure that everyone will pay then please let me know...

haz-man,

Happy hour for hard-core alcoholics like me

Cheers!
Xargon

I also forgot to mention vinegar...What vinegar is best? I don't really like it, so I don't know.

Xargon - we have happy hours already, as well as regular drink specials. Check the menu.

Sarson's malt vinegar. 9 out 10 bags of UK chips can't be wrong.
You'll have to try expat shops or get 3 Lions or someone to bring you it back in a van. Get a catering pack and some small shakers and you should be fine.
Katrina

Dark 'n red color scheme (I pimp this always).

Skin-implanted RFID chips for tracking bar tabs

sorry, I don't have any useful suggestions :\

vinegar : sarson's malt vinegar (but don't knwo if you can get it here). Certainly has to be malt, the dark stuff (check out GM'S maybe? )

I'd say the bar itself and the area behind it could do with a bit of decoration..
Probably just me but it seems a bit unfinished.. Maybe some glass racks over the top?

I'm confused...how do other bars manage tabs? Surely they aren't all losing money...or maybe they are?! I thought the beer mat thing was brilliant.

It's a real trust thing, that people are just not going to leave without paying for their beers.

That's why they do not do this in Britain, nobody trusts us !

Bars that have designated waiter's/waitresses can do it more easily. They get a dedicated section and look after it. They usually also expect you to pay up if you move around.

Having 1 or 2 people working from mainly behind the bar makes it tough to keep an overview. Perhaps it's just that we've had a few unusually large groups who like to move around and all leave at different times - but we have yet to come up with and effective system.

We're heading more towards a policy of only serving at the bar. It's something we already do when it's too busy.

But to be fair, we haven't tried the beer-mat way. We could give it a go and see if it works for us.

I would serve only at the bar, then people know the rules and don't complain when they're expecting you to serve them (like, when is it "quiet" and "busy..who defines this? confusing.) And nowhere in the Arc is more than 10 paces away from the bar, it's hardly a big deal!

Then, at the bar, people can write down their name and get a proper tab. If you just do this with people you know, surely it would be fine? the old KISS trick...

I wouldn't do beer mats at the Arc as people wander around, and certain naughty, naughty people have beer mat fights (not to mention sexually frustrated TTers tearing theirs to shreds..)

as for decorating, I'll have a think. You could play with the lighting, for example...

Yeah I guess serving at the bar is the best way to deal with it. Then no one is trying to flag down a server or fumbling for change to pay for the one beer they had every time they order.

And here I was getting so spoiled having my beer brought right to me. Oh well that's what husbands are for.

(very much kidding)

Firstly congrats, you're doing a hell of a lot right and as can be read from the above posts, very little less right!

Agree on the vinegar, malt is the way to go.

I mentioned somewhere to hang coats to Jason on Saturday coz that is something that defo needs addressing.

Tram timetable is a good idea, last time I forgot to check beforehand and just missed one and had walked to Stachus before the next one passed.

As a customer I like the pay as you go system and am more than happy to pay for drink and food before I consume them. And I'm happy to go the bar too. Then you're forced to test whether you can still walk or not

How about a jukebox? Is that shunned in the pubs over here? Some Stooges, Prince, Metallica, Johnny Cash, Television, etc. sometimes can make a good mix.

As far as I am concerned, any pub that plays the Aussie Rules Grand Final live is a good pub, even if it is only once a year.

I agree that marking the drinks consumed on the beer-mat seems to work well in most pubs here, but as most of your clientelle are foreigners, you might get problems where people aren't used to it and forget to keep hold of their mats.

Chilli-poppers would also get my vote, if you can manage it.

Meat pies too!

Homebrew would be pretty silly in Munich, especially when you have Augustiner.
(BTW am I the only one who thinks that the Augustiner in Kilians/Ned Kelly's tastes watered down?)

Anyway, I wish you lots of success.

Of course it's a matter of taste, but personally I'm not terribly happy with the music that is played.

1. The quality of the sound system isn't that great – could be b/c you're playing mp3s instead of CDs, but the sound definitely could be improved.

2. The titles played don't come across as an appropriate variety for a night out in a pub, compared to e.g. Kilians or Murphy's.

This is just my personal perception of course, but it's much easier to relax when there's enjoyable music playing on a class sound system in the background. If need be, get a new amp and speakers and perhaps a pro to set it up for you – probably worth the investment b/c it adds to the ambiance and will make customers feel more comfy.

serving at the bar has the advantage that you'll force people to be more sociable, i personaly much prefer to have a quick banter with an unknown at the bar for a minute or two while i wait for my drink, than sit at a table constantly looking around like an over excited mongoose for the next passing waiter.although i do like beer mat fights...

We looked into a jukebox and decided against it.

The music system we use is left over from Leon's. The amp and speakers are a good quality though I'd like to get another couple of speakers in the back section. Could be that the quality is just not right because we play mp3's, but it's the easiest format to manage by far. Choice of music is also ever-expanding and changing. We need to get a hold of the music before we can download and play it. I own a lot of music that's just unsuitable for a bar. But the music selection will continue to grow over time...

Harry, you can get a large improvement f quality if you re-rip your CDs in a less lossy format, or higher bitrate MP3s even. If you are running out of harddisk space, you can always get a bigger disk or external disks to add on.
The good thing about using ripped music is that you can have such a big and good selection.

The only real gripe I had was with the cheap ketchup, but you changed over to Heinz quite a while ago. Proper vineger would be nice I guess, but I don't really use it much myself (I only eat it with fish and chips). I could bring you back 3 or 4 bottles from the UK after xmas if you like, but if you want bulk you're probably going to have to find someone driving a van.

I don't mind paying at the bar (unless I'm stuck behind a long table and need to ask half a dozen people to move so that I can get out), but I'm not so fond of paying separately for each drink. Fortunately I don't seem to have a problem getting a tab (likely because the staff know me), so it's not really an issue for me, but if you're having trouble with people leaving without paying you could try doing what they do in the UK - let people start a tab by placing their credit card behind the bar. Of course the only trouble with that is that not many people here have credit cards...

The best pub sound system that I know of would have to be at the Schwabinger 7 (Feilitzstr. 7). I haven't been a regular there like I used to be for a few years now, so I can't vouch for the music that they play these days. Basically they have lots of very big speakers, considering the room size.

Although I wouldn't suggest for a moment that you copy that style (different type of pub, different clientelle), I still think big speakers are a must. There is nothing worse than the low quality background noise that comes out of the speakers at a place like Murphy's for example.

As long as you don't play the music too loud. I hate it when I go to a pub to chat to some mates, and the music is so loud we have to yell at each other.

Then you can 'skim' the magnetic strip on the card and empty their accounts too - should help make the place go round financially.

Boy am I glad UK pubs didn't have that rule when I was a student!!

agree with AM that music shouldn't be too loud

Is it rude to ask if the concept works financially? Feel free not to answer - was just wondering how you felt 3 months on comparing it to more 'normal' work. keep up the good work - I might even pop in for the first time this weekend to see Wales

If you have a clearer system you can play it a bit louder, but people can still hear each other as it is not so noisy. The worst is when the music just adds to the noise levels, but you can't really hear it properly. Some pubs are more for music and some for talking, but with a clearer system you can at least find a happier middle ground.

@boomtown Hope you're not disappointed. Wales is too far away and far to small to be seen from The Arc. Sorry, couldn't resist.

For sport viewing on the other hand, the selection and flexibility is excellent. Keep it up guys. See you tomorrow.

I think tabs are a lousy idea. I think getting drinks at the bar is a fine idea.

Tabs are bad because at the end of the night you are often left wondering, "Did I really drink 12 Weissbier or did they get my tab mixed up with someone else?" I don't mind paying as I go, although I do need to be reminded sometimes, because I do get a tab other times. As The Arc isn't that big, going to the bar isn't a huge task, but you have to be prepared for a big rush when there's a break during a high-profile match. Last thing anyone wants to do is spend 10 minutes waiting for a drink instead of watching the second half of a game.

cheers Jeeves! Yes it has become harder to see recently since the EU officially wiped it from the map