[swingdjted]

A lot of bars fail because they don't have non-alcohol reasons to be a patron or they don't have any income that isn't alcohol sales. This place has plenty of both. From a business standpoint, it's not the most profitable out there, but it's far more profitable than necessary to sustain itself. Many of the Sunday music festivals there have been "all-ages" where alcohol sales were restricted to after 10 p.m. and they still had the register constantly running.

As far as singing zip, you'd still be right for this bar though, not because of revenue, but because of the stress level involved with any successful restaurant and/or bar business. Lots of long hours and a lot of "hurry up and wait". You're doing tedious prepping while things are slow, which is boring, then suddenly the joint is packed far beyond capacity and you're trying to keep your head above water. Still, it's amazing how well they keep things moving while keeping the mood and energy people come to experience - I can't remember a time when someone seemed to become impatient there unless they were joking.

If you're just running a 'bar', the odds are indeed stacked against you. There's a lot of truth to what you said in a long lost thread about a bar being a place to meet up with people you wouldn't want in your living room. This place isn't really like that though. It's a nice tablecloth restaurant in half the floor and a live music club in the other half, with the kitchen and man-made jungle of sorts in-between. Most customers in the club don't even sit down at all while there unless they're eating - it's a big floor for hundreds of people with only maybe a dozen stools at the bar. More of a concert venue than an alcohol server, even though they do sell a lot of alcohol, but I'd be willing to bet they keep as much of the door money as they sell alcohol, while still having plenty to pay the performers.