Say you run a bar about 15 minutes from a college campus. Would you want (of age) college students coming to your bar?

Um, if they pay, and don’t destroy the place, yes. Absolutely, yes.

Well, what are the other opportunities for customers here? More information needed.

Business is business. In the end you are there to make a living. So, yes, I guess I wouldn’t mind. Don’t mind me asking but why would you turn down the oportunity? Are there downsides to having students in your bar? Or is it simply a matter of catering to a different kind of crowd?

Richard: Drink? Meet people? Maybe dance? I don’t know, what else do you do at a bar?

Inoffensive: I don’t own a bar, just doing some marketing research for a few that generally attract more of the post-graduate young professionals crowd, though there may be a huge untapped market of college students from the nearby (15 min) big giant state-university.

That’s certainly a niche. Although college students are a difficult target demographic. Hard to reach and they don’t make for very loyal costumers either. Unless you’re Apple.

Honestly, no. I mean, yeah, business is business and I’d be happy for the business, but I’d rather cater to an older crowd. I’d be forever worried about fake IDs and paranoid about making sure every one was checked. Especially since I’d probably want to make myself familiar with numerous state IDs. Plus I’d want to build up some regulars that stay for years—much harder with the college crowd.

Of course, this might be why I don’t run a bar.

Thanks for the quick responses, guys! I really appreciate it. Some of the objections are really good info for me. Keep them coming!

I’d say no, because that demographic is fickle and somewhat transient; also your business would drop dramatically in the summer months. EP is correct about the id’s too. Additionally, if you do cater to that crowd, you rule out most others as not many older people want to hang with the college kids.

No, the college students would hate me, inspecting every ID carefully and comparing pictures to make sure that the ID isn’t fake. They don’t typically pay well, if they even pay at all, and they are a bigger demographic for bar fights, and likely to bring the police to your business. That’s one kind of business that’s not good business!

Everyone is bringing up some great points. All opinions are welcome.

SUB QUESTION: How would you feel about graduate students and not undergrads?

I think you either cater to a college crowd or not. You really can’t specify or determine if only one group will frequent your establishment, can you?

You can never really tell the age/graduating status of a college student, because you can’t really trust a partying college student at a bar’s answer.

Oh yeah… keep forgetting about those IDs. In my country we can legally drink when we’re 18 so didn’t even tought of that.

I think your either a college bar or your not. Especially if your in the New York area, you need to watch out for chalking ID’s and always making sure that everyone inside are really of age. Plus college aged kids aren’t known to be the best tippers, so while your trying to keep yourself covered to be the college bar, you might be in trouble with busts for underage drinkers.

depends on the vibe you want at your place.

@NYstateOfMind88: I mean; what other type of customers could you draw in based on your location? It would depend on what type of place you’re wanting to create, and whether or not you have enough of a customer base in that group to make it financially feasible.

15 minutes away from campus might be too far to be a university bar. I’m thinking “bar” in terms of big screen TVs, lots of imported beers and microbrews, signature sandwiches or pizza, great snack food, like homemade pretzels and beer cheese, live music in the back room, maybe a pool table or two.

Coming from the view of a college student: our money is money! If you establish your place as a place that is a stickler for IDs, generally, the underage students will avoid your place for cheaper, more lenient places (underage people are more likely to get 40’s from the deli close to their place). This is especially true in NYC… I’m a NYC college student!

When I was in college, the idea of going 15 minutes from campus to get to a bar? Pshyeah-NOT! Not happening. There were plenty of pubs that were willing to take out the (I’m sure) much, much higher insurance to maintain business on campus. There were a lot of frats and sororities at my school whose members went out to campus bars. Try going up 1st Avenue in the upper 80s-90s on a Thursday. What you’ll see there replicates rather well the situation at my school.

Also, my school had its own beer pub in the main student union, where it was dead simple to get an of-age upperclassman to buy a couple of cheap pitchers for you, and no one checked IDs.

How could you stop them, and how would you know if they were students or not?

Well, at my uni there was a bar near the library on campus… We all just went there, that way we didn’t have to drive anywhere.. It’s easier to walk..

So you’ll probably find that if you are 15 minutes away, it wouldn’t attract too many students.. So you really shouldn’t worry in my opinion..

I think the important thing is to think of the alternative. If you don’t have the students, will you be packed with good clientele anyway or will you be empty? Obviously any business is good business, what you don’t want is a rowdy bunch driving the other customers away, especially if the rowdy ones don’t have a lot to spend.

I once had a similar problem with soldiers. We couldn’t turn them away, but we deliberately delayed their orders as much as possible and eventually they got the hint and avoided the place.

Regarding attracting students from 15 minutes away: in my University, the students are constantly going downtown or to various trendy neighborhoods to barhop. Now, it is true that I know mostly graduate students, so perhaps there is a market there.

However, from what I’m told, most of the graduate students have secret drinking problems, so, as a kind of social thing, I would discourage you from trying to attract them. Also, a significant portion of crime happens withing one to two blocks of a bar (patrons get drunk, and are no longer in the brightly lit areas).

As a drinking establishment, you’ll get to know the police well. You may also get to know the local version of the mob well. You may have to pay protection money. You’ll be a target for stick-ups and theft. Maybe there’s another business you could profitably get into?

What about an alumni focused venue? The 15 minute distance would be close enough to be nostalgic, but far enough to not have to deal with campus parking, etc. You didn’t give an indication of the venue building, but if it’s in a strip mall setting you would not be able to create a student bar in that type of space; it would be fine for an alumni hang-out.

daloon: As explained, I am not opening a bar. But thanks for the advice anyway.

@NYstateOfMind88: you plural, not you in specific. Although, that raises the interesting question of whether the market researcher should advise the clients to get out of their proposed business or business strategy.

college students spend the most money at a bar

its inevitable

college+bar= good business

but youll have to get good bouncers. ive seen my fair share of fake ids.

If I were to open a bar near a college campus it would be with the college students in mind. Having been in the bar business, I can tell you, with good bouncers (and security in general) and some good entertainment, the bar makes money, the students have fun, and a splendid time is had by all. Add a little grill, with free buffet at happy hour, game day and game time specials; the marketing potential is enourmous.

You could make the bar mainly attractive and affordable for graduate students and professional workers, but also make it very tempting and interesting for students to come by. so that they will not be able (from an economic point of view- prices, prices) to take over the place. That way – you catch both birds, though you will get less students.