Costs of starting a bew pub

A friend posed a question to me today - he wanted to know 'How much would it cost to start a brew pub'? The only answer I had for him was 'Alot'......

I took a rough guess and said about 1 million dollars - anyone have any idea ballbark how much it owuld cost to purchase and set up all the equiptment?

I know it is a very vague question just kinda wanted to start a little discussion on what is involved cause he sounded pretty serious on the idea.

Thanks!

Bar/Club Business Idea - Entrepreneur.com

The startup costs of a brewpub can be quite high--from $100,000 to $1 million--because of the brewing equipment you need to have. If you produce a popular beer, you have the opportunity to grow into a very successful operation.
Read more: Bar/Club Business Idea - Entrepreneur.com

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Going to depend a lot on location, licenses, how much work you need to build out the site, etc. But like you said and this article references, it will likely cost upwards of a million in many cases.

The Brewers Association's Guide to Starting Your Own Brewery, edited by Ray Daniels - Homebrewing Beer Resource for Beer Enthusiast

This book might help you and your friend.

The costs depend on what you want to do. Are you going to buy land and build from scratch? Are you going to rent and refurb? Are you going to serve a full menu or just bar food?

At Sandlot at Coors Field, we had a budget of $500,000.00 for the gear and build out. By opening day we had spent $800,000.00. That was just the brewing side.

At Rockyard Brewing Company, the budget was $250,000.00 for the brewery and $250,000.00 for the kitchen. That was for equipment and installation. Front of the house and the actual building were extra.

Both of those places used all new gear. You can find good deals on used equipment for both the brewery and kitchen.

Make sure you check with local and state authorities to make sure you can open a pub in your area. I would also suggest some contact with a consultant to speed up the process.