Take over a bar and turn it into a sports bar

Existing local customers plus sports fans you attract with game-day specials, viewing parties and league or team nights.

Drinks and food sales, boosted by busy match days, with regular league nights, group bookings and event hire filling quieter evenings.

• Customer service and managing a team
• Reading accounts and negotiating a deal
• Stock control and supplier management
• Promoting events locally and on social media

• Liquor licences may not transfer automatically, so confirm the process with your provincial regulator before committing
• Hidden problems with equipment, the lease or unpaid bills, so get legal and accounting advice
• Commercial TV and sports subscriptions that you must set up in your own business name
• Existing staff, reputation and customers that you will inherit, for better or worse
• Liquor liability and commercial general liability insurance
• Food permit and inspection requirements from the local public health unit, which may need updating for a new owner
• Quebec has French-language rules to check

Estimates typically run around $80,000 to $300,000 CAD, depending on the bar, the deal terms and the screens and changes you add. Your own figure will depend on what is already in place.

Confirm with your provincial regulator how the liquor licence transfers, as it may not be automatic. Check the lease, equipment and unpaid bills with legal and accounting advice, plus TV subscriptions in your name, insurance, food permits and Quebec French-language rules.

Monthly revenue is typically estimated at around $25,000 to $90,000, depending on the bar you take over and the crowds you attract. You also inherit existing staff, reputation and customers. Expect at least about 50 hours a week.