What do you need to open a bar?

Here's all it takes to open a bar. From the right location to the Declaration of Start of Business, here you will find all the information to open a bar.

If you are reading this article, you are probably looking for clear information on what it takes to open a bar. Don't worry; you're in the right place! Here you will find all the information and advice you will need.

Opening a bar is an activity that, if managed correctly, can give you a lot of satisfaction. If you still haven't thought about it, stop for a few moments and try to understand what kind of bar you want to open:

Evaluate the competition. What will your bar offer again? Consider which bars are nearby, what they offer (but above all what they don't offer). What will your bar have that other bars don't have? How do you differentiate yourself?

Evaluate your customers. Will you be the point of reference for workers who stop for breakfast before running away to work? Or a meeting place for young people looking for a trendy place for an aperitif? Will your bar be a meeting place for families on Sunday morning?

In a nutshell, before getting to the heart of all the documentation you need to open a bar, try to offer what no other bar in the area can offer.

By law, bars are defined as “sales premises for consumption on the spot “. As you already know, the licenses governing free competition have been abolished for some years: Municipalities can no longer decide the number of bars and restaurants that can be opened in the area, with some exceptions that generally concern the historic centers of the most important cities of art.

The rules provided by law on what is needed to open a bar concern the structure and location of the room (intended use, square meters, compliance with certain urban and building characteristics) and possession of the requirements for the exercise of the activity of administration of food and drink. That said; let's see, from a practical point of view, what it takes to open a bar.

Open a Bar: Moral and Professional Requirements

Let's start with the personal and professional requirements needed to open a bar:

be 18 years old
have attended compulsory school (from 6 to 16 years)

The law requires possession of even one of the following requirements to open a bar:

he graduated from a hotel establishment or have attended a professional course for trade in the product sector
have attended a SAB (Food and Beverage Administration) course
have carried out, for at least two years in the last five years, the activity of wholesale or retail sales of food products, or have worked, for at least two years in the last five years, in a company in the food sector, as employees qualified for the sale, preparation or administration of food products
Have been registered and never deleted in the old REC register (Register of Business Operators), which no longer exists today, for one of the product groups identified

You will have to self-certify the requirements you have and keep all the documentation in the bar.

Among the professional requirements needed to open a bar, it will be necessary to have an HACCP certificate. HACCP means analysis of the risk points and their control: as the owner of the bar you will have to deal with food and you will have to focus on what are the foods, preparations or procedures that could constitute, for your customers, a risk of food poisoning.

Open a Bar: the Local Requirements

Let's now pass to the requirements that the chosen venue must have. What do you need to open a with Bar License? Surely having a local in accordance with and therefore perfectly in order in terms of licenses and requirements imposed by local legislation (Municipal or Regional). This applies even if you have chosen to open an existing bar: check the adequacy of the premises, and in general that everything is in order, it will save you from future hitches.

As we have just said, the urban and building requirements that are needed to open a bar can change from region to region (but also from municipality to municipality). In general, the premises intended for the bar must:

Have a commercial use. The intended use defines the type of use that can be made of a space: home, office, commercial operation
respect the landscape and historical constraints provided by the municipality – in the presence of historical monuments, scenic spots, parks or gardens, for example, the municipality may prevent you from opening a bar
comply with the regulations on workplace safety (emergency exits, presence of windows, fair relationship between the administration area and the preparation area …)
comply with hygiene regulations – by requesting a Health Notification from the ASL Office closest to the bar

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Remember! If, very likely, you want to sell alcohol or spirits, among the certifications used to open a bar you will need to request a specific license from the Customs Agency.

And the sign ? Before starting the advertisement, the manager of the bar must present to the municipality the declaration of the advertising media used showing the surface and graphics of the sign. The same operation must be done in case of variation of an existing sign.

Open a Bar: The Declaration of Start of Business

We are almost there: you are in compliance with the professional requirements and with the requirements of the place that you will need to open a bar. Now let's analyze what it takes to be in good standing with your municipality.

Have you heard of SCIA before? SCIA is the Certified Start of Business Report. This is a document to be sent to the (Single Desk for Productive Activities) of the municipality where you will open the bar. The SCIA must be submitted before the start of the activity and must be completed in reference to regional laws: we therefore recommend that you contact a technician or a municipality to understand what it takes to open a bar in your region. There may be extra documents to fill in or specific rules to follow depending on the region, municipality and area where you want to open a bar.

In general, for SCIA, you will need to have on hand: