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Bar (establishment)

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Tourists sit outside a bar in Chiang Mai, Thailand
A Depression-era bar in Melrose, Louisiana.
A bar in Switzerland.

A bar is a business that sells alcoholic beverages for immediate on-premises consumption. Contrary to popular belief, there is no discernible difference between bars, pubs, and taverns.

Bars that are part of hotels may be known in some areas as long bars or hotel lounges.

The term "bar" is derived from the specialized counter on which drinks and is a synecdoche applied to the whole of the drinking establishment. The "back bar" or "gantry" is a (sometimes ornate) set of shelves of glasses and bottles behind that counter. Frequently when food is served elsewhere in the establishment, it may also be ordered and consumed at the bar.

Kinds of bars

A bar with topless female employees may be known as a topless bar in addition to other names incorporating mild profanity. A biker bar is a bar frequented by bikers. A sports bar is where sports fans go to watch games. A gay bar is frequented by gay men and/or women. A cop bar is a bar whose clientele includes many off-duty law enforcement agents. A singles bar is a place popular with unmarried people of both genders.

There are countless other types of bars as well as numerous permutations within the examples just given. In most cases, bars typically cater to a particular segment of the population whether they be locals, tourists, students, prostitutes and their clients, members of the leather subculture, office workers in a particular area, Irish-Americans, country music enthusiasts or whatever.

A bar can have a small area for dancing but it is not until this area is enlarged and becomes the primary focus that a bar is considered to be a nightclub or discothèque.

A bar owners and managers typically chose establishment names, decor, drink menus, lighting and other elements they can control so as to attract a certain clientele. However, bar operators have only limited influence over who patronizes their establishments and a bar envisioned for one demographic can become popular with another. For example, a gay bar might attract an increasingly-straight clientele over time and vice versa.

United States

In the United States, legal distinctions often exist between restaurants, bars, and even types of bars. These distinctions vary from state to state, and even among municipalities. Beer bars (sometimes called taverns or pubs) may be legally restricted to only selling beer or possibly wine, cider and other low-proof beverages. Liquor bars sell everything from beer to hard liquor.

Bars are sometimes exempt from smoking bans that restaurants are subject to, even if those restaurants have liquor licenses. The distinction between a restaurant that serves liquor and a bar is usually made by the percentage of revenue earned from selling liquor, although increasingly, smoking bans include bars too.

In most places, bars are prohibited from selling alcoholic beverages to go and this makes them clearly different from liquor stores. Some brewpubs and wineries can serve alcohol to go, but under the rules applied to a liquor store. In some areas, such as New Orleans and parts of Las Vegas, open containers of alcohol may be prepared to go. This kind of restriction is usually dependent on open container law. In Pennsylvania and Ohio, bars may sell six packs of beer "to-go" in original (sealed) containers by obtaining a take-out license.

Historically, the western United States featured saloons. Many saloons survive in the western United States, though their services and features have changed with the times. Newer establishments have been built in the saloon style to duplicate the feeling of the older establishments.

Many Irish or British themed "pubs" exist throughout North America.

United Kingdom/ Ireland

In the UK and Ireland, bars are either areas that serve alcoholic drinks within establishments such as hotels, restaurants, universities, or are a particular type of establishment which serves alcoholic drinks such as wine bars, "style bars", private membership only bars. However the main type of establishment selling alcohol for consumption on the premises is the public house or pub. Some bars are similar to nightclubs in that they feature loud music, subdued lighting, or operate a dress code and admissions policy and have bouncers at the entrance.

Australia

In Australia, traditionally the 'public bar' was where only men drank, while the 'lounge bar' or 'saloon bar' was where women or men could drink (i.e. mixed drinking). This distinction is not seen now as anti-discrimination legislation and women's rights activism has broken down the concept of a public drinking area accessible to only one sex. Where two bars still exist in the one establishment, one (that derived from the 'public bar') will be more downmarket while the other (deriving from the 'lounge bar') will be more upmarket. Over time, with the introduction of gaming machines into hotels, many 'lounge bars' have or are being converted into gaming rooms.

In the major Australian cities there is an immense and diverse bar scene with a range of ambiences, modes and styles catering for every echelon of cosmopolitan society. Melbourne maintains a strong hold of the up and coming drinking scene.

Italy

In Italy, a 'bar' is a place more similar to a Café, where people go during the morning or the afternoon, usually to take a coffee, a cappuccino, a hot chocolate and eat some kind of snack like pastries and sandwiches (panini or tramezzini). However, any kind of alcoholic beverages are served. Opening hours vary: some establishments are open since very early in the morning and close relatively early in the evening; others, especially if next to a theater or a cinema, may be open until late at night. In larger cities like Milan, Rome, Turin or Genoa, many larger bars are also restaurants and disco clubs. Many Italian bars have introduced a 'so called' "aperitivo" time in the evening: everyone who purchases an alcoholic drink then has free access to an usually abundant buffet of cold dishes like pasta salads, vegetables and various types of appetizers.

Spain

Bars in Spain are very common and form an important part in Spanish culture. In Spain it's common for towns to have multiple bars and it's also common to see two or more of them in the same street. Spanish bars are also known for freely serving snacks called tapas or pinchos. Due to a recent law being introduced, some bars ban smoking though their number is comparatively small with the bars that allow it. Bigger bars must have always a smoke-free zone.

Spain is the country with the highest ratio of bars/population with almost 6 bars per thousand inhabitants, that's 3 times UK's ratio and 4 times Germany's, and it alone has double the number of bars than the oldest of the 15-members of the European Union [1].

Elsewhere

In most cities of the world there is at least one Irish pub. Most major cities such as Brussels and New York City have more than twenty.

Bars range from down-and-dirty "dives" which are little more than a dark room with a counter and some bottles of liquor, to elegant places of entertainment for the elite.

Many bars set a happy hour to encourage off-peak patronage. Contrastingly, bars that fill to capacity typically implement a cover charge, often similar in price to one or two cocktails, during their peak hours. Such bars often feature entertainment, which may be a live band , a popular D.J., or a variety (female impersonation) show.

Additionally, the concepts of retrobars and lounge bars also exist.

Fictional bars

Several fictional bars have featured prominently in movies, including the following:

Several fictional bars have featured prominently in television series, including the following:

For more, see the List of fictional bars.

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bars.

See also

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