Bar in Phnom Penh

[pe7e]

Don't laugh, I have a sensible reason for asking:nahnah: This is aimed at the Cambo experts,

Would you consider opening a disco bar in Phnom Penh as:

# might work if done well

# as stupid as opening one in Pattaya

# too crazy to think about

# potentially dangerous

[bibblies]

I'm no Cambo expert but I can't see that it's a bad idea, especially compared to Thailand. You'd have

- lower costs (I guess)

- less competition compared to the saturated Thai market

- tourism potential greater. Everyone knows Thailand already.

- government/officials just as corrupt/friendly/unfriendly (I guess)

[Sukhumvit]

PP has too many western run bars. Cheapish start up costs from $10-20k.

 

Unless you have some experience in the hospitality industry I'd avoid running a bar. Especially somewhere like PP where there's potenial to get yourself in a large pile of brown stuff.

[eee]

When I was there back in the late 90's there were only hand full of bars. Now I go to PP website and there are so many bars, mostly owned by Brits and Aussies me thinks. A good thing. Can anyone expand on the bar scene there? thanx eee

[Hugh_Hoy]

I kind of doubt if I'd be interested in opening such a place for the following reasons:

 

1. There is not a middle class or upper class of natives in sufficient numbers to sustain a following; the local Khmers who do have the money are often young trouble-makers.

 

2. Regular tourists aren't into "disco", though if they stay for a week, they might drop in once or twice;

 

3. Local expats are pretty-much "budget conscious" and have alternatives to finding senoritas; plus, they are usually too old to be dancing the night away

 

On the otherhand,if you can find a location inside of a reputable hotel, this might bring in the type of clientel you want and might offer you some "protection" from certain elements.

 

As you probably know, Martini is somewhat of a "disco" bar; is that what you are thinking about? It's obviously a money-maker. But who knows what the expenses are.

 

HH

[Sukhumvit]

Martini's a pretty big operation and would cost quite a lot to start. The quotes $10-20k is refitting a shophouse bar. Various western bar owners will happily share info on this.

 

Many hostess bars I visited had few or no customers and seven or eight girls sat around bored. Other non-hostess bars which were themed, eg an Irish bar or whatever, tended to attract low spending expats nursing drinks for as long as they could manage. Plus there's the drug issue. Some dickheads think it's cool to openly smoke drugs and saw one punch up where the western customer had to be reprimanded by the western bar manager for being a druggie and an arsehole.

[rookie]

Opening any bar...whether in Thailand or Cambo..rarely becomes a profitable business. Most do a break-even at best and are often 'hobby' bars.

 

As mentioned, PPenh may not be a place for a disco!

However...if you can afford to subsidize your place for some time, you might consider Sihanoukville. while 'Snooky' is also laden with marginally successful bars, the long term success _may_ be bright:

-The airport is now operational...and more tourists will be visiting the area.

-The road from KKong to PP & Snooky should be mostly completed late this year...and the road will also go all the way to the RVN.

-More upscale hotels are now being built to accommodate the anticipated tourist inflow.

[Old Hippie]

What is that old adage/joke? "what is the fastest way to become a millionaire in LOS?...start with 2 million and open a bar..." Yet some do make a go of it...the bigger places might do o.k. if managed right, the smaller beer bars only seem to make a local wage when the smoke clears...

[rob1074]

pe7e...I spend half my time in Cambodia (have a non bar related business there) and have been in nearly every bar in PP so feel qualified to give you an answer...

 

I think doing a basic bar would be tough. Disco - forget it. There are a few already and contrary to other writers opinions, there is quite a local monied class that frequent them. Some are huge (e.g. Sparky on Monivong) others smaller but very busy on the big nights (Thurs, Fri, sat) such as the Riverside (upstairs).

 

Tourism is increasing at a huge clip in PP. Even now in the middle of the wet season there are a lot of tourists around (much quieter than the peak season for sure but nothing like last year when it was absolutely dead). I think there is an opportunity for an up-market coffee shop that also serves liquor (think Paris). But I would stay away from a hole in the wall bar. If you can find a good location have much more than $20K then you could try to replicate something like Shanghai but it would be a tough road!

[Sukhumvit]

There are several upmarket coffee shops already. There's the joint under the FCC. There's the Mondulkiri Coffee Shop near Sorya Centre etc.

Whilst there is a substantial Khmer middle class, including a wealthy youth market, I think they prefer eating out at decent restaurants to just having a coffee. Over the Japanese Friendship Bridge there are tons of restaurants heaving with SUVs. That's the kind of shit they're into.

 

 

Local bars for sexpats and tourists can suffer badly offpeak. Dingo Bar has just closed for summer this week. Other bars near there are mostly empty many nights of the week. You have to be good to survive in the hospitality industry. (One bar is advertising that you can watch The Tour De France in there this week. Another place last week advertised that you could watch Wimbledon. Please. Guys. Wake fucking up. Any bar can put sport on the telly)

 

The Irish fella running Green Vespa was previously in the hospitality industry and he runs regular promotions. He advertises heavily and his bar is pretty popular. Having said that I've been in there and been the only/first customer for quite a while. He closed down for a while at the tail end of the high season/over Khmer New Year (when PP empties).