Pat Light

Pat Light

To Open or Not to Open: A question I never thought I would ask myself.

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Pat Light
May 27, 2025
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Most people think the hardest part of running a bar is managing staff, or dealing with late-night customers, or maybe even handling the liquor license.

But here’s the real challenge:

What do you do when you know opening might actually lose you money?

Memorial Day Weekend is one of the slowest weekends of the year in Hoboken, NJ.
Everyone’s down the shore or out in the Hamptons. The city empties out.

We’re not talking about a slight dip in sales — we’re talking about a 75% nosedive.

So here’s the question I asked myself this year:
If Saturday is down 75%, do I really open Sunday and risk being down 90%?
Do I spend more on labor than I’ll make back?
Do I open just to “chip away” at rent, or does that logic fall apart when the place is a ghost town?

This year, I made a call.
And the result has me rethinking everything.


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