The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1886-11-05
THE RETAil LIQUOR BUSINESS.


THE RETAIL LIQUOR BUSINESS.
a Brooklyn saloon-Kecper says that
the Days when There was Big
Money In II Have Passed.
THE days when big money was
made In the retail liquor business have
asssd. said : saloon keeper to .
Byooklyn Eagle reporter. while he
quaffed : glass Of amber-colored liquid
In his place Of business near the city
hall. s.Ths statement seems highly
improbable, but yet it is true. When I
say thers isn't tho money in the busi-
ness there used to be ] have reference
to the liquor stores which have been
established within two or three years.
Show mo saloon which has been started
within that time that is making money.
You can't do it. You always thought
that the retail liquor business paid?
So did until recently. / have been
running this store for over year. but
my daily receipts have averaged less
than $25. That is no money for sa-
loon in q neighborhood where rents are
high and where drinkers congregate.
I will tell you why this saloon doesn't
pay the profits it should. In the first
place, I'm not well known in the neigh
borhood. and that is every thing in sa-
loon-keeper. have not been establish
ed long enough to attract customers
away from their fayorite drinking plac-
es."
;'Do all men prfer to do their drink
ing in the same saloonp''
II have found it so. A certain class
of morose. uncompanionable men don t
care where they drink, or the quality
OF rum they pour down their throats,
but the large majority of drinking men
are attracted by the surroundings Of q
place. One man likes a certain bar
tender; another, the fitting of . saloon,
and still another enjoys the society he
meets there. The popularity OF man
greatly depends on how much business
he will do. In saloons situated near
the bridge and Fulton ferry the per-
sonality of a man makes but little
difference in the amount of trade he
does. His saloon is patronized simply
because it is handy. His customers
would not cross tine street to drink at
his bar, because they know neither the
man nor they are not particularly
charmed with his place. 1t is the
quiet, well established, and out-of-the-
liquor stores which pay. Brooklynites
doing business in New York are there
educated to appreciate $4,000 paint
ings in bar-rooms, and when they go
out in the evening for drink they like
to take their nip surrounded by the same
evidences of luxury which they find in
their own homes. The rude and sim
pie drinking places, with their hard
wooden benches. which were in vogue
in the old Dutch inns of the early set
tiers. are not appreciated by the pres
ent generation. Tho age calls for
extravaganza in the shape of high
" decorated bars. cut glass de-
canters, and elegant decorations.
The total amount paid by Brooklyn
chop-house and saloon keepers for
pictures alone foots up nearly $50, GOO.
Nowadays all the daily and weekly pa
pers must be furnished to customers
and. in fact every inducement held out
to attract the trade of the fastidious.
a little over a year ago a vacant store
next to an old established saloon in
Brooklyn was hired by liquor-dealer.
1 who opened . gorgeous place. He did
everything to attract custom, but last
week was sold out by the sheriff. In
stead of losing any of its patrons the
old saloon gained many new ones.
Drinkers nowadays love old associa-
tions. and stick close to the saloon
which pleases their eye and taste. My
, advice to young men about to start in
the liquor business is-don't.
'.Do you intimate that all men who
engage in the liquor business in new
locality fail?''
As general thing, yes For years
past any one who by some daredevil
act or prowess has gained an hour OF
notoriety opens place. but while his
success at first may be marked. it is
not lasting. Within year or two
Brooklyn pagilIsts, one pedestrian. and
two ward politicians have given up the
liquor business rs Improbable. While
there is not quite SO much money in
carrying hod as in tending bar or in
owning liquor store, the first employ
ment Is, think, more honorable.