The bar
Best margin per item and the social heart of the club. Also the most expensive thing to keep open: staff, a premises licence, stock that goes off, and hours that never match when the courts and pitches are busy. A bar open Friday and Saturday evenings does nothing for Tuesday nets.
The club shop
Great when the pro or a volunteer is there. Useless when they are not, which at most clubs is most of the time. Stock ties up cash, and the person running it is usually the person you most need coaching or on committee.
The vending kiosk
Open every hour the building is. No staff, no licence, no cash. Lower margin per item than the bar, but it trades in the hours the bar and shop do not exist. With club software on the screen it also collects guest fees, match fees and bookings, which neither of the others does.
It does not replace the bar. The best set-up is a bar for the social hours and a kiosk for everything else.
How to decide
- 01Count the hours the building is open with nothing to buy. If it is more than half, a kiosk pays for itself on hours alone.
- 02Count the fees you collect by trust. If that is more than a few hundred pounds a season, the software matters more than the snacks.
- 03Ask who will restock. If the answer is a volunteer, choose a fully managed model.