It seems we're on the same wavelength about how a joint should be set up. If I'm going to move west then I'll be missing the culture of the east coast so I'll have to make some of my own. A college town would be an ideal location for what I'm thinking. The first thought was along the lines of a Viennese coffee house where artists and intellectuals could hang out. A place where liquor is served but it is not a bar in the traditional sense. Then I got to thinking to expand it to fill multiple functions. I figure a split with a bar and "reading room" decorated with liberty themes and 1984 posters and such. Then there would be an adjoining seated dining room where musicians can play blues, folk, jazz, etc. College kids might be good for fairly talented but cheap entertainment along these lines. This room would also double as an art gallery. As for the food I don't want to hire a chef so I thought gourmet sandwiches and light Mexican stuff like nachos and burritos, etc. could be served as well as some fancy deserts. My brother is sick of Florida so I figure I could get him to operate the place on a daily basis which would free me to do my artwork and conduct my other businesses and ventures.
Hopefully a project I'm currently working on will pay off enough so I can open this cafe as well as build a house I designed for myself. One of the draw backs to building has been I never knew where to build it. I knew it wouldn't be here in Jersey but didn't know where to settle. The FSP will fix that problem.
I also suspect that you'll have a goodly number of Porcupines who miss such venues from their old surroundings, as well as the locals who find the idea a welcome change and breath of fresh air. Whether the numbers of regulars will be enough for your success is of course a crapshoot, but not an unreasonable one.
If it wasn't for the FSP project location requirement, I know of a great little place that needs a good guiding touch, and it sounds like what you have in mind would be just about right.
Read this, then this.
-archy-/-