Perhaps you’ve looked around the mile square on a weekend night and seen the throngs of people bustling into area restaurants and bars. For some, that look turns into an itch and you might think, “I could do that. How hard could it be to run a bar?"

The short answer: Very hard. The long answer: It’s not about packing the place, developing a concept, or having loyal clientele. Yes, all of that is important, but it’s crucial for a business owner to stay flexible, watch for trends, and always keep their head in the game.

Many try. Few succeed.

The uninitiated might think that owning a bar is all about free drinks and welcoming locals like a scene from Cheers. The reality is long hours, heavy competition, and endless maintenance.

To succeed in a market that is literally saturated with bars takes more than just hard work, or charm, or reputation. It takes a combination of factors. Namely, location, consistency, and brand. I spoke with three well-known entrepreneurs in town, David Carney of the Madison, Dave Jacey of the Black Bear, and Aidan Boyle of McSwiggan’s. You’ll hear their stories and perhaps be inspired to open your own place. The men run three very different establishments and by all accounts are considered successful. Yet they’ll tell you that thinking you are a success is the first sign of trouble.

An upscale eatery

Tucked on the corner of 14^th and Washington is the elegant Madison. Painted a presidential blue and festooned with seasonal plants, it looks like the perfect spot to enjoy a leisurely lunch. Hoboken may be filled with bars, but few have a busy lunch crowd. Not so for the Madison, which attracts businessmen and tourists alike. And it’s easy to see why walking in. It’s not just the friendly, attractive staff who greet guests after opening the door, the atmosphere is casually chic. White tablecloths are paired with earthy wood chairs, vintage black and white photos grace the walls drawing the eye up to the high ceiling, and specialty drink menus are written in script on mirrors behind the bar. It feels at once timeless and of the times with the mix of old and new.

On the afternoon I meet with David Carney, he enters the same front door, calling out greetings to staff and customers. He has an easy grin and dresses like many regulars do in a button down shirt and jeans. His idea for the Madison was to elevate the level of dining and service in town. Now open 10 years, the Madison is a staple for many in search of good food and drink.

“Fine dining in a casual atmosphere without it being stuffy,” said Carney. “Gastro-pub is the word they are all using now. I like to keep it simple. Good food. Good service.”

This born-and-raised Hobokenite learned all about the bar business by working in it. “I started bartending in what is now Sullivan’s,” he said, describing the years of experience in different places as a kind of college.

In 1998, he opened Ebbits Olde Bar and Grill and ran it for a year before selling it and buying the Madison with his wife Kristian Lyn Carney. While at Ebbits, he came up with the gem of an idea with his martini list. Then in 2000, he fleshed out the idea and it became a Tuesday night dubbed “Martini Madness.” This idea proved to be a trend – a trend with legs.

“We had an eight year run for martinis,” he said.

Daniel Dacey, a key staff member who has worked for Carney since the beginning, remembers the initial buzz it created. It was so busy on one of the first martini nights that David had to jump behind the bar to help out, Dacey says.

Branding a product, or a name, so it is easily recognizable is a goal of most businesses.

“I believe that the Madison has set the bar for branding the bar label,” he says. “In 2000, we worked at making it a household name.”

It is the little details that he thinks about – everything from the cocktail napkins with the Madison logo, to the custom paper to-go bags that sport a black and white photo of two chefs, to the presentation of the food.

He believes consistency is a cornerstone to success. That and caring about customers and staff. He has several loyal long-time staff members, many of which describe him as fair. Dacey goes further and says the Madison is the best bar he’s ever worked at.

But even with the elements of brand, good food and service in place, Carney believes for any business to succeed it takes a certain amount of timing and luck.

His advice? “You have to have a connection to the community,” he says. “I am born-and-raised here. I have a deep sense of pride about Hoboken.”

A sports bar

Located in the heart of Hoboken on busy Washington Street is the Black Bear, a well-known sports bar that has been open for 15 years. Visitors will first notice the life-size wooden Indian statue standing guard outside the front door. The look is rustic with sports memorabilia on the dark wooden walls and antlers of every kind perched near the ceiling. With two floors and over 50 TVs, the vibe is lively and punctuated with cheers from the crowd with the non-stop sports action. Most days or nights the smell of wings and burgers greets guests, as the kitchen is always busy at the Bear.

Dave Jacey, the man behind the magic, may not be known to all his customers by face. But some might wonder who the tall man is at the door or seamlessly slipping through the crowd on busy nights. The somewhat elusive Jacey is in, is out, but make no mistake – he always knows what is going on in his bar.

On the morning I meet up with him, he is juggling appointments and effortlessly giving instructions to his staff. He looks relaxed, but that’s perhaps only because he knows he’s prepared. His day began hours ago not unlike the business man who works 9 to 5. But unlike most day workers, Jacey’s day extends well into the night.

“I think the most important thing is planning,” says Jacey. “You work on customer service prior to an event.”

And while he works mostly behind-the-scenes now, he could tell you about the importance of being prepared. While he was in college, he began planning big events, which culminated in a party on the Intrepid for 5000 people.

After college, he worked on the commodities exchange to raise capital for his own bar. He first opened the Blue Star in 1993 and ran it for three years prior to opening the Black Bear.

In the early days of opening the Bear, it wasn’t unusual to find him scoping bars in Manhattan to see what worked or didn’t for a particular establishment.

“To stay on the cutting edge, we used to come up with the most innovative ideas we could think of and bring them to Hoboken,” he says. “We were the first one to really take a sports bar to the next level.”

“You are constantly tweaking,” he says. “You move things around, change the décor, keep up on the maintenance.”

As he’s talking, he breaks off to tell a manager to move a table, adding that they need to get a new larger one by the big screen.

“Am I hands on? Probably,” he laughs. “It’s a constant juggling act,” he explains. “You have to be willing to do what is necessary.”

His office speaks volumes about what that entails. The walls are lined with clipboards with pending projects including everything from scheduling, to menu planning, to events. Off to the side is a poster with the credo: “Success is getting up just one more time than you fall down.”

That may seem like an odd poster for a man who has run a prosperous business for over a decade, yet he believes it:

“The minute you say you’ve done it and sit back and say it runs itself – that is when you are in trouble,” he cautions. “You always have to stay on guard. Take a look down Washington Street – even just in the last year. Places come and go all the time. There is a 95 % failure rate for bars. The people that stay here are experienced bar owners.”

An Irish Pub

On the corner of Bloomfield stands McSwiggan’s Pub in the section of First Street that is unofficially dubbed “Irish Row.” If you’ve never been to Ireland, you might not recognize the authentic Guinness signs on the exterior, but it’s likely you’ll be drawn into the cozy pub. Delicate amber lights hang down from the ceiling, quietly illuminating the glossy mahogany finish of the long bar. French doors open up to a side outdoor café, and on cold nights the fireplace provides a cheery glow.

Yet chances are, you won’t notice much detail of the decor as the real gem of this establishment is the friendly staff and crowd. This neighborhood place is known as a meeting place for locals. And on many nights the man of the hour is often Aidan Boyle, who in true Irish fashion knows his regulars by name and makes his way around the bar to say hello.

If Aidan has a brand, it is his hospitality. It extends to staff, regulars, and friends.

While he is known for spending nights at the bar, some may not know what comes before.

“You are everything from a janitor to an accountant to a manager,” Boyle said. “If you get lucky, you get to be a bar owner at night. It’s not the two hours at night – it’s the 10 hours beforehand.”

He said that many people are drawn in by the fantasy of owning a bar. But he cautions that it is really about fixing a light or the toilet, getting supplies and running to Home Depot.

When Aidan first opened the bar in 1999, he ran security and his wife Audrey was behind the bar. Those days are behind him now, but not the hard work. Four years ago, the original McSwiggan’s caught on fire and had to be rebuilt. For months, he did construction on the new bar, working as fast as he could to get it reopen. He remembers the generosity of the town.

While people were generous to him, he is noted for his own. He often buys regulars drinks and takes staff to dinner during the holidays. This past year, instead of a party he paid for his entire staff to go to Florida for three days.

His success with McSwiggan’s might make one think it’s time to relax and reap the rewards. But he believes it is constant tinkering to keep a business viable.

“People like me are never satisfied. The minute you say you are done is when you are in trouble. There are places that come up with a concept, but don’t change. It’s change or die,” he said.

His advice to newcomers?

“Pick a theme; maybe change it a little bit. I’m a late night bar; I don’t try to have tablecloths. Don’t get too greedy. Don’t try to pack it in every breakfast, lunch and dinner. If you want to do breakfast, open a diner. Concentrate on what you want to do,” he said.

Comments on this story can be sent to: diana@hmag.com.