Ever dreamt of opening a bar, pool hall, or restaurant and living the hospitality dream? In this episode of What’s On Fire with Matty Smokes, Matt sits down with longtime friend and former boss Brad Turner, who left IT sales to open an upscale billiard lounge and bar in Island Park, New York.

Brad breaks down the real side of restaurant and bar startups: negotiating leases, dealing with zoning and building departments, navigating permits, and suddenly taking on double the square footage when the upstairs lease lands in his lap. He talks candidly about the “hidden killers” of hospitality; rent, payroll, workers’ comp, and liability insurance and how a single trip-and-fall incident sent his insurance bill from $5K to $30K a year.

They dive into staffing, minimum wage increases, burnout, bar fights, biker events, private parties, food cooked out of a convection oven, and the constant need to pivot and adapt when new competitors and trends show up. Brad shares hard-earned advice for aspiring restaurant operators and bar owners: get hands-on experience, involve your family, build leagues and community, and understand your numbers before you sign a lease.

If you’re thinking about opening a restaurant, bar, or pool hall, or you’re already in the chaos of hospitality operations, this conversation is a masterclass in what really happens after the doors open.