How to Start a Beer Garden

You’ve seen the Oktoberfest celebrations – men and women wearing their lederhosen and dirndls, Bavarian pretzel in one hand and their bier stein in the other – and you want in. But to make an Oktoberfest as authentic as possible, you first need to know how to start a beer garden. It’s important to note, too, that beer gardens can be open for as long as the season is warm, generating an ongoing and additional revenue stream.

In this brief guide, you’ll learn the ins and outs of what a beer garden is, its profitability and how to create an atmosphere and menu that’ll have your customers licking their chops and yelling, “Cheers!”

What Is a Beer Garden?

A beer garden is like an outdoor restaurant patio in many ways. They’re both a space to soak up a little sunshine, breathe in some fresh air and spend quality time with family and friends while enjoying a few refreshments, but there are a few distinct differences.

Beer Gardens originated in the Bavarian region of Germany, whereas outdoor patios share no ties to any particular region or culture. Unlike outdoor patios, beer gardens typically serve traditional German fare, like pretzels, sausages, schnitzels, etc., and feature long, communal tables at which to eat. In this sense, beer gardens are exactly what they sound like: a social gathering centered around drinking a variety of craft and draft beers whilst surrounded by flora and fauna.

Do Beer Gardens Make Money?

Yes, like any bar, beer gardens can be extremely lucrative, especially with the right marketing strategy. Beer gardens often capitalize on a robust beer menu but also collect revenue with full menus, live entertainment, games and space rentals.

Selecting a Location

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of starting a beer garden is choosing a prime location with good weather and scenic views. The cost of renting or buying land should also be a major consideration along with the general layout, existing landscaping, seasonality and its immediate proximity to other restaurants, bars and shopping.

Landscaping, Design & Ambiance

Learn how to start a beer garden with attention to landscaping, design and ambiance to set your venue apart from the rest.

Trees and Foliage

An intrinsic part of setting up a beer garden is ensuring there is enough greenery to shade and shield merry-goers from the sun and traffic.

Naturally, landscaping can quickly rake up quite the bill if there’s a lot of planting, mulching and pruning to be done. However, you can skirt around this by investing in inexpensive, hearty plants, like boxwood, hydrangeas, lavender, juniper and holly, all of which are low maintenance and fast-growing.

Layout and Design

The design of any restaurant, bar or foodservice establishment should always work and flow in favor of the existing layout. Section the outdoor space with defined walkways to keep drinkers off the landscape and out of entertainment zones. There are plenty of building material options for this, such as gravel, stepping stones, wooden planks, bricks and cement, depending on budget and climate considerations.

Since this is a beer garden, you’ll want to place the bar in an area that’s clearly visible and accessible to patrons, allowing for enough space so that it won’t become subject to overcrowding or interfere with customers sitting nearby.

Seating and Placement

As previously mentioned, beer gardens originally housed long communal tables for patrons to enjoy the company of strangers but you don’t necessarily have to keep with tradition. The plus side of long tables is you can fit in more seating, and it encourages mingling and community. The downside, of course, is not everyone is receptive to this layout and would prefer private tables to enjoy their drinks with their immediate friends and family.

Decorations and Lighting

If your beer garden’s landscaping is mature and full, you don’t necessarily need a lot of decorations to distract the eye. However, consider if you want to cater to a nightlife crowd and string up some twinkle lights to invoke a cozy ambiance. It’ll also serve you well in early fall when natural lighting starts to recede, but weather still remains permissible.

Music and Entertainment

Consider booking a lineup that speaks to your audience. You don’t necessarily have to pay for live music, but even setting up a few hidden speakers can raise a crowd and create an amicable backdrop to any scene.

Crafting the Menu

Putting together a menu takes careful consideration, time and planning. Keep in mind a few of these beer garden menu ideas to help you get started:

• Offer a variety of options – You’ll want to appeal to a variety of taste buds and preferences to gather a larger crowd and keep them coming back for more. Don’t shy away from adding mixed drinks, wines, mocktails and non-alcoholic drinks to keep the non beer drinkers happy as well.


• Rotate the menu – It’s a sad reality, but there is a limit to how many beers you can reasonably keep on tap. Rotating the menu keeps beer in demand and sales high while fueling a sense of excitement and intrigue.


• Feature local breweries – Not only do people love to support their local businesses and keep their money within their communities, but it also creates a valuable marketing opportunity where limited geographical availability drives demand.


• Create complimentary food pairings – Alcohol tends to make people munchy, so having traditional beer garden fare, like pretzels, cheese and sausage platters, bratwurst and shareables on hand will only increase profits.

Licenses & Permits

Opening and operating any commercial business always comes with mountains of paperwork, documentation and legal formalities. Unfortunately, there’s no easy way around it. You’ll have to set aside the appropriate amount of time to research the exact licenses and permits you’ll need to start a beer garden in your state and municipality, as each one does it a little differently.

This list will give you a good idea of what you might need to research:

• Business permit


• Alcohol license


• Food service permit


• Zoning permit


• Signage permit


• Live entertainment permit


• Outdoor seating permit


• And more

Keep in mind some of these permits can cost anywhere from hundreds to several thousands of dollars. Moreover, certain local communities place a cap on the number of liquor licenses they allow in circulation at any given time, so be sure to research and attain the beer garden requirements before making any final decisions and with plenty of time to spare before opening day.

Marketing & Promotions

Learning how to start a beer garden won’t do you any good unless you get the word out that there’s drink to be had in a lively and outdoorsy setting. Fortunately, there are multiple avenues you can take to market your beer garden to increase brand visibility and awareness. Not only can you rely on email marketing, promotional materials and social media to spark intrigue, but you’ll want to pay special attention to location and landscaping to attract the odd passerby.