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Throughout the beloved series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, one recurring theme is the financial struggles of The Gang as they strive to keep Paddy’s Irish Pub operational. While Frank’s dubious business dealings often provide the necessary funds, it raises questions about the actual revenue generated by their bar. How much do they really take in from Paddy’s Pub?
It’s important to note that it’s unlikely anyone in the bar receives a salary, allowing us to exclude payroll from our revenue calculations. Frank is presumed to cover the bar’s rent, stock costs, and even some living expenses for The Gang, including his own, Charlie’s, and Sweet Dee’s apartments. Let’s explore how The Gang manages to keep Paddy’s Pub afloat and what revenue streams they might have.
The Menu
First, let’s examine what The Gang serves at Paddy’s Pub.
Interestingly, we rarely see patrons eating at the bar, typically opting for food from outside sources. Therefore, we can confidently conclude that Paddy’s serves primarily alcoholic beverages.
Given that Sweet Dee lacks bartending skills—evident when she quits in the episode “The Great Recession”—it’s safe to assume that cocktail offerings are minimal. Additionally, her disdain for wine drinkers, as shown in the episode “Paddy’s Pub: The Worst Bar in Philadelphia,” suggests that wine isn’t a regular menu item either.
This leads us to the conclusion that beer constitutes the primary beverage served. The Gang is depicted enjoying beer in nearly every episode, so it’s reasonable to assume that most customers do the same.
The price of beer typically varies from $2.50 to $10, but considering Paddy’s dive bar nature, we’ll estimate the average price at $5.
Calculating Customer Volume at Paddy’s Pub
To assess the number of customers Paddy’s Pub attracts in a month, we’ll reference the third season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, treating one season as representative of one month.
During this season, Paddy’s hosts three special events that significantly boost customer volume, which we’ll refer to as “Miracle Days.”
Paddy’s Pub has approximately 15-20 stools (we’ll estimate 20 for our calculations) and five booths, each seating four. This gives a maximum seating capacity of 40. However, as bars often have standing room, we estimate a maximum capacity of around 100 patrons.
Given that Paddy’s Pub isn’t packed every day, we can expect about three to five regulars hanging out daily (RIP Ernie).
Estimating Paying Customers Over 31 Days
Let’s evaluate a 31-day month, where business is relatively slow for the 28 days without events, relying heavily on those regulars for income.
Assuming there are four regulars per day, each consuming an average of five drinks, our calculations are as follows:
4 barflies x 5 beers x $5 per beer = $100 per day
$100 per day x 28 days = $2,800 for 28 days
Considering the Miracle Days
In Season 3, three distinct events increase customer footfall:
- “The Gang Solves the North Korea Situation,” where Paddy’s is the final stop on a Philadelphia Pub Crawl
- “Sweet Dee’s Dating a R****ded Person,” featuring a concert with Electric Dream Machine, Chemical Toilet, and special guest Lil’ Kev
- “The Gang Dances Their Asses Off,” where Charlie inadvertently puts Paddy’s up as a prize in a dance marathon
With a maximum capacity of 100, we estimate that the first two events draw in around 150 customers each, with additional foot traffic resulting in 50 more attendees. The dance marathon is expected to attract an extra 100 customers.
So, the total customer count for these three days is:
150 + 150 + 100 = 400 customers.
Adding in the regulars, we find:
400 + (4 barflies x 28 days) = 512 customers per month.
Average Customer Spending
Since we’ve established that beer is the primary offering, we’ll assume 80% of customers order beer on Miracle Days, with 15% opting for mixed drinks and 5% choosing wine.
With an average mixed drink cost of $8 and wine priced at $6, the calculations are:
80% of 400 customers = 320
320 x $5 = $1,600 from beer over three days.
15% of 400 customers = 60
60 x $8 = $480 from cocktails over three days.
5% of 400 customers = 20
20 x $6 = $120 from wine over three days.
Summing these figures gives us:
$1,600 + $480 + $120 = $2,800 from Miracle Days, leading to a total revenue of approximately $5,000 per month.
Annual Revenue Projections for Paddy’s Pub
Now that we’ve determined Paddy’s Pub generates about $5,000 monthly, multiplying this by 12 yields an annual revenue of:
$5,000 x 12 = $60,000 per year.
Including an estimated 15% for tips, we find that total annual revenue climbs to $69,000.
Calculating Profit Margins
With $69,000 in annual revenue, we can explore typical bar expenditures:
- Cost of goods sold (alcohol) typically ranges from 25% to 40% of revenues.
- We’ll exclude payroll from our calculations since Frank likely covers all costs.
- Rent is generally around 8% of revenues.
- Marketing expenses (e.g., Paddy’s Egg, Paddy’s Thong, and their billboard) are estimated at about 15% of revenues.
- For simplicity, we’ll omit tax considerations from this analysis.
Estimated Expenditures for Paddy’s Irish Pub:
30% of total revenue for cost of goods = $20,700
8% of total revenue for bar rent = $5,520
15% of total revenues for marketing = $10,350
Overall expenditures total approximately $36,570.
To calculate profit, we’ll subtract total expenditures from revenue:
$69,000 – $36,570 = annual profit of $32,430.
Conclusion: Thanks to Frank and His Mysterious Income
If Paddy’s Irish Pub were a real establishment, an annual revenue of $69,000 with a profit of $32,430 would pose challenges in their Philadelphia location. However, thanks to Frank’s enigmatic financial backing, The Gang continues to navigate their misadventures.
So, for The Gang at Paddy’s Irish Pub, we ask one final question—
Can we offer you an egg in these trying times?
Later, boners.
Author
Maddie Lloyd was a writer for the Zippia Advice blog focused on researching tips for interview, resume, and cover letter preparation. She's currently a graduate student at North Carolina State University's department of English concentrating in Film and Media Studies.
