What are they philanthropists figures don't stack up, financial suicide...or just slop

I did not make any comment about 6 Euro meals.

I commented on coffee and sandwich for a ridiculously low price.

No S.O.H. huh ?
cheap coffee and sandwich, free tapas, brandy plus coffee 1euro on Benidorm prom, etc,etc....
All serve the same purpose, to pull the punters in, park their bums on the seats then get them spending more serious money.
None of them do it for charity, there's method in their madness.

In most cases even if a bar offers 'loss leaders' at silly prices, customers will go in for the offer, ie coffee and sandwich for 90 cents or 1 Euro brekkie, and that is as far as it goes.

Just because customers get a real cheap breakfast, it does not mean that they will go on to spend serious money in the place.

When spending more, most people don't want to be sitting next to people who are looking for rock bottom prices.

Not sure it works that way from my limited experience.
Bars/restaurants that look empty tend not to attract passing trade.

Most folk like to socialise, and are more often attacted to a bar that already has a reasonable number of punters inside, also the fact that the bar has quite a few punters inside suggests that it has much more going for it than an empty bar.

I believe that's the psychology behind loss leaders and IMHO it usually works quite well.

Maybe loss leader was a bad choice of words by me.

It is more apt for a supermarket or shop where there is not a limit set in spending,like in a bar.

The spend is then limited what one can eat or drink, and if a customer only has the 1euro breakfast each visit, they are consuming food that a loss is made on, on a regular basis.

Unlike a supermarket where customers are attracted by cheap beer, but also walk out with a trolley full of 'normal' priced goods, which will make up for the discount given on the loss leader.

You are right about about people not wanting to go to empty places to eat, but if a bar is full of people eating really cheap all day brekkies, they will not attract drinkers who would be having cocktails at 7 euros a pop.

My OH who has had dealings with 'hosteleria' for years, has always said that once a place starts with rock bottom prices, that actually lose money on dishes to bring in customers, they are on the way down.

It is a downward spiral, because once the cheap dishes become popular, the bigger the loss.

And in most cases the bars in question are usually closed within a couple of months.

All depends on circumstances and location.

I have seen bars with their 1 euro coffee plus brandy offer thriving over a period of several years in good locations in tourist areas.
The price, the happy crowd inside and to a certain extent location pull more punters in and many of them being holidaymakers settle in for a long session and in no time at all forget about sticking only to bargain offers and quickly get in the mood and let their hair down and very freely open up their wallets.

An empty bar attracts hardly anyone.
In contrast as soon as a touristy bar attracts bums onto the seats then things spiral and the punters go for whatever they fancy especially after the first two or three drinks.

Much the same applies with these 2 for 1 offers on the first drinks outside of discos etc.for the younger clientele.

Coffee and brandy and 2for 1may work for a short while, usually until other misguided owners give the same offer.

The 'cent chasers' will then have a choice as more and more bars will follow suit.

That is why there will be a row of bars with C and B for a euro, cheap brekkies or other offers, all back in the same position as before within a few weeks.

Only now they will be selling those items at a cheaper price, so making less profit, no profit, or even a loss.

ie looking to put ' bums on seats' as prices have been lowered all around, customers will choose where they enjoy being instead of being enticed by a lower price.

A level playing field once again.

That is until one bar decides to have a coffee and brandy offer at 90cents.

Instead of it being a case of 'there is method in their madness, it should be ' there is madness in their method.

We underestimate the havoc caused by the 2007 recession in Valencia. I live near to a large 'urbanisation', but now administered from the town hall, where local businesses have gone bust and never recovered. Looking round, they never will recover no matter what loss leaders or coffee and brandy for peanuts they employ.

They won't recover because the whole area, formerly reasonably wealthy, is now poverty stricken and people have little spending power left.

There's nowhere to put the blame, not even modelo 720 or ridiculous autonomo payments. Just the recession.

Totally agree

The fact remains that some of these bars do become established and successful over a considerable period of time and become meeting places for regular returning clientele which is one of the reasons they continue to thrive.
As I said location is important but also a good long standing relationship with PERMANENT staff helps a lot.

Others relying solely on their special offers and not taking other factors into account will obviously tend to fall by the wayside.