Life's a beach for Rick Olson.

As the owner of The Beach on Front Street, and a stakeholder in Club 40, Blue Juice and Tuscany Restaurant, Mr. Olson knows the ins and outs of Bermuda's bar culture.

And business is booming.

Mr. Olson came to Bermuda in 1984 and worked in one of the Island's banks for ten years before becoming part owner of the Robin Hood Pub and Restaurant in the early 1990's with partner Gary Shepherd.

Having married a Bermudian and having worked part time in some of the Island's bars while still at the bank, Mr. Olson felt he had much to offer Bermuda's nightlife.

After four-and-a-half years at the Robin Hood, Mr. Olson sold his stake to Mr. Shepherd, who still runs the pub, and bought M.R. Onions with Phil Talbot.

Not one to settle in, he sold his share to Mr. Talbot, who still runs M.R. Onions, and bought The Beach six years ago which was at the time being used as a retail space.

Ever the energetic entrepreneur, Mr. Olson jumped at the chance to open a Front Street establishment saying that such opportunities were very rare several years ago.

Mr. Olson explained: "I had always had the idea of opening a place like The Beach and always wanted to be on Front Street."

He said the concept was to create a place that was fun for both locals and visitors and said neither Robin Hood nor M.R. Onions had enjoyed such a mix.

"This is probably the most integrated bar in Bermuda," said Mr. Olson, who added: "One of the reasons I like to work here is the fact that there are lots of different types of people."

Life has not always been a beach though. Mr. Olson appeared before the liquor licensing authority seven times before finally being granted permission for a licence.

Mr. Olson was given several reasons for being refused but personally felt that the authorities simply did not want a ground level bar on Front Street.

However, Mr. Olson persevered and says the bar's business has increased 20 percent a year since opening and added: "This year has been our most fantastic."

The Beach is home to several of the Island's controversial gaming machines which Government says will be banned by June 30, 2004.

Mr. Olson said the gaming machines were extremely profitable but he tried to separate the machines from the bar where he tries to create a fun, social atmosphere.

Mr. Olson also owns several gaming machines in different bars but said the machines contribute only minimally to the alcohol revenues as those who play the machines are typically not drinkers and are usually older, between 40 and 65 years old.

However, Mr. Olson says the regular bar clientele are younger, between 20 and 35 years old.

Mr. Olson also believes that gaming machines were currently keeping about six of the Island's bars open and said he would drastically limit The Beach's opening hours if gaming machines were banned.

Currently the bar is open 365 days a year until 3 a.m.

So why is The Beach so popular? Mr. Olson explains: "Being a small place makes it more friendly, especially when business is slow."

DJ's play every night in the slower winter months and live bands play during the summer season.

Adapting to change is another key aspect of the bar's success and Mr. Olson says he learns something new every year.

The impact of September 11 was minimal for the bar and although there was a drop in business for a week, Mr. Olson said: "After that, business has not been better,"

Problems Mr. Olson encounters are common to all establishments selling alcohol - in particular, violence.

"We started noticing that we were losing the nice people from the bars," said Mr. Olson, who said females were noticeably absent due to being hassled by over aggressive males.

He said three or four years ago there was no need for door security at the bar, whereas he now has a bouncer every night of the week and two on the weekends. Club 40 requires up to eight bouncers on the weekends to control the unruly element.

"This helped improve the business as it made people feel much more comfortable," he said.

Mr. Olson feels Government is doing all they can to help the local musicians through the Hotel Concessions Act, which requires that in exchange for alcohol duty relief, the money saved must be spent on local entertainers, but said: "Unfortunately, local people don't want to see local entertainment."

He said the visitors enjoyed the local entertainment but most places that are open all year cater mainly to locals.

He said 85 percent of his business was from locals, and this was probably true at Blue Juice and Tuscanys also, although Club 40 relied a little more on visitors.

Mr. Olson said he is interested to see how the Corporation of Hamilton develops the City. He criticised the one hour parking scheme, reasoning that people visiting town cannot eat or shop in less than an hour and suggested that people be allowed to park for two hours.

He said the restrictions inconvenienced many people and said he got 20 parking tickets last year. "Now I have a bike," he added.

The short term parking means that people visiting the city need to find long term parking at Bulls Head or on the outskirts of the City which makes Front Street less busy.

And hustle and bustle is exactly what Mr. Olson feels is needed on Front Street.

"It would be nice to have a pedestrian section of Front Street or Reid Street, but it seems a long way off," said Mr. Olson and added: "We don't take advantage of our natural resources."

He said the waterfront needs to be developed, but said there were issues of practicality and who will pay.

Mr. Olson feels that tourism is moving in totally the wrong direction, and said: "All the emphasis is on helping the hotels. I agree they need help, but they don't need concessions, they need an effective Tourism Department and they need people."

Mr. Olson says he agrees with all of Sir John Swan's proposals to reinvigorate Hamilton and the Island, except that cruise ships should be phased out.

He thinks a casino would be fantastic for the Island but argued that cruise ships are a very popular way to travel and added: "The beautiful thing about cruise ships is they (the companies) promote themselves." He also believes that cruise visitors spend more money that some people suggest.

He also pointed to the 700 staff that work on the ships and said: "The staff are 90 percent of tourists at Club 40 when the ships are in Hamilton."

He said Bermuda has the best port for cruise ships in the region, and as a regular cruiser, he knows his ports.

"The merchants definitely appreciate the business, but you get frustrated as you feel you don't really have a voice. The ships keep Front Street alive contrary to what some people say."

What is in the future for Mr. Olson?

"I think I will wait and see what happens this year as I have more than enough going on with Blue Juice, Tuscany, Club 40 and the Beach."

However he added he is always looking for opportunities.

He said: "Things are definitely good and we can't complain at the moment. Even in the off-season sales are up 25 percent over last year."