What Professional Bartending Schools of America does

Professional Bartending Schools of America (PBSA) is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based hospitality education company operating a network of 38 state-licensed, independently owned bartending school campuses across the United States, plus approximately 40 affiliated schools providing reciprocal services across roughly 80+ locations in the US and Canada. Founded in 1978 with the PBSA brand formalized in 1995 by president Roger Oldham, the company provides curriculum, the proprietary Professional Mixology textbook, marketing services, and job placement coordination to member campuses, which collectively train more than 10,000 new bartenders per year and have trained over 60,000 since 1995.

The core product is a 40-hour Professional Mixology Course taught in fully equipped brick-and-mortar bars-as-classrooms, covering more than 125 drink recipes, beer service, wine service, bar flair, and responsible alcohol service. Supplementary offerings include TIPS online alcohol certification (valid in 35+ states), ServSafe training, Anheuser-Busch Beertender and Guinness Perfect Pour beer programs, a graduate-only online job placement database, "Hire a Bartender" employer referral, and laminated recipe guides sold at $12.50. The company emphasizes a 90%+ graduate job placement rate and flexible scheduling for career changers, college students, and working professionals aged 18-70.

PBSA's business model is primarily that of a curriculum licensor and brand operator: member campuses collect tuition independently, while PBSA Inc. generates revenue from curriculum and textbook licensing, merchandise, certification royalties, and referral arrangements such as the Buffalo Wings & Rings national staffing partnership. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, and the network's structural unit economics, regional concentration, and growth cadence all point to a mature, stable vocational education enterprise rather than a high-growth operator.

Name

Professional Bartending Schools of America

Legal name

Professional Bartending Schools of America LLC

Website

https://pbsa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Professional Bartending Schools of America licenses its 40-hour Professional Mixology curriculum and job placement network to 38 state-licensed, independently owned bartending school campuses across the US, collectively training more than 10,000 students per year and placing over 90% of graduates in bartending jobs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cincinnati

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Bartending School Tuition: Revenue from tuition fees for bartending courses at their network of 38+ state-licensed campuses. Courses include 40-hour professional mixology programs with flexible scheduling options.
2. Job Placement Services: Free job placement assistance provided to all graduates. Schools maintain relationships with bar owners and managers who call when they need bartenders. Online job database supplemented by personal placement director assistance.
3. Bar Supplies and Merchandise: Sale of PBSA Laminated Recipe Guides ($12.50 each) and other bartending supplies through the PBSA Bar Store.
4. TIPS Alcohol Certification: Online TIPS alcohol certification training available for initial certification and renewals, valid in multiple states including Massachusetts, California, Rhode Island and 25+ other states.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Professional Bartending Schools of America (PBSA) is a hospitality education company that provides bartending school curriculum, textbooks, job placement, and marketing services to a network of state-licensed brick-and-mortar campuses. Its core offering is a 40-hour intensive hands-on Professional Mixology Course taught at fully equipped bar classrooms across the US, supplemented by job placement assistance, alcohol certification (TIPS/ServSafe), and flexible scheduling. The network comprises approximately 32 PBSA-owned campuses plus 40 affiliated/contracted schools serving students nationwide.

Product overview

Professional Bartending Schools of America (PBSA) operates as a hospitality education company providing a network of 32-36 state-licensed bartending school campuses across the United States. The core offering is the 40-Hour Professional Mixology Course, a hands-on training program teaching bartending skills, drink recipes, and responsible alcohol service. PBSA's product suite centers around this core course, supplemented by mandatory job placement assistance services (both local and nationwide), TIPS alcohol certification training, flexible scheduling options, bar flair training, an online graduate job database, and supplementary products including video lessons and laminated recipe guides. The company also offers a bartender referral service for employers and event hosts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 40-Hour Professional Mixology Course A forty-hour intensive hands-on training program consisting of ten four-hour bartending classes, teaching over 125 traditional and trendy drink recipes, beer service, wine service, responsible alcohol service, and professional customer service techniques. Delivered in-person at fully equipped bar classrooms.
• Local Job Placement Assistance Personalized one-on-one job placement assistance provided to all graduates at their local campus, with a nationwide job placement rate of over 90% over the last five years. Included with tuition.
• Nationwide Job Placement Program Nationwide job placement assistance program available across 38 PBSA campuses and 40 additional contracted campuses, enabling graduates to relocate and access job opportunities in new cities.
• TIPS Alcohol Certification Training (Online) Online alcohol certification and training program (Training for Intervention Procedures) valid in 35+ states, providing responsible alcohol service certification for bartenders.
• Online Job Placement Database Graduate-only online portal providing access to current job openings, updated daily, allowing graduates to search and apply for bartending positions from home or office.
• Bar Flair Training Entertainment bartending training including flair competitions, flair moves, and showmanship techniques taught by experienced flair bartenders such as Luis Bermudez and Derek Jones.
• Hire a Bartender Referral Service Referral service connecting bar owners, managers, and event hosts with professional bartenders from PBSA's graduate network.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90%+ of graduates find bartending job shortly after graduation
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Buffalo Wings & RingscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerBuffalo Wings and Rings, a Cincinnati-based international franchisor of family-focused buffalo wing restaurants, has partnered with PBSA for nationwide bartender staffing. PBSA president Roger Oldham met with CEO Phil Schram. Buffalo Wings & Rings has recommended PBSA to their franchisees as a training and staffing resource. PBSA provides bartender placement for sports bars nationwide and Buffalo Wings & Rings placed a link to PBSA on their franchisee support page.
• TIPS (Training for Intervention Procedures)coreTechnology or IntegrationTIPS is a skills-based alcohol training program developed in 1982 by Dr. Morris Chafetz. PBSA offers TIPS alcohol certification and training online, valid in Massachusetts, California, Rhode Island and 25+ other states. TIPS provides legal protection in third-party liquor liability lawsuits and satisfies server training requirements in most states.
• National Restaurant Association (ServSafe)coreTechnology or IntegrationPBSA provides ServSafe alcohol awareness training by the National Restaurant Association to graduates. Many schools certify every graduate in responsible alcohol service programs. Being ServSafe certified may help lower liquor liability premiums for employing establishments.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Crescent School of Bartending and Gaming: Affiliated PBSA partner operating bartending schools in Gulfport MS, New Orleans LA, Memphis TN, and Tunica Resorts MS. Comparable brick-and-mortar model with adjacent gaming-school offering and similar Southern US geographic focus.
• American Bartending School: Affiliated PBSA partner operating bartending schools in Chicago IL and Tampa FL (American Bartending School of Tampa). Comparable multi-state brick-and-mortar bartending training model.
• Boston Bartending School: Affiliated partner school referenced in PBSA's network offering similar bartender training programs in Boston, Johnston RI, Wethersfield CT and Providence RI. Comparable hands-on training approach with state-licensed proprietary school positioning.
• New York Bartending School: Operates a Manhattan bartending school campus referenced inside PBSA's own affiliated network. Directly competes in the same metro, offering similar hands-on 40-hour professional mixology courses and job placement assistance to the same aspiring-bartender customer base.
• International Bartenders School: Affiliated PBSA partner operating in Oxnard and Ventura CA. Comparable hands-on bartending school with overlapping Southern California geographic exposure.
• National Bartenders School: Affiliated PBSA partner operating in Fairfield CT, Woodbridge NJ and Thousand Oaks/Los Angeles CA. Directly comparable hands-on bartending school model serving similar East and West Coast metro markets.
• Mixology Wine Institute: Affiliated PBSA partner operating in Allentown/Bethlehem PA, Philadelphia PA, Cherry Hill NJ, and Princeton NJ. Comparable mixology and wine training curriculum under the PBSA network with overlapping mid-Atlantic geographic footprint.

Others

• BarSmarts (Pernod Ricard): Online bartender education program created by Pernod Ricard, covering spirits knowledge and cocktail technique. Competes for the same aspiring-bartender cohort via a free digital format, representing a direct substitute for entry-level training.
• Beverage Alcohol Resource (BAR): Industry-recognized spirits and bartending certification program focused on hospitality professionals. Adjacent to PBSA's curriculum (similar knowledge domains: spirits, service, mixology) but positioned as a premium continuing-education credential rather than entry-level vocational training.
• TIPS (Training for Intervention ProcedureS): Skills-based alcohol training and certification program developed in 1982 and partnered with PBSA for online delivery. Sells directly to bars and individuals for responsible alcohol service certification — an enabling/adjacent service that could substitute for parts of PBSA's curriculum.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PBSABartending
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ProfessionalBartend
• Facebookfacebook.com/PBSABartending
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/professional-bartending-schools-of-america

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Professional Bartending Schools of America