After much experimenting, I thought I'd share what works for me. Please share your own.

So far what seems to work best for me is as follows:

Before I start, the following ONLY works on a home lot, not on a community lot.

We'll make a party lot, so to speak. Mine is currently themed like basically an all-you-can-eat buffet. That's right, I'm not gonna run a restaurant and charge them for food. I'm gonna make them pay PER HOUR via the bandatron ticket machine. Place it up in front, but make sure it's got at least one square space all around.

Note that you can technically also sell items or food on the lot, but I found that it only really just interferes with running the party and creates more chances for people to get upset. We'll make more money with the bandatron than a restaurant would, and with less hassle.

So first off, the "employees", and now you'll understand why it only works on a home lot: get Christianlov's All-In-One NPCs. It's like a butler on crack, or really what EA's butler should have been and never came even close. He can cook, mix drinks, greet visitors, etc. And you can have as many as you wish. And you can assign your own sims from other families, so it's kinda like hiring them, if you turn wages on. These are going to be our "employees".

Note that these guys CAN, and by default ARE set to work for free and have no free will, so they're like service NPCs. In this mode, they never take care of their needs and so on. But you can and for realism sake probably should turn wages on (it's 15§ per hour, so 360§ a day if you turn on 24h schedule) and full free will. In this mode, their needs realistically decay, and they'll be pretty good at taking care of them. E.g., they'll grab a plate and eat whenever they're hungry, go use the toilet or take a shower, chat someone up when they're lonely, etc, then get right back to work. Basically they're like EA's employees, only MUCH better.

Note that in full free will mode, if you turn on 24 hour schedule, you MUST place one of the special beds for them somewhere, so they get some rest at night. Remember, they do have full needs.

Alternately, if you don't mind it being basically cheat mode, you can keep them unpaid. This is essentially pure profit mode, since your only expenses are the bills for the lot. But we wouldn't do something like that, right?

At the very least, we'll need one, to cook for the people and clean the place up. Place the special stove somewhere in the common area you want your guests in (EDIT: use the one that's a clone of the Ciao Fuego cheap stove; the one that's a clone of the uni stove is basically just uni stove at home and much less configurable), a bar in front of it, and at least two island counters to either side of the bar. They'll place the food they cook on the island counters, like the university cook.

Place a couple of tables with chairs, so people have somewhere to eat. Now by default the NPCs serve food on the tables too, in front of every chair, so people can just take a seat and eat. I don't like the look of that, though, but it's easily fixed: they ignore table squares that have some item in the middle. So for example a romantic light in the middle of a 1x1 table prevents them from serving on it. For a 3x1 table, you can use something like two lights and a flower vase in the middle. Or whatever fits your theme, really.

You can set what they cook for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It can be any food that's available in your game, all the way to Lobster Thermidor, or custom foods. So, yeah, if you want your guests to eat strawberry cake, or simfit salads, or rejuvenate food, or comfort soup, go for it.

Turn on making drinks for the bar, under "Options". They'll be free, and they'll just keep pouring more. It's a great way to keep people entertained and chatting.

If you need more cleaning than the one guy can provide while also cooking, you can place a second (or third, fourth, etc) one, via the paintings. Just turn off cook mode for the ones supposed to be just maids, and turn maid off for the one that cooks and tends the bar.

Make sure to turn ON greeting guests, under "More Options". In business mode, their greet becomes a basic sell pitch, so they'll encourage people to buy overpriced tickets from your bandatron, when they have nothing better to do. So your maid or cook also work as salespeople.

Remember to also add some public toilets for your guests, and lock the door to your private rooms. Note though that the Christianlov NPCs ignore your locks, so the maid will still come in to clean your shower (or use it, if there isn't a public one in sight) or clean your smelly dishes.

And from this point on, basically, the more stuff there is for people to do on the lot, the better. Each time you add something and the lot value goes up, you can jack up the ticket prices proportionally, so essentially you're getting a return on investment.

The only work for you to do in this mode is basically to keep an eye on the guests and evict troublemakers. If you see anyone insulting or shoving another guest, immediately go tell them a polite but firm goodbye. Getting punched in the face in your establishment is not exactly gonna raise anyone's customer loyalty. So essentially your job is to be the bouncer.

I thought a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's an example of how to set up the bar area, in case the wall of text wasn't clear.

Note that technically only the Christianlov cooktop is required there. The NPC doesn't actually use the fridge or mixer. They're there for decor, so the whole thing looks more naturally like a place where someone would cook.

The cooktop is a clone of the cheap Ciao Fuego stove, so by default it only comes in white. But also all recolours that apply to the cheap stove apply to it too. I felt like the my vampire sim would run a more gothy place, and white... honestly, I don't see that as a nightclub colour personally, hence using a black recolour. But you can use any recolour that fits your theme, basically.

Alternately, if you use the painting instead of the special cooktop to control the NPC, you can just use any stove in the game instead.

Also shown in the picture is a table with something placed in the middle, so the NPC can't serve food on it.

And you can see the cook and maid sampling the drinks he made. (As I was saying, they're good at keeping their motives up, unlike EA's crap employees.) They're actually two students I created, because, yes, the controller lets you assign anyone and everyone. I chose students because they move slowly, and basically I wanted less perfect employees. The scripting is just too good. But you can assign adults or elders instead too, if that fits your concept more.

There'd be more drinks there, but I just redecorated and replaced the one bar with two bars after they picked the last drinks, so none have been made yet.

And finally, how much money does it make, that I call it a better home business? Well, without raising the number of customers, I pay a 1080§ per day for a cook/bartender and two maids, and make almost a thousand PER HOUR. That's like a motherlode every other day. And it's not even some huge party lot, it's all on a 3x4 lot with just the ground level built. Granted, a lot of money already went into improving the lot, but the money I make as a return on investment is downright obscene. The money couldn't be more obscene if it had a naked president on it :p

But of course, you could use Paladin's controller at www.simwardrobe.com to jack up the number of simultaneous customers up to 48 at the same time, if your lot and computer can take it.

And it's all for just hanging around, shaking hands (people get a plus 1 loyalty star if they can tell you goodbye), and occasionally telling some miscreant a polite but firm "good bye".

Great idea for a self-serve restaurant sorta like place (I think that's what you were trying to do. Too much to read, so little time! ). You know, there is a commercial buffet mod here: http://cyjon.net/node/380 ; that charges your sims whenever they grab plate from it. You can use it instead of having to use the ticket timer thingy from OFB.

Yeah, I know, but the ticket thingy gives me like 140§ per hour currently for each customer. I don't think any food they could buy comes even close to that. (As I was saying, the money is downright obscene.)

Also, I can already use a buffet anyway, although for free, since the Christianlov NPCs can also auto-restock buffets. So that would be one way to start even cheaper, I guess. I went with a more bar theme personally, well, just because.

Glad you found what works for you. I know of both the stove and the painting but have never used them. I did read your post the other day but since it's not my style of play I didn't have anything to add. I use all playable sims to run my businesses and making a lot of money isn't the aim.

Well, obviously it won't be everyone's style. Nothing ever is

That said, those students assigned to it are playable sims. While the stove and painting do spawn NPCs, one can assign playable sims instead, and that's what I did. They're really normal sims, with normal motives and motive decay, and paid more than EA's employees.

As I was saying, nothing is everyone's style, and I'm not trying to convince you. Just clearing up something that was obviously not clear enough.

BTW, while we're at the buffets topic, if anyone wants to go with self-restocking buffets and/or charging for the buffet, I can also recommend Paladin's modular one from www.simwardrobe.com as it can be as long as you wish and you can set the food served for each section of it. So for example you can make a 4x1 long buffet that serves 4 types of food of your choosing. And he has a version that serves pizza too, and works like a section in the same buffet too. So you can have lobster thermidor and pizza on the same table, basically. And he has a ton of recolours for it, so it will match just about any furniture you might have there. And the optional rounded corners are a nice plus too.

I really like using the freetime objects in home businesses. Often I'll have sims have little outhouses, a garage, or craft workshops in their yards where they create cars, pottery, clothing, etc.. and then sell them. I also like that this way there is physical distance between the shop and their house

Hmm, true, having a bit of a distance there could be nice.

Just a thank you for loaning out this new gaming experience!
For myself, I was actually creating a home business whereby the bandatron would be the actual money maker, using poker tables, electronic games, pool tables, etc., when I found your article. The part about feeding the masses, I didn't have, with the exception of the in-game buffet table, which is the best that Maxis could do, I suppose, and customers weren't at all interested in it.

The reason I went this route was because Maxis's programming created too much negativity for me to enjoy the game: Couple 1: The mom basically wondered around aimlessly, anything but tending the register, and dad couldn't stop harassing customers with dirty jokes, or playing in the snow, or watching t.v., anything but selling. I couldn't keep my eyes on him quick enough. Single old man 1: the first business Sim I created, and in doing so, put him on a small lot not well equipped to show so many items. Nice, and attentive to customers but hampered by his lot size. Single woman 1: She had the right attributes, although she also wanted to play and tell dirty jokes too much.

Your post changed everything. I'm still working out the kinks, but it has been a real joy to have the server set the plates out and watch all the Sim customers stop what they are doing and run (obediently) to the dinner table!

My best seller proved to be none other than Mortimer Goth, who I regressed to a young age, and could sell the proverbial Brooklyn bridge. I took him out of retirement and had him wed tart Brandy Broke, put her in a red evening gown with matching gloves, and he, with matching red shirt will have a very upscale entertainment house. They will be in their element. They will replace Couple 1, who are with child anyway and need the extra room.
Again, thank you for giving this worn out game a new perspective!

My pleasure. I posted it precisely because I went through the same stage of trying to run a business the EAxis way, and finding it somewhat less than fun.

Btw, if I may add a couple more things I found:

1. Get a friendly and playful pet or three. Good social interactions do raise customer satisfaction, and, honestly, between the two normal cats and the witch familiar, it's like I'm running a petting zoo. Everyone seems to love playing with the kitties.

2. I find Pescado's "Toilet Uses You" mod invaluable. Not as much to get them to use the toilet, which honestly they did on their own, but to get them the hell out of the toilet when they're done. That way you don't get loonies piling up in the freaking toilet to socialize, and blocking everyone else's access.

3. If, for whatever reason, you feel like selling stuff, the Christianlov servants also restock in between cleaning and repairing the place and doing basic sales pitches. Personally I think the party thing makes money with less hassle, but the option is there.

Thank you again! For my Sims, they all have at least one cat or dog, and all the children born unto them each one, interestingly enough, all have way high interest in pets. Nice. No boolprop needed!
I have found that Sim owners need to take the time to create a good relationship with all the new customers (via the blender), and after that, to 'hug' their customers. The customers love it. Just as most of us would cherish the attention. Much better than 'admire'. That holds in this category as well as a 'regular business' selling items.
I'm not 'familiar' with the witch familiar.
"Everyone seems to love playing with the kitties." Except I do not like another Maxis treat, coded just for animal lovers, Sims want to toss the kitties (I forget how they worded it) and it takes my attention away from whatever I was attempting to do! I wish for once a kitty would claw that Sims eyes out. Just once.

Well, I just make my sims nice and extroverted (at the expense of being total slobs for example), and just hang around the bar. I got the 30 simultaneous best friends wish from just people coming to tell me jokes and whatnot, or yeah, a nice hug goodbye.

@sarah's jones
Oh, by the way, I almost forgot: if you don't like your cat being thrown in the air and/or (like me) you find it stupid that everyone does the finger wiggle and predictably ends up clawed, try Cyjon's hack that gets rid of that stuff: http://cyjon.net/node/66

Edit: Might want to try this too, btw, lest the guests start eventually getting on your nerves with that bug: http://cyjon.net/node/217