I was part of a team that took over the running of the lowest performing pub in a grotty old Irish theme pub, a good few years back.
We had a good bar manager, an excellent head chef, friendly and enthusiastic staff, and I took care of the website, the MP3 collection, the booking of the artists, the mailing lists, general P.R., and I redesigned everything inside, right down to the menu (terms of lease meant we couldn't do anything to the outside).

There was nary a Pogues song, nor a Waterboys number played in the place, not that the public didn't 'demand' it, mind you.

We called it a 'Traditional Pub', and the playlists in the pub were carefully controlled by yours truly.

The pub shot up to first place in the chain within 6 months.
The place has changed hands a few times since then, but a few of us proved that even in a foreign country, with careful management (... a weaning process that could sometimes be painful...) the 'concept' works.

B.