I love wine, but I usually don’t order it at bars. In fact, I frequently don’t even order it at restaurants. It’s not because I can’t find wine, actually it’s the opposite: wine is everywhere these days. The sad truth is, when I used to order wines at bars, most of the wines I ordered were disgusting–and if your wine sales are low, your wine might be disgusting, too.
If you open wines for single-glass pours on a haphazard basis, store the opened bottles behind the bar for an indeterminate amount of time, or stick all of your wine in the fridge, your wine is likely to be terrible. If you want to sell more wine (or at least sell the wine you’ve already purchased), you need to do better. This article offers four wine storage fixes to increase your wine sales.
Read more
Burgers Too Expensive? Try Food Mashups on Your Bar Menu
/in Dining Out, Industry Trends, News & Information /by HilaryIt’s official now: Beef is too darn expensive. What started as a surprising price increase at the beginning of the year has turned into a long, drawn-out phase of disappointment for those of us who love bar food, and who especially love burgers. The price of beef is at it’s highest since 1987, and it’s high time you rethought your bar menu–before it’s too late. Here are 7 creative food mashup ideas you can use to brainstorm for what you want to add to your new bar menu.
Read more
Happier (More Profitable) Happy Hours
/in Dining Out, Tips & Tricks /by Josh SaundersHappy hour specials are a time-honored strategy for drawing patrons in on weekday evenings, when bars might not otherwise see too much of a crowd. However, you obviously don’t just offer bargain beer, wine, and well drink specials for the mere sake of giving your profits away; you want to make sure that the draw of these specials actually pays off. So ask yourself the question: is your happy hour “happy” enough, or could it be better? Is it boosting the bottom line, as it should?
Read more
Your Wine Is Gross, Here’s the Fix
/in Tips & Tricks, Wine /by HilaryI love wine, but I usually don’t order it at bars. In fact, I frequently don’t even order it at restaurants. It’s not because I can’t find wine, actually it’s the opposite: wine is everywhere these days. The sad truth is, when I used to order wines at bars, most of the wines I ordered were disgusting–and if your wine sales are low, your wine might be disgusting, too.
If you open wines for single-glass pours on a haphazard basis, store the opened bottles behind the bar for an indeterminate amount of time, or stick all of your wine in the fridge, your wine is likely to be terrible. If you want to sell more wine (or at least sell the wine you’ve already purchased), you need to do better. This article offers four wine storage fixes to increase your wine sales.
Read more
Attract Craft Beer Drinkers at a Lower Cost? Yes, You Can
/in Beer /by Josh SaundersWhen you think of beer in a can, the first image to come to mind might be a cringe-inducing one. Perhaps it’s the image of a six-pack of the cheapest, least drinkable beer that the local supermarket sells. You may be surprised, then, to learn of the growing acceptance and popularity of canned beer amongst craft brewery enthusiasts. Not only is the quality of canned craft beer becoming more and more trusted; canning also brings down overhead expenses, making it possible for more beer to be shipped for the same cost.
Read more
8 Easy Ways to Make your Bar Customers Happy Every Day
/in Dining Out, Tips & Tricks /by HilaryCan you make your bar customers happier? (This is a trick question. The answer is “Yes.”) Since increasing your customer satisfaction is most important thing you can do to grow your business, we’re offering you eight tips to use in your bar, starting tonight.
Read more
5 Types of Bar Regulars—Which Does Your Bar Have?
/in Tips & Tricks /by HilaryIf you recently opened or are planning to open a bar, you’ll need to be able to attract your future bar regulars. Who are these mysterious people? What do they like? How do you get them to come back? This article answers all your questions, and gives you tips that pack in the crowds.
Read more
Hangover-Free Sangria Your Patrons Will Remember (Fondly)
/in Cocktails /by Josh SaundersIt’s getting pretty hard to believe these days, but summer is, in fact, on the way – and so the time is almost ripe to be thinking about sangria. While it is true that this drink is often treated by many bars as a simple afterthought (not to mention an easy way to use up leftover wine), you probably should think twice before just throwing together a sweet, wine-based concoction that is sure to earn your establishment a reputation as “that place we went to that one time that made me have the worst hangover of my entire life.” While a lot of different ingredients can go into a batch of sangria, quality does, on some level, count – and any batch that’s just packed with cheap liquor and lots of sugar is bound to be a recipe for a painful next day.
Read more
4 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day at Your Bar
/in Tips & Tricks /by HilaryEarth Day is right around the corner, will your bar be packed for the holiday? With the increased emphasis that America is placing on planet stewardship, you can bet that your regular drinking crowd will be just as interested in saving the Earth as they are in trying the new springtime draft beers and cocktails. Here are four ideas to make sure your bar is the coolest place to be while helping to ward off Global Warming.
Read more
Get More Bar Customers When You Add Vegan Cocktails
/in Cocktails, Industry Trends, Tips & Tricks /by HilaryThe hot trend right now is veganism, and though savvy restaurants are beginning to cater to vegans (it’s one of our 2014 food predictions), bars haven’t yet realized that they’re missing a significant customer base. This article puts your bar in the know about non-vegan and vegan cocktail ingredients, and also recommends ways to get those vegans to notice your bar. Let’s get to it.
Read more
3 Surprising Ways to Use Your Digital Wine Menu
/in Industry Trends, News & Information /by HilaryDigital wine menus are the future of restaurant menus, but they’re useful for so much more than just wine. Savvy restaurants use digital wine menus as a fun, interactive tablet-based menu experience that gets customers excited about exploring the menu. Not only do digital wine menus provide customers with in-depth information about their drinks (which only a sommelier, a cicerone, or a bartender could provide previously), they also provide restaurant owners total freedom from expensive menu printing costs. Wondering how you can use a digital wine menu like Uncorkd even if you don’t serve wine? Here are three surprising ways.
Read more