The liquor industry is a safe port in rough economic waters.
Imagine this, BusinessWeek reports that the liquor industry is faring quite well in the current economic condition.
Whether you own a bar, restaurant or a convenience store, the bottom-line numbers look good.
If you would like to make your dream business come to life, give us a call. We can show you everything you need to know about how get a liquor license.
Cheers!
New York is now grading restaurants.
New York’s 24,000 restaurants are now getting graded for their cleanliness and food preparation.
The grades must be prominently displayed in restaurant windows.
New York Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley and the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene tried to initiate the process in January 2009 and were met with opposition from the restaurant industry.
Grades are based on restaurants cleanliness and food safety practices and are rated with a A, B or C, with being best.
Any restaurant receiving a B or C can appeal and hang a “grade pending” sign until the matter is reviewed.
I’ve seen this system work very nicely in Los Angeles and I believe it will enhance New York’s already awesome culinary reputation.
Cheers!
Here’s a trend that’s sure to make you lasting friends: beer and chocolate pairings.
When you consider all of the amazing domestic craft beers available coupled with local or imported chocolate, this is an event that you can safely repeat time after time.
While there are obvious days to promote beer and chocolate pairings, like Valentine’s Day, there is no reason to limit your events. As with wine and chocolate tastings, these evenings are perfect for anyone looking for a fun and romantic date.
High quality chocolate pair best with dark beers, such as porters and stouts as well as Belgian-style ale beers. Pair with any berry-flavored truffle or dark chocolate bar with dried berries and watch the taste-buds, and sparks, fly.
Bottom line: pair any rich craft beer with good-quality dark chocolate containing 52 percent to 72 percent cocoa mass and you’ve got magic.
Any restaurant or bar who isn’t using beer and chocolate pairings is missing out on a fantastic marketing treat.
Cheers!
Never ask, "Do you have a reservation?" when your restaurant is not busy.
Driving home one day I noticed a cute new restaurant that had just opened in my neighborhood and I made plans to try it out.
A few days later I arrived around 6 pm ready to savor their atmosphere, cuisine and alcoholic beverages. Stepping in, I noticed the place had a full bar and also offered a good selection of beer and wine. I also noticed that the restaurant, which sat around fifty people, had maybe five customers.
At this point a lovely hostess appeared and, to my surprise, asked in total seriousness if I had a reservation. I took another look around the room and, stifling a laugh, I told her no.
She studied the sheet in front of her for a minute before deciding she could seat me and my companion.
This awful initial breech of customer service was enough to give me reservations (pun intended) about the place. After a so-so meal I vowed never to return and, lo and behold, not six months later, the too chic bistro was in the dust bin of restaurant history.
A bit of common sense goes a long way. If you’re a new restaurant, treat each customer like gold.
Cheers!
Attention cocktail and spirits lovers, a Dutch style of gin known as genever is getting more popular than Dutch tulips.
The English word “gin” derives from Genevers.
Served chilled and in the traditional tulip-shaped glasses found in Amsterdam’s genever bars, this cocktail is sure to please your regulars.
Pair with Dutch cheese, slow-braised oxtail, stews made with potatoes, apples and bacon and other traditional Dutch fare and you’ve created a new market.
Of course, you’ll need a full liquor license to offer this distilled spirit.
Cheers!
Cause marketing works.
According to Wikipedia, cause marketing or cause-related marketing refers to a type of marketing involving the cooperative efforts of a “for profit” business and a non-profit organization for mutual benefit.
Do you have a special area of interest, such as saving the whales, that you’d like to promote? If so, cause marketing is an ideal way to mix your passion for your business with a social cause.
If you operate a bar or restaurant or even a convenience store, you can use this tried-and-true marketing vehicle to make the world better while improving your bottom line.
Visit this site to learn more about cause marketing.
Cheers!
Buy your booze from pushcarts?
If Mayor Richard Daley gets his way, the answer is yes.
“The goal is to bring in more money for the city.” Eve Rodriguez, city Aviation Department
Taking a page from the carts used by airlines, the plan is to create a new type of liquor license allowing “the sale of alcoholic liquor from pushcarts within authorized areas at O’Hare and Midway,” according to the ordinance.
While this idea is unique at airports, service carts have been used for years at restaurants too small to have a fixed bar. If your business doesn’t have room for a bar, you might consider Mayor Daley’s idea and upgrade your beer and wine license to a full liquor license.
Cheers!
A recent article in the Washington Post illustrates why it’s important to have qualified representation when you file for your city zoning permits and your alcoholic beverage applications.
Most neighborhoods empower community boards to ensure that residents rights are protected, which is a good thing. However, community activists are increasingly placing major roadblocks in the way of liquor license applicants. Entrepreneurs, often unfamiliar with the ins-and-outs of local politics, many times choose to walk away from their lifelong dream of opening a restaurant or neighborhood lounge due to the imposition of unfair license conditions and restrictions.
Any business has the right to apply for a beer and wine license or full liquor license. Bars, restaurants and convenience stores especially rely on the sale of alcoholic beverages in order to remain competitive. As the article points out, when small groups of residents impose strict conditions on business owners the result is not always the best outcome for a community.
If you’d like help with the process or information on how to get a liquor license for your business, give me a call.
Cheers!
Study Shows More Americans Drinking Alcoholic Beverages
According to a new study conducted by the University of Texas School of Public Health and the University of North Texas Health Science Center, it appears that more adults in the U.S., across all ethnic and gender lines, are drinking alcohol.
Why are Americans drinking more alcoholic beverages?
While the results from the report are not conclusive, they cite several possible factors.
With the number of drinkers in the U.S. growing, it seems the old adage about booze being recession-proof may have some truth to it after all.
Cheers!
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The Land of Lincoln Opens the Doors of Opportunity to Small Distilleries
Small distilleries get a big break in Illinois.
Legislation signed this week by Gov. Pat Quinn allows small distilleries, firms that make less than 5,000 gallons of spirits a year, to sell the liquor they produce at their facilities.
While wineries and microbreweries nationwide have used this model for a number of years, this is a new, and potentially highly lucrative, development for alcoholic beverage manufacturers.
Besides on-site sales, other money-making gambits include:
If Gov. Quinn is successful, look for a mushrooming of small-scale liquor distilleries throughout Illinois.
Cheers!