How To Successfully Scale Your Restaurant Business

Lessons from a man who’s done it, time and time again.

Serial entrepreneurship. These are two words that come to mind when I think of Jimmy Liang, owner of Fuji Group, a thriving nine (soon to be 11) location restaurant group in Greater Boston. High achiever is another phrase that comes to mind—Jimmy also has his hand in the construction and real estate markets. Did I mention he’s a local politician, too? His current undertaking is “The Sushi Guys”, a reality show both directed and produced in-house.

While reading this, you might assume I’m describing a grey-haired, 60-something-year-old man. But here’s the curveball—he’s half as old as you might’ve guessed. His career started a full 18 years ago, when, at the age of 19, he opened his first restaurant: a 7-table, charming hole in the wall that regularly packed in the masses for its mouthwatering sushi rolls.

Six years after opening his first venture, Jimmy and his business partner, Peter Tse, sold their first restaurant and invested the money into opening Fuji 1546, a 4,200-square-foot sushi mecca that has the capacity to seat 112 people. Over the years, he has steadily grown his hospitality business to where it stands today.

One of the biggest challenges Jimmy faced in effectively and efficiently scaling his hospitality business was knowing exactly when it was the right time to grow. A business owner looking to grow needs positive cash flow, demand (we’re talking long wait lists on Saturday nights), loyal customers, the know-how, and conviction. Without understanding the finances behind the business, and without knowing how much you have in assets and how much money you’ve got on hand, you won’t know how much you can spend when you move forward with your next project.

“But you also need to understand what it takes to maintain your business when you pull the trigger to grow responsibly,” Jimmy says. “A lot of group owners forget this when they’re in their growth stages. They’re on this tunnel-vision trajectory to fast growth, while their original entities are being neglected.”

This risk can be alleviated by finding a healthy balance between maintaining current locations and planning the next big thing. What does this mean? “You’re going to need excellent managers, the right tools (the Fuji Group is a proud BevSpot customer *ahem*), and patience,” Jimmy said.

In the restaurant industry, margins are razor thin. Jimmy explained that most restaurants operate at about a 10% profitability margin, where there isn’t much room for mistake. In a small business, everything you save can mean the difference between profitable or not; between the ability to grow your business or fail.

Jimmy now manages over 300 people within his company. As you can imagine, he found it difficult to go from owning one location—and being in control of virtually every aspect of the business—to owning multiple locations—and having to allocate responsibility to others. “I found myself in the kitchen, frustrated, watching people not execute things the way I normally do.” He quickly learned that educating his employees was extremely important, and furthermore, figuring out what kind of teacher he needed to be for each of his employees was even more important. “Everyone learns differently and at different rates,” Jimmy explained. “Some people need verbal direction, others need visual, and some need hands-on training. As a mentor, you have to realize what kind of students you have. What are their strengths and weaknesses? Then, you can determine your teaching method.”

Brand loyalty from his staff has been particularly essential to Jimmy’s success. “You’ve got to provide a career path for these people, not just a job. This will keep them loyal and hardworking.” Jimmy devotes a lot of time to paying attention to his employees’ well-being. Why? “When my team is successful, I’m successful,” Jimmy said.

The Fuji Group provides ample flexibility for its employees. Jimmy has no problem letting people leave mid-day when it’s slow, to pick up their kids from school. He also provides English-as-a-second-language classes to his staff. “By enabling them to learn the English language, I’m not only helping them at work, I’m helping them share that knowledge with their families. Often times, my employees are the first English speakers in their families.” Jimmy, a family-oriented man, also provides paid maternity/paternity leave for his staff.

In addition to providing his employees with flexibility, benefits and competitive pay, he earns approval by getting his hands dirty when it’s needed. Jimmy isn’t above jumping behind the sushi bar when the kitchen is short staffed, changing a keg, or clearing tables.

Jimmy’s last word of advice to aspiring restaurateurs: “Believe in your product, your service, and your management team. It’s the simple things. If you can do the simple things well, you win.”

For more tips on running a successful bar or restaurant, download our free Guide to Bar Management.

Schedule 15mins to chat with a product specialist

Start a FREE Trial Today! BevSpot offers full product education and account setup for all customers! No card Information needed!

How BevSpot Helps Bars in Control States

What is BevSpot?

Here at BevSpot, we create software to help people in the food and beverage industry be better at what they do. So, every day, we’re on the phone with bar and restaurant owners and managers all over the country.

When we’re in the process of acquiring new customers, we’re occasionally asked if our product works for bars and restaurants operating in control states.

So, we thought we’d explain how this works.

Seventeen states in the U.S. and the jurisdictions in Alaska, Maryland, Minnesota and South Dakota are alcoholic beverage control states, in some form. Essentially, this means the state acts as the sole distributor, controlling the wholesaling or retailing of some or all categories of alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine and spirits.

If you run a bar or restaurant in a control state, your ordering most likely takes place on your state’s alcohol distributor website or over the phone. Because of this, you can’t send direct orders to your distributor through BevSpot’s software. But, not to fear, our platform still works for you.

Below, you can see the two ways our customers currently order product through BevSpot.

Non-control States

Take inventory → Build orders in BevSpot → Automatically send orders → Update invoices

Control States

Take inventory → Build orders in BevSpot → Record orders in Bevspot → Place orders to state agency → Update invoices

As you can see, the only difference between control state and non-control state customers is that control state customers usually have to add one extra step to their ordering process. Even though it’s possible they can’t place orders directly through the BevSpot software, they can still build their orders based on valuable insights from BevSpot’s data and create an accurate list of products to order from the state. The magic still happens.

Although the ordering feature is an important part of BevSpot’s software, it’s only one small piece of the whole platform. BevSpot makes bar management easier, helping you with the tough tasks to give you more time to spend on the parts of the job you love. This means:

• Making inventory more efficient
• Showing you insights into your pour costs
• Helping you with drink pricing
• Providing you with industry benchmarking
• Calculating your variance, across your entire beverage program
• Streamlining your beverage operations
• Keeping all your bar’s data in one place
• Allowing you to manage your bar anytime, from anywhere

No matter where your bar or restaurant is located, BevSpot provides the same value. We keep track of your bar’s data to help you calculate your key business metrics, helping you to make more informed business decisions and ultimately run a better beverage program.

Want to learn more? Schedule a call with one of our product specialists!

Start a FREE Trial Today! BevSpot offers full product education and account setup for all customers! No card Information needed

How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies in Your Bar

It’s the ultimate showdown, every night: fruit fly vs. bartender.

We’re here to help you win. You know how it goes—bars and restaurants are filled with syrupy liqueurs, sweet fruits and sticky sodas, making them the perfect fruit fly magnet.

And even if you regularly clean the bar from top to bottom, without active prevention, fruit flies will likely find their way into your establishment and take over. Perhaps they already have.

Start Your Free Trial With Bevspot Today!

There are multiple aspects that go into creating a successful bar such as organized bar inventory, successful management, and accurate pricing. Removing fruit flies is another important aspect and BevSpot can help with all of them.

It’s not the most enjoyable topic to talk about, but if you really want to get rid of fruit flies in your bar and stop them from returning, try taking these extra precautions during your day-to-day bar operations. Here are 7 steps to get rid of fruit flies at the bar.

1. Regularly take out the trash

This might seem like an obvious fix, but make sure you dispose of garbage frequently. If you leave it sitting in your establishment, especially overnight, you’re giving fruit flies ample opportunity to lay their eggs and rapidly multiply—yuck. Even if it’s properly bagged, make sure you remove it from the premise in a timely manner. Also, be sure to rinse out the trash cans to ensure there isn’t any leftover waste.

2. Clean the bar mats

As you can imagine, the bar mats you stand on can get pretty dirty. And organic material that collects in the crevices of the mats can attract fruit flies. Frequently hand wash them with warm, soapy water and a hose to ensure you’re not feeding any pests.

3. Keep the sink and ice well dry

Like the rest of us, fruit flies need water to survive. In order to limit their liquid intake, make sure to burn your remaining ice at the end of the night and keep the sink and ice well dry when they’re not in use. Keep in mind, fruit flies also need moist areas to lay their eggs—of which they lay up to 500 at a time. Make sure to leave your work spaces dry to prevent them from reproducing.

4. Cover bottles at the end of the night

For speedy and accurate pouring, you likely have pour spouts on many of your liquor bottles. Although it doesn’t make sense to cover the bottles during the shift (unless certain bottles aren’t used often), make sure every pour spout is covered when you leave. If left open, fruit flies can invade and contaminate your product, which might leave your next customer with a speckled martini—gross. When it comes to covering pour spouts, bartenders have been known to use solutions like aluminum foil, saran wrap, golf tees, small dixie cups, condiment holders, etc. You can also purchase pour spout caps, hinged cap pourers or screened-top pourers.

5. Keep garnishes covered

Like the name suggests, fruit flies love fruit. Not only do they feed off fruits, they also lay their eggs in them. To prevent fruit flies from hanging around your garnishes, make sure to keep your fruit covered in a garnish holder during your shift. When the bar shuts down, be sure to properly dispose of all leftover garnishes and sufficiently seal the holder.

6. Rinse out your drains

Drains provide fruit flies with everything they need—a safe place to lay their eggs, water and organic materials. Every night before closing, make sure to pour some sanitizer down your floor and sink drains. Some bars like to use undiluted bleach, but this might cause damage to stainless steel pipes and may not work against the protective coating of fruit fly eggs.
You can use products like Bio-Drain to prevent and kill any fruit fly eggs that may hatch in your drains. For extra measure, cover your drains with saran wrap, bar towels, or old rocks glasses after you pour down the cleaner to prevent flies from escaping the drains overnight.

7. Set traps

If you still have active flies, you can either purchase or make traps to capture them. To make your own, take a to-go box, puncture holes in the top and place either a piece of fruit or honey water inside. You can also fill an old rocks glass with apple cider vinegar and a few drops of dish soap and cover it with saran wrap poked with holes.

If you’d like to purchase traps to do the job for you, there are hundreds of kinds to choose from. Most traps require no maintenance and last for up to a month.

Not only are fruit flies a pest, they’re bad for business. Removing adult flies will help to reduce your infestation but eliminating the breeding areas is crucial for proper bar managing. Remember, all stages of fruit fly infestations depend on organic debris. Take these steps to prevent and eliminate fruit flies in your bar to ensure your customers are safe and satisfied and your establishment maintains a good reputation.

Learn more about BevSpots Bar and Food Inventory App.

Schedule 15mins to chat with a product specialist

Start a FREE Trial Today! BevSpot offers full product education and account setup for all customers! No card Information needed!

Customer Stories: Black Rock Country Club

Located less than 20 miles outside Boston, Black Rock Country Club is recognized as one of the region’s premier private golf clubs and communities. In addition to top-tier golf facilities, they offer tennis, swimming, fine dining, an extensive wine program, and full-service venues for events like weddings and holiday parties.

Black Rock has three different dining areas—the Grille Room, the Private Dining Room and the Clubhouse—all directed by Executive Chef Sean O’Mahoney and managed by Dining Room Captain Timothy Gallant. These dining offerings are centered around a contemporary menu that features all natural ingredients, and running them requires a lot of work.

With such a large area to cover, managing these beverage programs isn’t easy. Since he started in 2012, Timothy had been taking inventory shelf to sheet with pen and paper, like many bars and restaurants. But he felt his inventory system was disorganized and his ordering process was scattered.

In order to save himself time and the owners money, he needed to run his beverage program more efficiently, leveraging his sales and understanding the data behind his beverage program. After he was introduced to BevSpot, he decided to give it a shot.

We recently spoke with Timothy to see how things at Black Rock Country Club have changed since he started investing in a better beverage program.

“We’ve streamlined our inventory process, and it’s a whole lot easier. I can now do our entire club’s inventory in the course of four hours, when it used to take me two days!”

He found a way to significantly cut his inventory time, and now, Timothy feels he can better communicate with his team because can show them the metrics behind the way their bar operates.

“I’m able to go to my team, confirm when they’re over-pouring, and tell them, ‘Look—you’re pouring a half ounce over what you should be pouring.’”

Looking forward, Timothy hopes to use this data to ramp up his cocktail program.

“The bar scene outside of Boston is really trying to catch up with downtown, where you’re even seeing craft cocktail lists pop up at sports bars. We’re doing our best to compete with that.”

He recently upgraded to BevSpot’s Category Level Sales reports, and he’s excited to get into the nitty-gritty of his sales metrics surrounding their new cocktail program.

Find out what else Timothy said about how he’s learned to run a better beverage program.

See the full Black Rock customer story here.   

The Best Technology for Running a Restaurant or Bar

Run a successful business with these digital tools.

If most of your life is managed online, why should your bar or restaurant be any different? In today’s age of technology, there are thousands of apps and digital solutions that can simplify payment, create employee schedules, book reservations, reveal important customer data, facilitate mobile payments, streamline inventory, drive revenue and ultimately make running a restaurant or bar a whole lot easier.

However, with so many great technology options out there, it’s hard to know which solutions work and which ones might be right for your business.

So, put down that pen and paper for a second—let’s take a look at 15 bar and restaurant technology programs that could save you time and money and allow you to get back to the parts of the job you love.

1. BentoBox

BentoBox helps restaurants “not suck on the internet.” With beautifully designed websites, simple dashboards, and excellent customer support, they help you attract more customers and provide you with ways to stay connected with your guests long after they leave. With features like mobile-first design, one-click reservations, social media and newsletter sign-up, SEO, promotions and events, and captivating images, BentoBox saves owners and managers time and frustration, so they can focus on running their establishment.

2. Findmyshift

An all-in-one hub for employee scheduling, Findmyshift helps managers create schedules, communicate with employees, manage requests, and track labor costs. No matter where you are, you can access the Findmyshift webapp to reliably maintain your employee base. With features like drag and drop scheduling, a time clock, email and SMS notifications, forward planning, historical data, payroll calculation, and real-time reporting, this tech solution helps cut the time and effort it takes to roster staff.

3. Schedulefly

Another scheduling solution, Schedulefly is a straightforward way to create and send out your schedule without making any calls or scribbling on scrap paper. In addition to scheduling, the webapp has a staff directory, job posting tool, labor cost dashboard, and message wall.

4. OpenTable

OpenTable seats over 17 million diners each month. With their app and website, they help establishments reach more diners with their large network, provide memorable hospitality with seamless seating, streamline their front of house with custom tools, and ultimately optimize restaurant capacity.

5. Reserve

Reserve is a hospitality tech platform that helps restaurants and guests connect. With features like online and manual reservation booking, waitlist management, text alerts, guest profiles, and guest visit history, the iPad app and website help restaurants and bars decrease cancellations, improve customer relationships, and collect actionable data. Unlike OpenTable, you can use Reserve to incentivize your guests not to flake on reservations by charging fees for no shows. Guests can also use the Reserve app to pay for their meals.

6. TabbedOut  

With the ability to integrate directly with your existing POS system, TabbedOut is an app that allows bars and restaurants to accept mobile payments without requiring additional hardware. It also provides establishments with a customer management tool that tracks who’s currently in the venue, shows what customers’ spending habits are, collects feedback, and allows for offers to be sent straight to customers’ mobile devices.

7. Cover

Cover works with all POS systems and lets customers easily pay and split the bill. It saves your establishment time because servers don’t need to run checks or handle credit cards. Cover diners also have a 22% tip average and a 7-10% higher check average than people paying through American Express.  

8. Onthebar

With the hope of driving repeat business to restaurants and bars, onthebar is based on the idea that people are more driven by relationships than they are by star ratings. The app allows patrons to follow their favorite bartenders, discover when they’re working, and check-in when they visit. In a similar aspect, bartenders can use the app to let their regulars know when and where they’ll be working to motivate patrons to stop by for a drink.

9. GrubHub

More than 44,000 bars and restaurants accept online orders through GrubHub. With the technology to receive and manage delivery orders and the experienced drivers to fulfill them,  GrubHub makes it easier to complete to-go orders and keep the back of the house more organized. By promoting their own brand, GrubHub also increases the exposure of each individual restaurant in their network.  

10. Tablelist

Tablelist aims to make the nightlife industry more efficient for customers and venues. With their mobile app and website, users can book tables and bottle service with the click of a button instead of calling the venue or finding a promoter to get them on the list. This streamlined process increases bookings at clubs and lounges and provides establishments with better data about who frequents their establishments, including their habits, preferences and needs.

11. Nowait

Guests can use the Nowait app to add themselves to your waiting list without having to physically wait at your establishment. When their table is ready, they receive a text and they have the option to rate their experience at the end of the meal. Nowait helps to optimize the front of the house operations, such as waitlists, table turnover and analytics.

12. iMenuPro

iMenuPro is an online menu maker that lets users instantly create and print menus. With flexible designs, images, backgrounds, graphics, and an easy drag-and-drop tool, it’s easy to create professional drink and food menus without any professional design skills. The website also lets you keep a complete database of all your food and drink offerings so you can easily make price changes and last minute menu substitutions.  

13. Square

With the free Square Register app, bars and restaurants can swipe payments without an internet connection, print kitchen tickets, receipts and order stubs, and customize taxes, tipping and discounts. Square also gives customers an easy way to tip, provides restaurants with engagement tools, and gives an option for online ordering. If you also purchase an iPad, kitchen ticket printer, receipt printer, cash drawer, and Square Stand, you can use the Square app as a full POS system.  

14. LevelUp

As another payment method, LevelUp provides restaurants with one-touch mobile payments and rewards programs. LevelUp integrates with 40+ POS systems and dozens of ecommerce and online ordering platforms. Customers pay with NFC or a QR code (more info on those here)  on their mobile device, and the money is deposited into your account the next day. In addition to saving money on transactions, LevelUp provides establishments with valuable customer data, such as who your customers are and how often they visit.

15. BevSpot

Obviously, we had to include ourselves on the list of great software solutions for bars and restaurants. With BevSpot’s bar management software, you can streamline your ordering, take inventory 70% faster, and compare usage to your actual POS data to uncover insights into how your bar is really performing.

BevSpot’s Sales Hub lets you auto-price your drinks and generate powerful reports for critical insights into your sales numbers. The Order Center lets you streamline ordering by sending your orders directly to your sales reps and provides you with order analytics to manage your spending. With the Inventory Manager, you can set pars, track inventory over time, glean important insights, and save hours—for some of our customers, even days—on inventory counts.

See how it works!

As a bar or restaurant owner or manager, you’ve got inventory to take, food and beverages to price, menus to design, tables to book, schedules to make, and customers to satisfy. Running a restaurant isn’t easy, but with a good arsenal of tech, you can effectively manage every part of your business.

Think we left your favorite software out? Let us know in the comments!

Schedule 15mins to chat with a product specialist

Start a FREE Trial Today! BevSpot offers full product education and account setup for all customers! No card Information needed!

10 Variations of the Classic Negroni

Happy Negroni Week!

This week, bars and restaurants around the country are celebrating one of our favorite classic cocktails: the Negroni. Made of one part gin, one part sweet vermouth, and one part Campari, the Negroni was born in Florence in 1919, when a bar patron, Count Camillo Negroni, asked for a stronger version of an Americano. For years, the Negroni was a muted classic, only found in Italian restaurants or certain craft cocktail bars. Now, it’s estimated to appear on 300 percent more cocktail lists than it did just ten years ago.

To celebrate one of the world’s greatest cocktails and spark an effort to raise money for charities around the world, Imbibe Magazine and Campari started Negroni Week in 2013. The first year, there were 100 participants. This year, over 6,000 establishments are registered.

The official deadline for this year has already passed. However, if you’d like to participate next year and raise money for a charity of your choice, you can register your establishment for Negroni Week 2017 here.

In the spirit of Negroni Week, and to offer some alternative recipes to create in your bar or home, we’ve compiled a list of 10 modern variations of the classic cocktail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although it took a while to catch on in the states, in the last decade, the Negroni has transformed into a staple of any decent cocktail menu. To keep up with the trend and to celebrate classic cocktail culture, try including a decent selection of Negronis at your establishment this week, and consider participating in next year’s Negroni Week!

Looking for some more cocktail recipe inspiration? Download our free Cocktail Recipe eBook.

Schedule 15mins to chat with a product specialist

Start a FREE Trial Today! BevSpot offers full product education and account setup for all customers! No card Information needed!

What’s the Average Sitting Inventory in the Bar Industry?

For bar owners and operators, efficient inventory practices represent a huge opportunity to reduce costs and run a more profitable bar.

Businesses that hold on to too much inventory waste time counting and recounting idle product. This idle product crowds storage space, which makes tracking your usage more difficult and servicing customers a complicated process—not to mention the losses that come from increased breakage and theft. The higher a bar’s excess sitting inventory, the higher its exposure to unnecessary operating expenses and lost productivity, and the lower its general profitability.

By sinking cash into excess inventory, businesses also constrain themselves by reducing access to funds for other expenses, like rent and payroll. Excessive inventories mean that bars with otherwise healthy balance sheets can struggle to make these critical expenses in the short run, crippling their ability to keep the doors open. Better inventory practices represent an insurance strategy against this risk.

We’ve shown you some good practices for doing your liquor inventory. We’ve also discussed why inventory efficiency should be measured in weeks, not simply in units or dollars.

Though we usually recommend that you target 2-3 weeks of sitting inventory for individual items, we know that actual practices vary between bars. We also know that such variance is related not just to management proficiency, but also to the product mix unique to each beverage program, as well as the volume of product sold.

We’ve taken a look at our customers’ ordering and inventory data to measure the inventory programs of bars and restaurants across the country. We then analyzed how that varied by product category, in order to develop more specific targets for your bar’s operations.

Let’s dive into the data.

Schedule 15mins to chat with a product specialist

Start a FREE Trial Today! BevSpot offers full product education and account setup for all customers! No card Information needed!

13 Ways to Impress Your Bar Manager

Bar managers have a lot on their plate.

Whether you’re striving for a promotion, or you simply want to understand how to be a better bartender, impressing your bar manager will go a long way in the food and beverage industry.

It never hurts to be in good graces with the person who makes your schedule and controls the activities at the bar. Plus, if you’re working toward a management position, it’s smart to pick up some extra tasks and earn recognition from your superior.

We spoke to some of BevSpot’s best bar managers to find out how their bartenders have impressed them over the years. Here’s a list of 13 things they recommend you do to impress your bar manager at work.  

1. Keep it clean

Recognize the importance of a spotless bar. A dirty one will scare off customers and potentially lead to a failed health inspection. Although it may seem like busywork, maintaining a clean bar and staying on top of your health inspection checklist will show that you take pride in your work and you care about the customer’s experience.

Make sure the bar surface isn’t wet or sticky, the soda gun and its holder are sanitized, the glassware is clean, all the trash makes it into the can, the dishes are done, the bar tools are organized, and the preparation area is spotless.

Marlon Hall, the Bar Manager at HobNob, in Jacksonville, FL, explains how organization and cleanliness are key.

“I’m most impressed when my bartenders respect the mise en place. Knowing how to work clean and efficiently is a high commodity and a valuable asset for a bartender to possess. It’s impressive.”

2. Always record spills and comped drinks

If you keep an accurate tally of every drink that’s accidentally spilled or been purposely given away, your bar manager will appreciate it. With accurate usage and sales tracking, your manager will be able to see what percentage of loss is attributed to spills and comps and take steps to control these occurrences if beverage costs get too high.

3. Know your alcohol

If you want to get your bar manager’s attention, know your alcohol. If you know the basics and can recall how to make a good number of drinks, it’ll go a long way. But, if you really want to go the extra mile, take some time to learn the story of the cocktails you make and the products you serve. Try new liquors, know the details of the beers on your draught list, and prepare answers for potential questions from customers.

4. Create new cocktails for the menu

As an ambitious bartender, take some time to come up with your own cocktails. Adding new drinks to the menu will help to bring in new business, keep current customers interested, and give you a sense of ownership in your work.

To get started, watch how customers consume different cocktails and use that as a springboard to come up with the elements of your next creation. One of the easiest ways to invent a new drink is to make variants of classic cocktails.

5. Come up with promotional ideas

Your bar manager has a lot on their plate. Show initiative by coming up with new ways to bring in customers during slower times. To come up with new ideas for drawing in a crowd, pay attention to what other establishments are doing and listen to what your customers are interested in. Want some ideas? Check out what these Boston bars are doing.

6. Cut off customers when necessary

Although it might be a difficult situation, you should always refuse service to overly intoxicated customers. In most circumstances, bartenders are in the best position to determine a customer’s sobriety. To impress your manager and show them you care about the business, your staff, your customers, and the general public, confidently cut off customers who’ve had too much to drink.

7. Work quickly

Speed is crucial for keeping both your customers and bar manager happy. Your patrons don’t like waiting for service, and the more drinks you serve, the more money your bar makes. Even if you work at a slower establishment, you never know when a large crowd will walk in. To prepare for the rush, it’s important to practice. For example, fill up empty liquor bottles with water, stick pour spouts in them, and practice pouring shots as fast as you can.

Rob McCaffery, the Bar Manager at Lincoln Tavern, in South Boston, explains his appreciation for fast-paced bartenders.

“This job requires you to adapt to a fast-paced environment. I’m impressed with bartenders who strive to develop a sense of urgency. It’s not easy and doesn’t come naturally to most people. I believe it’s what sets bartenders apart.”

8. Follow the schedule

Your bar manager takes a lot of time and effort to come up with a staff shift schedule every week. It’s not easy to create a schedule that includes full-time, part-time, set-schedule, and flex-schedule employees, especially if bartenders back out of shifts last minute or forget to come in. To impress your manager, always give them advanced notice when you need time off, and show up on time for the shifts you’re scheduled for.

9. Use the correct glassware

Glassware is an essential aspect of the drinking experience. Not only does it help with presentation, but a study done by a Japanese medical group found that glass shape affects how aromas are delivered. Impress your bar manager by knowing the correct glassware pairings for each drink. Check out our glassware guides to see detailed pairings for beer, wine and spirits.  

10. Pour beer correctly

Although it might seem like a straightforward task, pouring beer takes a certain technique. To impress your bar manager, learn how to properly pour a beer so no product is wasted and the customer receives a quality product.

First, make sure the glass is clean—a savvy beer drinker will recognize if their beer glass isn’t rinsed properly if they see bubbles stick to the sides of the glass. When you go to pour a customer’s beer, hold the glass at a 45 degree angle and aim toward the middle of the slope of the glass. When the glass is about ⅔ full, hold it upright and keep pouring toward the middle of the glass to create a foam head of about 1 to 1 ½ inches.

11. Know your regulars’ names

Regulars make up a substantial percentage of your overall revenue. To keep them coming back, it’s important to show you appreciate them. Learn their names and be sure to greet them when they walk through the door. It’s also helpful to remember what they typically like to drink.  

12. Use tactics to increase sales

In some ways, bartending is a sales position. To impress your manager, use sales tactics to improve your bar’s bottom line. For example, suggest premium products, don’t lead with what’s on sale, and list more expensive products first. Remember, the check total is also the greatest influencer of the tip amount. If you sell a second drink, it can increase your tips in increments of 100%.

13. Fully commit to hospitality

Holding a job in the food and beverage industry means constantly displaying happy, pleasant emotions toward customers. Having a great deal of patience and composure in all types of situations is difficult. Hall explains that bar managers like himself certainly take notice when bartenders are consistently composed.

“What really impresses me as a bar manager, more than anything, is the ability of my bar staff to remain consistently hospitable in the face of any circumstance. We often get so caught up in the spirits and cocktail pieces that we forget to really serve not only guests but also each other. Hospitality is impressive.”

McCaffery also notices bartenders committed to hospitality. 

“I’m always impressed by bartenders and their patience. It’s a great job to have but not everyone can tolerate what transpires during any given shift without getting annoyed or anxious. As a bartender, you’re on stage at all times. Your guests will recognize when you’re being sincere, and they’ll want to return to your bar to enjoy a genuine experience.”

A successful bartender doesn’t simply make drinks. They go beyond what’s expected and put effort into every aspect of the role. If you’re looking to bring in more tips, impress your manager, potentially get a promotion, and advance your career in the food and beverage industry, this advice will put you on the right track.

Want to help your bar manager with one of the most tedious tasks behind the bar? Tell him how BevSpot can cut his inventory time in half.

Schedule 15mins to chat with a product specialist

Start a FREE Trial Today! BevSpot offers full product education and account setup for all customers! No card Information needed!

Happy Hour, Happy Data: Structuring Your POS

Is your POS system structured for discount pricing?

Everyone loves happy hour (obviously—that’s how it got its name). It’s a great promotion to help increase traffic and sales and keep customers thirsty for great deals. But tracking happy hour and special discount pricing in your bar or restaurant’s POS system can be complicated and time consuming.

However, this is a crucial part of running a successful bar. It’s important to be able to identify and evaluate the underlying numbers of your happy hour promotions or other special discount items.

If they’re structured incorrectly in your POS system, it’s almost impossible to identify the critical pour cost and profitability numbers and understand how these discounts affect your beverage program’s performance.

So, what can be done to make sure these special prices are properly set up in your POS system? Let’s take a look.

1. Determine Your Promotion Types

There are many different types of special promotions that bars and restaurants run to increase traffic during slow periods or promote slower moving products. At BevSpot, we’ve seen them all—from standard happy hour time frames to well drink half-off specials and local beer discounts on Thursdays.

It’s up to you to know your customer profile, locality and competition—as well as the local laws governing alcohol sales in your area—and decide what promotions will work best for your bar. This is the first step in organizing discounts in your POS.

2. Structure Your POS to Support Your Needs

Properly structuring your POS system is crucial to ensuring your staff can easily ring-in the items they need. But being able to quickly ring-in products isn’t enough. What matters is the way the underlying numbers are structured inside your POS—and what they’re doing to your profit margins.

Structuring your POS isn’t much fun to talk about, we know. So, we’ll make this as simple as possible: Just like any other product pricing, you need to be able to see how many of each item you sold at what price.

Luckily, this is something most POS systems handle fairly well. A great shortcut solution, though, is to have a separate button for ringing-in any happy hour drinks—we often see this show up with an “HH” before the item name—or, maybe the magic happens behind the scenes, deep inside some serious POS structuring.

What matters most is that when you look at a report from your POS, you see a line item for how many of that item you sold at the regular price, and a line item for how many you sold at the special price.

“But what if my POS doesn’t do that?” If your POS doesn’t track these pricing tiers separately, and you can’t commit to spending time restructuring the system yourself, take a weighted average of all the prices you’ve sold an item for, and you’ll get directionally correct numbers. These figures might be a little inaccurate, but at least they’ll give you a general idea of your sales and cost averages.

3. Calculate the Numbers

Now comes the fun part. Like all of your sales items, you want to evaluate your profit margins and profitability for these special discounts.

To determine these, you need to calculate:

Cost to pour / Sale price = Your cost %

For example, let’s say you sell a $10 Jack and Coke, and it costs you $2.00 to pour ($1.57 for the Jack, and $0.43 for the Coke). Your cost percentage is 20%. That means for every time you sell that drink, it costs you $2, and your profit is $8.

For cost percentages, low is good. As a general guideline, you want all of your items to be within a range of 18-22%, but these happy hour and special discount items will likely land outside of that range.

To decide if pricing these items outside of the target is helpful or hurtful, you need to do some investigating to understand how they affect the rest of your profitability.

For the profitability of your program as a whole, you want to evaluate:

Usage from inventory / Net $ received = Profitability 

A great test to run to identify this number is to compare your bar’s overall profitability when you mix in these specials with a comparable sales period without them. Do these specials present enough draw to customers that they improve your profitability? Or are the cost margins too high to justify them?

Let’s say you typically have a $10,000 week at the bar, with $2,000 in usage. You’re typically running at an 80% profit. If you mix in a special discount that increases your sales to $10,800 and your usage to $2,500, you’ve changed your profitability to 77%. These are specials you would want to consider tweaking so they move the needle in the right direction.

It’s a lot to consider, but correct structuring in your POS is a critical part of running a profitable beverage program.

Need a little extra help?

Let BevSpot handle all the math for you. Do your inventory and ordering on our platform, import the sales data from your POS, and we’ll seamlessly calculate all your sales and profitability analytics for you, presented in beautiful, easy-to-read visualizations—all with the guide of our expert Customer Success team.

Schedule 15mins to chat with a product specialist

Start a FREE Trial Today! BevSpot offers full product education and account setup for all customers! No card Information needed!

How to Start a Blog for Your Bar or Restaurant

For bars and restaurants, blogging is a great way to boost online presence and industry authority.

If you own a restaurant or bar, you probably have a website with your menu, contact information, directions, and maybe some features like these. You might also have social media profiles for your business, where you post 140 character updates and delectable photos of your offerings. However, there’s another element that can make your online marketing efforts more effective, compelling, trusted and searchable: a blog.

Why your bar or restaurant should have a blog:

It positions you as an industry leader.

By choosing topics that resonate with your audience and composing well-written articles, you can build trust and show your audience you are well-versed in your field. For example, if you own a craft cocktail bar, you could post detailed articles about the many different ways to make an Old Fashioned or an infographic about essential bar tools. The next time a reader craves a quality cocktail, they might head to your bar because they’ve read your blog and consider your establishment an expert on craft cocktails.

It establishes better customer relationships.

Blogs can deepen the connection with your patrons and potential patrons—people like to be informed. With a blog, people can get to know your restaurant before they even walk in the door and stay up to date after they’ve visited. Use your blog to tell your story, show off your team, feature items on your menu, and respond to industry news and customer comments.

It drives traffic to your website.

According to a Constant Contact survey, 92% of those surveyed search for restaurants online and 75% often choose a restaurant based on search results. Many bars and restaurants have a static website that’s rarely updated. However, blogging regularly and using industry-specific keywords in your articles can help you earn yourself a higher spot on Google’s search results. Every new blog post you publish is one more indexed page, which means it’s one more opportunity for your business to be found in search engine results.

It provides you with content for social media.

80% of bars and restaurants in the U.S. report using social media. Most business owners today know social media is an important part of their content marketing strategy. However, with your time divided between other tasks, it might be difficult to constantly come up with new social posts. With an active blog, you have a gold mine of content that can be shared on social. Plus, when you post relevant links on your social channels, you can give your social followers a reason to click through to your website.

Now that you know the benefits of blogging, here are some simple steps to get you started:

Step 1: Choose a blogging service

One of the main benefits of blogging is increasing traffic to your site, thereby increasing your discoverability on search engines. You’ll want to set up your blog on your website using a subdirectory (yourwebsite.com/blog) or subdomain (blog.yourwebsite.com).

Talk to your webmaster or host—there’s often a blog component that you can easily add to your current content management system for free. If not, there are lots of great website-builder tools these days (see the inset), which you can set up to share a domain with your current website. SquareSpace, WordPress and Wix are some that we recommend, and they have themes specifically tailored to bars and restaurants.

For even more features—like online menus, ordering and reservations—there are some great new services made specifically with tools for restaurants and bars: Flavor Plate, Let’s Eat, and BentoBox. Check out the next chapter for more information on website features.

Step 2: Brainstorm your keywords

To ensure your blog posts are found, they should be SEO friendly. When you’re first starting out, it helps to create a list of terms that describes your restaurant. Think about what words people search for when they’re looking for a restaurant or bar like yours.

For example, some common SEO terms for restaurants and bars might be:

• Good seafood restaurants in Chicago
• Craft cocktail bars near me
• Best date night restaurants in East Village
• Best place to get fresh fish
• Best Old Fashioned in Chicago
• Gluten-free restaurants

These potential searches are called long tail search terms, and if you create blog posts that are related to them, you have a good chance of showing up on a Google search. Keep in mind, these terms are usually three to four words and the more obscure they are, the easier they are to rank for. When choosing certain long tail keywords to target with your blog content, be sure to target keyword phrases that are specific to your business.

Step 3: Brainstorm topics to write about

In addition to being SEO friendly, your blog posts should also be interesting and relevant to your audience. To stay on track and make sure you’re posting regularly, set up a content calendar with some bar and restaurant topics like these:

Featured menu items (both new and old)

If you’ve recently added a new cocktail, a new food item, or you simply want to highlight a classic favorite, write a post about it! Explain who came up with it, where the inspiration came from, and the different aspects that go into it. By telling its story, you’ll get people excited to come in and try it.

Answers to common questions

Customers ask your staff questions every day. To write a high quality blog post, think of questions you hear often and write detailed answers. For example, you could write a post titled, “How to Properly Eat a Lobster” or “What Drinks Pair Best with Each of Our Menu Items?”

Event announcements

If your establishment’s planning on hosting an event, announce it on your blog. Tell your readers all the details they need to know and entice them to come in by telling them about the perks, such as live music, free food, or entertainment.

Other local businesses and events

If you want to expand your audience, consider giving complementary businesses a shoutout. If you feature them in your blog post, “The Top 5 Places to Visit in Chicago,” they’ll want to share your post with their social media followers, which will send you traffic you wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Customer features

Tons of your customers are on social media, and some of them might have a large following. To drive more traffic to your bar’s website and show your customers some love, write blog articles that feature some of your best customers. Not only will this make them happy, they’ll want to share the post with their friends, family and followers.

Employee features

Customers like to get to know your business, including the people who work there. Write up bios about your chefs, do a Q&A with your bartenders, or have one of your waiters describe his favorite dish on your menu. This will give your employees a sense of pride in their work, and they’ll also feel inclined to share your bar’s article with their networks.

Local happenings

Running a bar or restaurant means being part of the community it’s in. Show you’re tuned into the local scene, and find your way to the front page of search engines by writing content that highlights local sports teams, the nearby college, or charity events in town. Highlighting local happenings can also help you build a local fan base, which can drive a ton of referral business.

Industry and Seasonal trends

As a bar or restaurant owner, you have an inside look into upcoming seasons and what they’re offering. Unlike your customers, you constantly talk to distributors and vendors and industry professionals, and you probably have a good idea of what the trends for the next few months will be. Share this knowledge to help your customers stay informed and position yourself as an industry leader.

Recipes

Share some of your establishment’s recipes to capture your customers at their point of need and to brag about what you do best. Just think about all the thirsty and hungry people Googling recipes. If your recipe shows up in their results, you can get their mouth watering for a visit to your establishment.

You can choose to share the entire recipe or share the “poor man’s version” to entice people to visit your establishment for the real deal. Share these recipes in a traditional blog format, or create short videos to walk customers through each step.

Step 4: Publish your first blog post

Now that you’ve got your blog set up and your ideas brainstormed, it’s time to write your first blog post. Remember, your blog shouldn’t just be about self-promotion. Make sure your content is helpful, interesting, and optimized for SEO to drive traffic and provide the best value possible for your readers.

Step 5: Keep blogging

Now that you’re officially in action, it’s important to keep posting. If you regularly update your blog, you’ll be able to generate new traffic, improve your search engine ranking, demonstrate your expertise, and always have fresh content for your social media channels.

Now that you understand the benefits of blogging and have the steps to get started, don’t waste any time! Blogging might not be as popular as social media in the industry, but that just gives you an even better opportunity to beat out the competition.

Want to further increase the marketing efforts of your bar? Make sure you also have a strong social media presence, a solid email marketing program, and strategic online advertising.

For more tips on how to run a successful bar or restaurant, subscribe to the blog, below!

Schedule 15mins to chat with a product specialist

Start a FREE Trial Today! BevSpot offers full product education and account setup for all customers! No card Information needed!

Social Media and PR for your Restaurant or Bar

Trying to run your bar or restaurant’s Facebook page?

Times have changed. For those who have been in the industry for many years, the digital makeover may have turned the restaurant and bar industry into something unrecognizable—a dark tunnel of confusion to navigate. For others, it may come naturally.

The world of social media can be a terrifying place for anyone, especially a restaurant or bar owner. What used to take years of gaining editorial reputation, a fancy camera, and fair warning before popping in for a meal, is now, well, pretty much the general population. Got an iPhone and an Instagram account? You’re a food photographer. A reputable Yelp account (bonus for Elite status)? You’re a restaurant critic. Even people who simply enjoy the experience of eating out are deemed “foodies.”

It’s now possible for customers to broadcast a negative experience and taint your reputation with a single viral Facebook post.

But there is a light at the end of this dark tunnel—this digital evolution also allows for many more people to spread the positive word about your establishment, and you yourself hold a unique power to control your own branding online, creating your own voice and image, and owning the social media world we live in.

It’s a scary online world out there, but let’s navigate it together. Here are five steps to running a successful social media campaign for a bar or restaurant.

1. Start from the beginning

Nothing helps build a solid reputation like getting that hot and new status. “Have you been yet? I went opening weekend! I can’t believe you haven’t tried it yet….you have to order the octopus appetizer.” People love to buzz about what’s new and exciting.

But how can you ensure that you’re not mistaken for the restaurant down the block that’s been around for years?

Anticipation is key. Start creating buzz from the beginning. Secure your social media accounts as soon as you have a name. Share construction and opening updates. Contact local media outlets early, offering little tidbits about your new concept. Local publications love to have the inside scoop on what’s what around town, and this will have people talking before your doors even open.

2. Have an easily accessible social media handle

There is nothing more frustrating than being out at a meal and endlessly searching for a restaurant’s Twitter handle (your username) while composing a tweet. Buried in your phone, with friends or on a date—no matter the situation—isn’t exactly mannerly.

Tweeting and tagging restaurants frequently from BevSpot’s social media accounts, I can firsthand say there have been more than a few times when I’ve given up completely on locating a Twitter handle that doesn’t immediately populate from the obvious spelling of a restaurant’s name. Amidst a crowded bar, with dirty looks across the table, it’s not always easy to guess the random hyphen or underscore in a handle. And how am I supposed to know if your Instagram account begins with your city and not your restaurant’s name?

If you can’t get the most obvious handle (we know, it happens), one way to make sure your patrons can find you on social media is to print your handles on the menu. Encourage guests to snap a photo and share their experience with a little message letting them know they’re in a social-media-friendly zone, and here’s how to reach you.

3. Respond to everyone

Although many aspects of the industry have changed, one thing will always remain: hospitality is all about customer service. But in this digital age, the definition of customer service has evolved. Like sending the manager over to see how your meal is, or letting a patron speak directly with the chef, people feel rewarded by social media engagement. Getting an immediate double-tap or retweet is satisfying, and nothing says customer-friendly like an immediate response on social media. Just a simple “Thanks for joining us!” or “Great pic!” encourages patrons to keep up the chatter.

Tenzin Samdo, Bar Director at Boston’s Trade, has over 12,000 followers on his personal Instagram handle, @BostonMixDrink. Samdo spends a good chunk of his time sifting through and replying to his many comments, “but there are real questions there that affect business and are important to reply to,” says Samdo. “You have to always be engaged with your audience, otherwise, you’ll lose them.”

Finding it too time-consuming to manage your social media? You may want to consider budgeting for a social media manager. This is a job that many college students would kill for, and a great way to reach your target audience. As Samdo says, “Think of social media like a giant billboard that you pass everyday that says ‘advertise here, for free.’ If you keep seeing that, are you just going to keep driving?”

4. Keep an eye out for loyalty

You may notice @CocktailGal84 constantly retweeting you, taking photos at your restaurant, and singing your words of praise. This is free marketing for you, so why not send her a free drink next time she’s in? This type of treatment shows your appreciation for a loyal fan and patron, while also showing how on top of your social media game you really are. You already know that recognizing regulars is key to hospitality management, but now you have many new platforms on which to recognize them.

That drink may only cost you a few bucks, but chances are, it will make her night and ensure she keeps coming back and calling you out.

Think of your restaurant as a celebrity and your social media followers your fan club. Don’t you want to show them love?

5. Share specials, events, and limited-time offers

Recently, I was browsing my Insta-feed and came across Hillstone Boston’s photo of a fried oyster on top of creamed spinach. My friend and I were there eating it within the hour.

This is probably a rather extreme case, but the only thing better than hearing about a really delicious restaurant is seeing it for yourself. And when you create that sense of urgency with a “limited time special” and a delicious looking visual to boot, you may have people lining up in no time.

Take local Boston staple Cutty’s, for example. This small neighborhood sandwich shop in the heart of Brookline offers a limited batch fried chicken sandwich on one Sunday every month.

And people go nuts for it.

Indeed, it’s a delicious sandwich. But is it worth rolling out of bed early on a Sunday to stand in line, possibly for hours?

You’ll have to judge for yourself, but chances are people are vying for the exclusive and rare opportunity that Cutty’s brilliant marketing team has successfully broadcasted across all social media channels.

No matter how you look at it, social media, in some capacity, is here to stay. Real time conversations and updates have become prominent in our culture, and if you don’t join in soon, you’ll fall behind. “Our parents’ generations went to libraries to learn things and read about them. But we use Google, and Instagram, and hashtags,” says Samdo. “PR today is about creating your own branding and making it convenient for your audience to find you. You have their attention for 5-6 seconds before you lose them.”

You have a huge opportunity to make a big splash out there. Don’t waste a second.

Want to learn more? Take your business to the next level and start an email marketing program for your restaurant or bar. Or, start advertising your bar online.

For more advice on running a better restaurant or bar, subscribe to the blog, below—don’t miss out.

Schedule 15mins to chat with a product specialist

Start a FREE Trial Today! BevSpot offers full product education and account setup for all customers! No card Information needed!

What’s the Average Pour Cost in the Bar Industry?

What Does the Data Say About Average Bar Industry Pour Costs?

Pour cost is the cost of a drink’s ingredients divided by its sale price. It’s a powerful metric for understanding the profitability of your bar and identifying inefficiencies in your business. This allows you to adopt the strategies to improve it—whether that’s reducing product costs, effective drink pricing, or minimizing product loss.

Start Your Free Trial With Bevspot Today!

Average Pour Costs (Bar Industry)

We found that the typical bars, have total average pour costs of around 18–24%. The median bar sits at a pour cost of just above 20%. That is, the “average” bar has a pour cost of 20%. When broken down, median pour costs are 24% for beer, 15% for spirits, and 28% for wine. The lowest 25% of pour costs are at or below 20% for beer, 14% for spirits, and 22% for wine.

We’ve shown you how to calculate (and interpret) pour costs. And we’ve discussed ways to improve the profitability of your beverage program. But how do you know if there’s substantial room to improve that profitability? What pour costs should you be targeting?

A handful of professionals and experiences bar managers have argued that bar industry pour costs should hover in the 18-24% range; others cite 20% as a useful target. These estimates are problematic for two reasons.

The first is that a business’ total pour cost depends on the balance of product categories that it sells. For example, spirits and cocktails almost always sell at lower pour costs than wines do. If you run a wine-heavy bar, then your cumulative expected pour cost may differ from industry standards.

The second issue with these targets is that they’re based on individuals’ anecdotal industry experiences. Very few data-driven analyses of pour costs exist. And while some observers say that an individual bar’s historical metrics are the only reliable benchmark for an “ideal” pour cost, it’s hard to argue that a bar’s operations are efficient when its comparable peers are achieving much higher profit margins.

We took an empirical look at our customers’ profitability data to find what pour costs bars and restaurants are achieving in reality. We then drilled down by product category and business size to get better-tailored estimates for your bar. Let’s take a look at what we found.

Schedule 15mins to chat with a product specialist

Start a FREE Trial Today! BevSpot offers full product education and account setup for all customers! No card Information needed!

Email Marketing for Your Restaurant or Bar

Learn how to start an email program for your restaurant or bar.

As a business tool, email marketing is more powerful than ever. And not just for the big companies—for businesses of any size, in any industry. Email drives the highest ROI (return on investment) of all marketing channels, and with the explosion of innovative marketing technology, it’s now easy for bar and restaurant owners with no marketing experience to boost sales through powerful marketing campaigns.

For a restaurant or bar, email marketing is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to engage with and build loyalty among your customers. You know your customers best, so be sure to use language and design that reflects your brand and resonates with the reader. If your average customer is a young, hip millennial, try using fun language and cultural references they will appreciate. If your average customer is a craft beer junkie, you’ll want to show your expertise and knowledge of industry trends.

And don’t worry—if you are just getting started with email marketing for your business, you’re still ahead of the game. Most bars and restaurants are not currently using email to communicate with their customers, other than the occasional reservation confirmation. But getting ahead, when it comes to marketing your bar in creative ways, can mean huge increases in customer loyalty, word of mouth, public relations, awareness and, of course, sales.

Now, let’s do this!

Step 1: Select your email software platform

Selecting and setting up email software might feel premature before even having an email list, but it’s important to understand the functionality of the tool you select before building out your email strategy. If you are just starting your email program, Mailchimp offers a free plan for lists under 2,000 subscribers. Campaign Monitor and Express Pigeon are also good options for smaller bars and restaurants, with a focus on email design.

Step 2: Create your email templates

Most email tools will provide at least a few basic email templates for their users. If you’re just getting started and don’t happen to have a friend with email design and coding skills, I’d recommend using the templates within your chosen email tool. They’re usually clean, tested designs that have been optimized for mobile—meaning the text is large enough to read on a mobile device, the calls-to-action buttons are an optimal size for clicking with your thumb, and images scale to fit on a smaller screen. About 60% of email opens are on a mobile device these days, and this number will continue to increase over time. It’s important to keep this in mind when choosing your email design.

Once you have chosen an email template that best suits your brand, the first email you’ll want to create is a welcome email to anyone who subscribes to your list. It’s important to set the voice of your brand in this first welcome email. This is your only chance to make a good first impression on their inbox, so I’d recommend including the following:

• A “thank you” for joining your list
• A line about what they can expect to read about in your emails, whether it’s invitations to exclusive events, new menu listings, etc.
• A brief description about your bar or restaurant that connects you to your customers
• And, of course, your restaurant contact information and social buttons

Once you’ve created your first email, the rest will come easy! Try to keep designs for specific types of emails consistent so that your customers can easily distinguish an event invite from a holiday closing notification.

Step 3: Collect your customers’ emails

You can’t have an email program with nobody to email! You might be wondering why collecting customer emails wasn’t the first step in starting your email program. When customers provide their email, they do so because they want to hear from you, and relatively quickly. It takes time to choose an email software platform and create branded email templates. If they don’t hear from you until months after they’ve signed up for your program, it will feel random and impersonal, and you unsubscribe rates will reflect that.

The easiest way to get started with collecting email addresses is by asking for them in-house. This can be as simple as setting up a fishbowl to collect business cards in an accessible place in your bar, or asking them to write it on their check if they enjoyed their experience. I’d recommend adding an incentive, such as a chance to win a gift card to your bar or restaurant, to encourage customers to give you their email.

You will also need to collect emails online in order to scale your list. Be sure to keep your email opt-in field visible in the header and footer of your website. Some advanced POS and payment systems also have the ability to collect email and additional customer data. Another option is to collect emails on your social channels, but don’t forget to provide that incentive. Give customers a reason to give you access to their already-overflowing inbox.

Step 4: Test and optimize

The one piece of advice you’ll hear over and over again when creating an email program is to test, test, test. Think about your own inbox and how cluttered it can be; make sure you’re standing out to your customers. Once you have a sizeable email list, you’ll want to test subject lines, email designs, CTAs (calls-to-action), promotions, and even the time of day that you are sending. As you test, be sure to keep track of all successes and failures—and only test one variable at a time. Did you have a higher unsubscribe rate when you pushed a promotion? Were your open rates lower on the weekend than during the week? This will allow you to optimize your email program over time and learn how to get the right content to your customers at the right time.

Step 5: Have fun with it!

Email is a great way to stay in touch with your customers in a more personal way, and it’s a great tool to use to incorporate other marketing channels and expand the reach of your business. Try including an invitation to follow your bar or restaurant on your social channels in the footer of your emails. Send exclusive invites or offers to customers that will encourage them to stay engaged with your email program, and be sure to thank your customers whenever it’s appropriate—it shouldn’t be all about selling. Sometimes, a “Thanks for being a great customer—Happy Holidays!” email is enough to turn an occasional customer into a loyal one.

While email design and code is constantly changing to adapt to new devices and audiences, email itself isn’t going anywhere. Businesses of all sizes have had great success in building customer loyalty, increasing sales, and boosting overall business reach and legitimacy through email marketing campaigns.

The bar and restaurant industry is a risky business to be in. Take your bar to the next level and extend that sense of hospitality even further, right into your customer’s inbox. Kickstart your marketing efforts with a brand new email program.

Want to learn more? Find out how to advertise your bar or restaurant online, on sites like Google, Facebook and Instagram.

For more advice on running a better bar or restaurant, subscribe to the blog, below.

Schedule 15mins to chat with a product specialist

Start a FREE Trial Today! BevSpot offers full product education and account setup for all customers! No card Information needed!

Bar Tools Guide (Tools every bartender needs)

Bartenders need to open beer bottles, strain craft cocktails, create beautiful garnishes, clean up spills, crush ice, measure ingredients and expertly mix up drinks (just to name a few bar manager duties). To get these tasks done efficiently, they need a solid arsenal of tools found here in our bar tools guide.

Cocktail Strainers

Also known as a bar strainer, a cocktail strainer is used to remove solid materials from the liquid. It’s typically used after a drink has been stirred or shaken to remove fruit, ice, or other solid materials that the bartender doesn’t want in the final cocktail. There are two basic types of cocktail strainers:

Hawthorne Strainer

This bar tool is composed of a disc, a handle, two (or more) stabilizing prongs, and a metal spring. This metal bar accessory is used to remove ice and other solid ingredients (such as muddled fruit) from a cocktail as you pour it into a glass. When in use, the metal spring will fit inside the mixing tin, helping to filter out ice and other solid ingredients so the rim of the strainer doesn’t need to touch the rim of the mixing tin.

Julep Strainer

The Julep Strainer consists of a perforated bowl-shaped cup with a handle. This tool was originally used to serve Mint Juleps before the drinking straw became popular. The bartender would serve the Julep with the strainer placed over it so the drinker wouldn’t get a face full of ice and mint. Now, this strainer is used for making cocktails. It generally fits into a pint glass better than a Hawthorne Strainer so it’s best used when you’re straining from a pint glass.

Fine-Mesh Strainer

This bar tool is composed of a disc, a handle, two (or more) stabilizing prongs, and a metal spring. This metal bar accessory is used to remove ice and other solid ingredients (such as muddled fruit) from a cocktail as you pour it into a glass. When in use, the metal spring will fit inside the mixing tin, helping to filter out ice and other solid ingredients so the rim of the strainer doesn’t need to touch the rim of the mixing tin.

Bar Spoons

Also called a stirring spoon, this specialized spoon was originally designed to (you guessed it) stir cocktails. Bartenders also use it to measure, layer, and sometimes muddle cocktail ingredients. Because it’s made with stainless steel, it’s durable and easy to clean. Plus, it won’t affect the flavor of your customer’s drinks like other spoons might. In an interview with the bar manager at No. 9 Park, Ryan Lotz, he told us that his bar spoon is his top tool. He explains, “A long thin spoon moves much more easily in a glass so it produces a smoother cocktail than something that is jostling around and moving the ice.” There are three types of bar spoons:

The American

This type of bar spoon has a simple design, a twisted handle and a red plastic cap placed on the end. It’s usually easy to find and it’s functional and cheap.

The European

This spoon is sturdier and has a bit more style. Usually, a hammer or disk is attached to the end of the handle that bartenders use to muddle or layer ingredients.

The Japanese

This bar spoon is slimmer and more elongated. The end of the handle has a variety of designs including a fork for grabbing garnishes like olives or a pretty teardrop design.

Cocktail Shakers

A cocktail shaker is used to chill and mix drink ingredients. Shaking a cocktail is a great way to thoroughly integrate all of a drink’s ingredients in order to create one blend of flavor. The majority of cocktail recipes call for this tool. There are three basic cocktail shakers:

Cobbler Shaker

Also known as the three-piece shaker, this tool includes a large metal shaking tin, a snuggly fit lid, and a small cap to cover the strainer. This strainer is integrated but it can be a bit slower to use, the lid can sometimes get stuck, and there are more parts to clean.

Boston Shaker

This cocktail shaker is a two-piece tool. It’s composed of one larger mixing glass and one smaller one. Usually the larger mixing glass is tin and the smaller mixing glass is a standard pint glass. When using this tool to shake a drink, it’s essential to make a watertight seal (or you’ll be wearing the cocktail). Also be careful when separating the two parts because the pint glass is fragile. This shaker is quick to use and easy to clean but requires a bit more skill than the Cobbler Shaker. Because it doesn’t have an integrated strainer, you’ll need to use a separate cocktail strainer.

This past fall, we interviewed two of our customers, Paulo Pereira, the beverage director at Boston’s Brass Union, and Sean Earley, a bartender at Ward 8. When we asked them what their must-have bar tool was, Paulo and Sean immediately answered “a Boston Shaker.”

French Shaker

Also known as the Parisian Shaker, this bar tool is a simplified version of the Cobbler Shaker. Although it’s recently become more popular, this shaker is actually quite old. It’s very similar to the Cobbler Shaker but it’s only two pieces and it doesn’t have a built in strainer. It’s also a bit more stylish than the other shaker options. Theses strainers are more difficult to find and tend to be more pricey.

Jigger

The jigger is a two-sided tool used for liquor measurement. The standard jigger comes in two sizes—one ounce and ½ ounce, or 1 ½ ounce and ¾ ounce. Some jiggers also include extra markings, allowing you to measure quantities like ¾, ⅓, ¼, and ½ of an ounce. When cocktails need exact measurements, the jigger is your go-to tool.

Speed Opener

Also known as a bar blade, church key, flat, popper, or mamba, the speed opener is used to quickly and easily remove bottle caps from beer bottles. Because it’s double cut, you can open bottles in the upwards or downwards motion. It’s also flat, making it easy to store it in your pocket. Flair bartenders often use these openers to entertain their customers by using certain techniques to create a loud popping noise or a visual show.

Wine Key

The wine key is essentially three tools in one—a knife, a corkscrew, and a bottle opener. The knife is used to cut through the seal on the top of the wine bottle, the corkscrew is used to twist out the wine cork, and the bottle opener is an additional accessory, used to open beer bottles. Many restaurants and bars require their servers to use this type of wine opener. Sommeliers prefer to use this type of wine opener as well.

Paring Knife

Often, when we think cocktails, we think liquids. However, bartenders need a tool for cutting and prepping drink garnishes! Whether you’re cutting zests to twist over cocktails, prepping lemon wedges, or slicing apples to place on drink rims, this 3-inch long blade should be your tool of choice.

Channel Zester

A garnish is an important component of almost any cocktail. The channel zester is an awesome tool for creating a classic twisted zest and for infusing the drink with the oils from the fruit.

Ice Tongs/Ice Scoop

How else would you pick up ice? And don’t say with your hands or with a glass (see why here)! Ice is essential for practically every beverage you create. Make sure you follow health and safety practices and keep one of these bar tools next to your ice bin.

Mixing Glass

Used to mix up cocktails before pouring them into your customer’s glass, this cut-crystal, beaker-shaped mixing glass with straight sides, a hefty base, and a spout is a great addition to any bar. Not only is it pretty, but it’s also sturdier than a pint glass and it holds a chill longer. Plus, your customers will be able to watch their drink being made.

Muddler

Many signature cocktails require the mashing of fresh ingredients. A muddler is a classic and simple tool that’s essential behind any bar. They come in different materials such as stainless steel, wood, and plastic. Some have a smooth head and others have a grinder head for maximum flavor extraction.

Y Peeler

Named for its shape, this tool features a sharp, stainless steel blade. It’s made for removing fruit and vegetable skins, making it the perfect tool for creating beautiful drink garnishes.

Lewis Ice Bag

If your drink recipe calls for crushed ice and you’ve only got ice cubes, it’s time to break out an ice bag. Once a staple in 19th-century bars, this heavy grade canvas bag is a classic way to make crushed ice for your customers’ cocktails. You can buy an ice crusher online but the Lewis Bag is easier to operate and absorbs a good amount of the ice’s moisture so the final drink is less watery.

Pour Spout

Pour spouts are used for pouring drinks with speed and accuracy, helping you avoid over-pouring, spillage, and wasted time. If you’ve ever tried to pour without one, you’ve likely seriously botched a cocktail and wasted product. Depending on your bar, they might all be shiny metal and rubber, a medley of plastic multi-colored spouts, or a combination of the two. For more pour spout info and a list of the different types, check out our blog post on pour spouts.

Juicer

If you’re making fresh craft cocktails, you’ll likely want to include some freshly squeezed juice in your recipes. As a bartender, a juicer, also known as a lemon squeezer, citrus squeezer, or Mexican juicer, uses a levered design with a hinged bowl and handles to effortlessly extract fruit juice. It’s also fairly easy to store and clean.

Absinthe Spoon

This slotted decorative spoon was made to dissolve sugar into a glass of absinthe. In the ritual involving classic French absinthe, the absinthe spoon is rested on the rim of a glass filled with a “dose” of absinthe. Then, ice water is carefully dripped onto the sugar cube so it will gradually dissolve.

Spice Grater

Whether you’re looking to grate chocolate, cinnamon, or orange skins, a spice grater is a great addition to your behind-the-bar arsenal. This tool allows you to quickly and efficiently extract flavor for craft cocktails.

Toothpick

Although they may be tiny, toothpicks are still essential tools for bartenders. They’re a crucial component for certain cocktail garnishes such as the olives in a classic martini. Toothpicks come in a ton of different varieties such as classic wood, bamboo knot, and plastic sword.

Foil Cutter

If you’re opening up a bottle of wine behind the bar, your job might be a little easier if you have a foil cutter. With a squeeze, a quarter turn, and a lift, this tool quickly and neatly removes foil from wine bottles, making it easier to remove the cork.

Butler’s Friend Corkscrew

Sometimes, older wine corks can be difficult. They may be brittle and dry, making them fragile and difficult to remove. Using a Butler’s Friend corkscrew, also called an Ah So opener, you can carefully slide the prongs between the cork and the neck of the bottle to remove an old cork more easily.

Champagne Stopper

If you serve wine or champagne by the glass, a champagne stopper is essential barware. Once it’s open, you can use this tool to tightly reseal a bottle to retain the freshness, flavor, and fizz.

Matches

If you feature any flaming cocktails, matches are a must have. Although a cigarette lighter will work, matches look a bit classier when lighting drinks or garnishes in front of guests. Not only do flaming drinks look awesome but the act of igniting them also enhances their flavor.

Funnel

Shaped with a wide mouth and a narrow stem, a funnel is used for decanting flavored syrups and spirits into bottles. If you’re trying to keep the bar and yourself from being covered in a sticky mess, make sure you have a funnel around for easy transfers.

Conclusion

Just like a chef works better with the sharpest knife, bartenders can work better, faster and more efficiently with the best tools behind the bar—and that’s just good business. Make sure to have these bar tools handy to cut the time of bartending tasks, more accurately measure your usage, and impress your customers with brilliant presentation and flavor.

Schedule time to chat with one of our product specialist!

Start Your FREE Trial Today!

• BevSpot offers full product education and account setup for all customers!

Free eBook: The Bar Manager’s Handbook

Download your copy of The Bar Manager’s Handbook now.

There are certain aspects of bar management that are dreaded in this industry. Inventory, ordering and invoicing are three. But you know what? There are ways to alter these processes to make them both easier for you and more profitable for your business.

Having an efficient beverage management system in place—whether it be through bar management software or traditional pen-and-paper methods—is crucial to running a successful bar.

By understanding how to streamline the most difficult tasks, you’ll have more time to spend on the fun parts—developing innovative cocktails, spending time with your staff, and interacting with your favorite customers.

Here at BevSpot, we work alongside the best bar managers, beverage directors, and owners to create bar management software that helps our users save time, save money, increase profit, and better understand what’s going on behind their bar.

We realize, however, that not everyone is ready to take on new bar management software. So, we’re creating resources to help make your bar successful anyway.

In our first eBook, we discussed some of the essential parts of bar management. In the second, we discussed three steps to boosting your beverage program.

Now, for our third, we’ll show you how to improve your inventory and ordering processes and help you understand how to take this knowledge—combining inventory, ordering, invoicing, and sales data—and use it to build a more profitable bar.

What will you learn in this eBook: The Bar Manager’s Handbook?

1. The crucial steps to taking efficient inventory
2. How to make ordering and invoicing easier
3. How to use these processes to boost your bar’s profitability

Ready to get down to business?

DOWNLOAD YOUR EBOOK HERE.

Customer Stories: Morningside Kitchen on Managing a New Bar

Managing a New Bar

Dan is Managing a New Bar called Morningside Kitchen, a restaurant and bar in Atlanta, GA that opened in March of 2016. The team behind Morningside serves simple, modern American fare alongside a great bar program, curated by Dan.

Their opening week was so successful they had to turn away guests at one point. And, since then, Dan has been named one of Atlanta’s top 5 mixologists and his beverage program has been featured in several local publications. 

After using BevSpot to manage the bar at Murphy’s Restaurant, a concept under the same ownership, Dan launched Morningside Kitchen with BevSpot by his side. His goal was to streamline operations at both locations, while saving himself time and his owner money.

Over the past few months, he’s cut his inventory time from 14 hours to three and has been able to successfully manage two locations at once, from anywhere. Murphy’s didn’t even need to hire another bar manager when he left—Dan does everything remotely.

“Aside from making my life easier and giving me more time to do things that I haven’t had time for before, my quality of life has just gotten much better.”

Want to see how he does it?

CHECK OUT THE FULL STORY.

Schedule 15mins to chat with a product specialist

Start a FREE Trial Today! BevSpot offers full product education and account setup for all customers! No card Information needed!