Creating a Beverage Menu and Selecting Offerings–The Menu Drives the Operation

• Your menu MUST match restaurant theme and target market.
• The menu is your Marketing Tool-it is needed to increase beverage sales.
• There is a lot of profit potential in beverage menus.
• There are a lot of laws that must be followed.
• Consider alcohol and non-alcohol beverages.

Things to Consider……

• Limit Offerings to what you do best!
• Sales and Profit Potential
• Incorporate Trends
• Theme of Restaurant
• Variety and Balance
• Standardized Recipes
• Product Consistency
• Continually Update
• Where do you get new ideas?

Also Consider:

• Unique/Eye Appealing Presentations
• Great Flavors
• Meet patron needs
• Capability of bartenders
• Consider what equipment you have or can afford to purchase

Can your bartenders produce items consistently

• Need standardized recipes
• Ingredient availability-be sure you can acquire all needed ingredients on a regular basis

What to Put on a Beverage Menu???

• What you are known for
• Unique Items
• You need the WOW factor!!
• How does your customer know what your specialty items are?
  • o Highlight your unique items.
• icons
• highlight
• boxing
• shading

Profitability must be considered.

• All items must be costed out on a regular basis
• Be sure you are going to make a profit
• Percentage of profit on each item may vary

Possible Categories

• Beers
• Mixed Drinks
• Blended Drinks
• Non-Alcoholic
• Wine
• What is your specialty item in each category. Do your customers know that?
• Do your items pair with specific entrees, desserts or appetizers? Give customers pairing ideas.

The Alcoholic Beverage Menu

Alcoholic Beverages Are Part of the Dining Experience

Why have a beverage menu?

• Profit Potential
• Marketing
  • o Many customers enjoy an alcoholic beverage with their food.
  • o Food and alcoholic beverages that complement each other can enhance customers’ restaurant experiences.
• Offering alcoholic beverages can be profitable.
• Upselling

Serving Alcoholic Beverages Increases Profits

• Beverage markup for alcoholic beverages is typically between 3x–4x cost.
  • o This high markup yields gross margins and net profits that are much higher than for food items.
• The purchase of alcoholic beverages also increases total guest checks.
• Laws Impact Alcoholic Beverage Service
  • o State and local laws control sales of alcoholic beverages.
• Responsible Beverage Server Certification (RBS)
• Types of alcoholic beverages that can be sold depend on the type of license
• Beer only
• Beer, wine
• Beer, wine, spirits
• Restaurants must assure that customers are of legal age to drink.

Wine List

• Wine list by the bottle
  and by the glass

What Does a Customer Want to know About Wine?

• Basic information
• Description of flavor
• Wine/food matches
• Merchandising Spirits
• Some customers request a specific brand of liquor (call liquors or call brands).
• Spirits can be listed on the menu by brand.
• Brandies and liqueurs are often listed on a dessert menu.
• Merchandising Spirits continued
• Add a distinctive touch to your cocktails with special glassware and unique garnishes.

Beers and Ales

• Two types of beers
• Lager beer—Slightly bitter taste
• Ale—Hearty and tart taste
• Beer typically contains 3–8% alcohol, but some
  nonalcoholic beers are also sold.
• Craft beers are on the rise in popularity.

Pricing Alcoholic Beverages

• Alcoholic beverages are usually marked up more than food items.
• Wine may be priced by the bottle, often with a 100% markup.
• Pricing Wine by the Bottle
• Mark up the bottle cost by cost.

$10.00 bottle  =  $20.00 selling price

$20.00 selling price – $10.00 cost  =  $10.00 gross profit

• If the resulting selling price is higher
  than average entrée price
• Reduce the markup.
• Purchase a less expensive wine.
• Pricing Wine by the Glass
• Pricing Beer and Ale
  • o Beer sold by the bottle often has a
    20–25% beverage cost.
  • o Draft beer sold by the glass often has a 20–25% beverage cost, but managers must consider the number of drinks after a pour loss.

Non-Alcohol Drinks

• Profit Potential
• Not everyone wants or can have alcohol
• Some Possible Ideas
• Smoothies
• Milkshakes
• Local Sodas like Sprecher’s, Point, Grays, Blumer’s, Lakefront, etc.
• Flavored Lemonade
• Bubble Tea
• Chai Latte
• Coffee Drinks

When writing your menu, you should have at least one signature item in each category! More than one is recommended. Signature drinks may drive sales and bringing in customers. Write appropriate menu copy to sell these drinks.

• Menu copy written to sell the items-tell about the item so people wan to order this
• Promote items
• Upsell to increase sales and increase customer satisfaction
• Spark interest
• Use a LOT of adjectives to describe the menu items
• Creative item and category names