Working Draft

Regular cleaning keeps draft-beer taps pouring the profits

By Margaret Sheridan, Senior Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, 10/15/2003

What would you expect to find on the menu at a chain named Taco Mac? Wrong. How about Buffalo-style chicken wings and more than 100 draft beers?

When founder and co-owner Greg Wakeham opened the first Taco Mac in 1979, he had only enough funding to buy new kitchen equipment, so the sign— and name—of the previous occupant remained. And while the 11-unit, Atlanta-based chain also serves steak and chicken fajitas, the concept’s heart is Buffalo wings (which Wakeham claims to have introduced to the Southern city) and its impressive beer selection.

Units boast as many as 100 taps and average $450,000 in annual draft-beer sales, representing 18% to 22% of total beverage revenue, says Gene Sutton, regional operations manager. Beer accounted for $5.5 million in sales last year for Taco Mac, which is owned by Sandy Spring, Va.-based Tappan Street Restaurant Group.

Taco Mac’s sophisticated brew-delivery system resides behind “the wall of beer” in each unit. The 30-foot-long expanse has three tiers of taps fed by short pipes connecting kegs to the tap cooler box. The investment of $12,000 per system paid off with improved draft beers, each with right balance of carbonation and proper serving temperature.

Taco Mac’s draft-delivery systems are cleaned every two weeks by one of six beer distributors who rotate the duties. Daily cleaning of tap spouts is the responsibility of bar managers.

“Regular line cleaning is essential to keep beer fresh,’’ Sutton explains. A buildup of bacteria in the line causes beer to go bad or flat. Heavy volume at Taco Mac means kegs turn quickly; because lines are monitored and well maintained, tapped beer can be kept fresh for 60 days.

Employees who are knowledgeable about the brews they pour and serve also enhance sales, he says. Taco Mac workers attend monthly tastings to stay abreast of the latest beers.

To encourage repeat business, Taco Mac established the chain-wide Passport Club loyalty program. Members who taste 125 different beers (at any unit with no time limit), receive a T-shirt and a personalized, 20-ounce mug (refillable at the 16-ounce price). “That keeps kegs turning,’’ says Sutton.

Glass Detail
At the more than 50 Fox and Hound English Pub & Grille and Bailey’s Pub & Grille units operated by Total Entertainment Restaurant Corp. of Wichita, Kan., beverages account for 56% of annual sales, according to District Manager Jim Vermeersch, with beer representing three-quarters of the beverages total. Units average 35 taps and empty eight to 12 kegs a day.

The task of cleaning the system is outsourced to three beer companies and is done once a month. It requires special equipment and takes an hour, says Vermeersch. “Beer companies are happy to maintain the lines because they want to sell us beer,’’ he says.

Glassware also needs to be clean for a perfect pour. “If glasses have residue from soap, sanitizer, rinse agents or dirt, it affects the size, density and quality of beer’s head,” Vermeersch says.