BEVERAGE BRIEFING: Boosting Restaurant Beverage Business

Perk up business with drink specials that draw customers any day of the week.

By Allison Perlik, Senior Editor -- Restaurants and Institutions, 10/20/2008 3:04:00 PM

19%

Percent of commercial restaurants’ sales that come from alcoholic beverages.
(Source: R&I 2008 Beverage Census)

Drawing in price-sensitive consumers for that midday cup of coffee, after-work drink or late-night cocktail requires a little extra incentive these days. More than one-third of operators say they’ve increased promotional pricing specials for alcoholic drinks over the past year, while 14% are offering more deals on nonalcoholic drinks, reports the R&I 2008 Beverage Census.

Discounting is just one way to offer customers a deal. For creative inspiration, check out operators’ latest slew of traffic-driving ideas.

Chicago Champagne bar and restaurant Pops For Champagne is tying its latest promotion to the ups and downs of the shaky stock market.

• Offer a reason to cheer the market. Chicago Champagne bar and restaurant Pops For Champagne is tying its latest promotion to the ups and downs of the shaky stock market. Each day after the market closes, the restaurant will deduct a penny off each check for every point the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased. For example, if the Dow goes up 100 points, $1 is taken off every guest check for the rest of the day. The “Penny A Point” promotion continues weekdays through the end of the year.

Dunkin’ Donuts last month launched “America’s Latte Break

• Give ’em an afternoon wake-up call. In a move that targets budget-conscious consumers as well as higher-priced competitors, Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin’ Donuts last month launched “America’s Latte Break.” Locations nationwide offered small hot or iced lattes for 99 cents between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. every weekday from Oct. 1 to Nov. 11.

• Celebrate happy hour after-hours. Artemis Café & Bar in Seattle always offers happy-hour discounts between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., but the modern-American restaurant recently added a late-night Happy Hour that runs from midnight to 2 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays as well. On tap are $3 draft beers, $4 well drinks, $4 white wines by the glass and $5 red wines by the glass. Hungry customers can match drinks with $2-off munchies from Chef Zach Millican’s late-night menu, which features choices such as burgers, a hummus plate, a house salad or chicken wings.

Signature cocktails and wines by the glass are half-price every Wednesday at Le Lan, an upscale Asian restaurant in Chicago

• Take a little off the top. Signature cocktails and wines by the glass are half-price every Wednesday at Le Lan, an upscale Asian restaurant in Chicago. Among the best deals are Champagne that normally runs $19 per glass and signature cocktails such as the Pineapple Ginger Collins, the Blood Orange Sidecar and the Yuzu Gin Fizz, all normally $12.

• Reward them for coming back. Dipping its toes into discounting, Seattle-based Starbucks just rolled out The Starbucks Gold Card, a loyalty program the company tested earlier this year in Denver and Vancouver. The card costs $25 and offers holders 10% off most items (but not gift cards and digital downloads). Thousands of free cards already were sent to the chain’s best customers, CEO Howard Schultz told USA Today, and to take advantage of customer relationships on the local level, store managers will get three complimentary cards to hand out to their best customers.

• Spread out the savings. The recent 99-cent Smoothie Days promotion from Atlanta-based Planet Smoothie gave guests multiple opportunities to take advantage of a high-value proposition. For one day each month for five months, the chain featured a different signature smoothie for 99 cents. Each spotlighted product represented one of Planet Smoothie’s menu categories, with recipes designed to promote specific benefits such as energy, weight loss and overall wellness.