Denny’s newest Rockstar menu of indulgent late-night foods from popular bands debuted in October.

Sedlar would have been in good company, too, with operations as diverse as Denver-based Einstein Bros. Bagels and high-end restaurants ENO in New York City and Aqua in San Francisco reducing operating hours to cut costs.

But Sedlar was insistent that the downtown neighborhood in which Rivera was opening would support higher-end late-evening dining and drinking—and that an establishment offering that option would fill an underserved niche.

“Our philosophy is we must be more convenient [than other operations] for diners,” Sedlar says. “With the unstructured hours we’re all keeping, we wanted to make the restaurant available for more hours during the day.”

Nearly a year later, Sedlar’s decision is paying off. Word of mouth has spread about Rivera’s lively outdoor beach-theme bar, and the restaurant is building a name for itself as a go-to spot on Thursdays for those looking to kick off the weekend early.

Sedlar and other operators who have committed to keeping late hours say that success in the after-hours daypart builds from a willingness to recognize the period as the unusual beast that it is. That often means switching up menus once 10 or 11 p.m. rolls around and offering at least a handful of selections created with the late-night diner in mind. It means implementing subtle but noticeable changes in attitude and atmosphere to convey that an operation is a late-night destination, not just a destination that’s open late. And it means schooling late-shift staff in how to handle parties of 20 that arrive at 3 a.m. for post-club eats and other peculiarities of the daypart.

In October, Spartanburg, S.C.-based Denny’s introduced the newest iteration of its Allnighter menu, part of a bold initiative launched last year to actively court a young after-hours audience. The indulgent, shareable and value-focused items available from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. at the open-24-hours family-dining chain have helped promote Denny’s as a fun place for young and lively crowds to end the night, says Michael Polydoroff, Denny’s director of new products and marketing.

“We’ve always been the place to take the crowd, take the party and extend the night,” Polydoroff says. “At its core, that’s really the theme and the embodiment of this [menu].”

Atlanta’s Au Pied de Cochon draws diners seeking an upscale late-night experience.

An offshoot of the Allnighter, Denny’s Rockstar menu, debuted in August 2008 and features a rotating lineup of entrées and treats co-created by pop, alternative and country music artists. Rockstar items start at $3.99; new additions to the menu this fall include the After School Special (Texas toast topped with hash browns, a fried egg, shredded cheese, bacon, and fire-roasted peppers and onions), created by the band Gym Class Heroes, and The Sumwich (a French-toast sandwich filled with ham, Cheddar and eggs and sprinkled with powdered sugar), developed by Canadian band Sum 41.

“We say we’ve been feeding bands and fans since 1953,” says Polydoroff, who notes that musicians aren’t paid for their work with Denny’s. “[Rockstar] is a brand that gets a lot of traction when we go out and talk about it. It also has allowed us to create an LTO strategy—it’s a nice proving ground for us to see what flavor profiles we can introduce [on the regular menu].”

Back in L.A., eight of 11 selections on Rivera’s late-night food menu, available from 10:30 p.m. until midnight (after which only drinks are available), are exclusive to the daypart. Rivera’s bar draws a lively crowd late in the evening as events at the nearby Staples Center let out and other downtown restaurants close, so creating high-quality noshes to complement the artisanal cocktails that after-hours guests gravitate toward only made sense, Sedlar says.

Late-night choices can satisfy a sweet tooth (the Mexico City sundae features vanilla-passion-fruit ice cream and habañero caramel sauce) or cater to a craving for breakfast fare (huevos verdes offers a poached egg, Serrano ham and green salsa). The hottest item, though? Fish tacos, says Sedlar. “People still want very tactile hand food, [and] they’re very comforting.”

Eye-catching presentations help emphasize to guests that foodservice doesn’t get short shrift as bar activity ramps up. “There’s a lot of sizzle, a lot of sound,” Sedlar says. “We make our vinaigrette in cocktail shakers [for example]. People ooh and ahh at it.”

Offering a vibe that’s distinctly different from that served up at other area open-late establishments goes a long way in making late-night hours fiscally worthwhile, operators say.

In Alexandria, Va., three-year-old Buzz bakery-cafe initially attracted hungry Washingtonians for its cupcakes, cookies and coffee. Now, says owner Michael Babin, Buzz—open from 6 a.m. until midnight seven days a week—is known nearly as well for its low-key, nightcap-and-dessert service as for its baked goods. In an area heavy on beer bars and taverns, Buzz serves up wine and cocktails (as well as select craft brews) paired with house-made desserts. The restaurant also brought in an assortment of board games to encourage guests to linger.

“It’s a different kind of atmosphere from most places people are late at night,” Babin says. “It’s not loud; it’s very comfortable. It’s a place to go have a drink if you’re not in the mood to hang out at a bar.”

In cultivating a laid-back vibe, Buzz aims for a specific late-night crowd: consumers as interested in having a relaxed, relatively quiet experience as in imbibing or grabbing a caffeine fix. With its mix of drinks and plated desserts du jour, it’s a little more grown-up than the average coffeehouse.

In a similar way, Denny’s is changing up the mood in its restaurants later in the evening to help refresh its after-hours image and distinguish itself from other open-all-night brands. Besides switching the music playlist from adult-contemporary to alternative rock at 10 p.m., Denny’s has its third-shift servers wear T-shirts and jeans rather than polos and black pants.

Instead of opening the door for more-lackadaisical service, the relaxed dress code and upbeat music energize staff, Polydoroff says. “What it’s also helped us do is, in recruiting, say to people, 'This is actually pretty fun.’ It allows us to get a younger person to work and helps in retaining them.”

Josep Juncosa, director of food and beverage at the InterContinental Buckhead in Atlanta, tells servers who work the night shift at the hotel’s open-24-hours fine-dining restaurant Au Pied de Cochon that they need to be three things: entertainer, psychologist and magician.

“You have to be flexible,“ Juncosa says. “Every table has a different motivation for being there at that time of the day.”

In his 18-month tenure, Juncosa has amplified the emphasis on service training at Au Pied de Cochon, where the 11:30-p.m.-to-6-a.m. shift is responsible for 20% of the restaurant’s business. Because Au Pied de Cochon’s after-hours crowds range from post-theater-goers to local hip-hop artists and their entourages, late-night service training involves “creating a lot of scenarios,” Juncosa says.

“[What happens when] suddenly 20 people are walking in at the same time at 3 a.m.?” he offers. “If you think service needs to be fast at lunchtime, wait until you see people at 4 a.m.” Late-night guests at Au Pied de Cochon, whether they’re coming from the opera or a nightclub, want an experience above and beyond what they’d find at a quick-service concept or a diner, Juncosa explains, but still their top priority is being fed quickly—not enjoying the nuances of a formal fine-dining experience.

Contact writer at christine.lafave@reedbusiness.com