If you doubt the Happy Hour is making a comeback, consider the sales elixirs two heavy-pouring restaurant chains are currently sucking down.
The pair acknowledged this month that they’d uncorked what’s again becoming the most common sales lubricant in casual dining. Brinker International was the more recent to join the likes of P.F. Chang’s and Cheesecake Factory, announcing Wednesday that its Chili’s chain was rolling a “full-blown Happy Hour program,” in the words of CEO Doug Brooks.
Speaking to investors, Brooks was sketchy on details. But he divulged that the lures for the post-work crowd would include sangria, an upgraded version of Chili’s signature margaritas, and new food offerings at the bar.
He described the push for evening guests as one of Chili’s “very big initiatives” for rebounding from the Great Recession, which walloped all of casual dining. The rollout is right up there in strategic importance with the redesign of the concept and the changeover to more efficient kitchens, he stressed.
The financial analysts listening to Brooks refused to let his tease pass without amplification. Pressed a bit, Brooks described the new program as a natural outgrowth of Chili’s re-imaging, which extends to such bar enhancements as the installation of better flat screen TVs. He also spoke cryptically about changes that put the bartender in a position to field more drink orders.
But Brooks rebuffed requests for any sales info from the program’s market tests, which he characterized as having just concluded.
Three weeks earlier, Ruby Tuesday provided a few details about its Happy Hour program, which is already in place at the diversified company’s namesake chain (Ruby Tuesday now has more brands in its portfolio than some of the bigger private-equity firms.) CEO Sandy Beall noted that the draws include half-price appetizers and $2 tacos and sliders.
“The investments we've made in our beverage lineup and bar program should help us reach our long-term goal of increasing alcohol sales to 12% of revenue,” Beall said in Ruby’s conference call with investors.
Looks as if Ruby Tuesday is going to have a lot more competition in getting there.
Showing posts with label happy hours. Show all posts
Showing posts with label happy hours. Show all posts
Friday, October 28, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Less of a squeeze on happy hours
Restaurateurs who feel handcuffed by government restrictions will be heartened by developments in an aspect of the business that’s been locked down for 25 years. Here and there, states are starting to ease the regulations on happy hours.
It’s hardly a return to the free-pouring days of the 1970s and early ‘80s. But some of the prohibitions are being tempered with a dose of reason.
Pennsylvania, for instance, is reconsidering its time limits on happy hours. Restaurants and bars would still be restricted to 14 hours of drink discounts per week. But they could decide how to allocate that time. On a slow day like a Monday, for instance, they could extend the happy hour to four hours instead of the current maximum of two. On Friday, usually a busier night per se, they could forego any drink deals.
The law is almost certainly to pass, a sign that lawmakers are the economic struggles of both customers and service establishments. They apparently feel the industry is responsible enough, courtesy of server-responsibility training, to offer a deal and still not put a deadly hazard on the road.
Similarly, New Hampshire is likely to extend a helping hand to its service establishments by ending an across the board ban on happy hour ads. Towns and villages would be permitted to decide if local alcohol servers could advertise their drink deals.
That law, too, is expected to pass because local establishments could use the help. Local voters might also appreciate a heads-up about a bargain.
Elsewhere, the fear still prevails that people will drink too much if you make the indulgence enticing. Massachusetts, for instance, slapped Groupon’s wrists because the service’s deep discounts could be extended to alcoholic beverages as well as food. If you were buying a $50 credit for a restaurant meal, the coupon could be put toward the cost of the wine as well as the filet.
Not any more. Groupon agreed to back off that use-it-as-you-want approach after being told it was violating the cradle of liberty’s dram shop laws.
And then there’s Utah, the most begrudging state in the union for drinkers. It recently loosened up its liquor laws, but that easing was relative. A restaurant or bar can’t allow diners to see drinks being made because that might entice youngsters down a pathway to ruin. And a customer can’t indulge in a double gin and tonic. Instead, they have to order two drinks, one after the other.
Still, reason appears to be pulling ahead of fear on the national temperance front. That injection of reason can only help full-service restaurants in an era of 99-cent burgers.
It’s a good trend for those of us who enjoy a craft beer or good wine on the fewer occasions when we dine out today.
It’s hardly a return to the free-pouring days of the 1970s and early ‘80s. But some of the prohibitions are being tempered with a dose of reason.
Pennsylvania, for instance, is reconsidering its time limits on happy hours. Restaurants and bars would still be restricted to 14 hours of drink discounts per week. But they could decide how to allocate that time. On a slow day like a Monday, for instance, they could extend the happy hour to four hours instead of the current maximum of two. On Friday, usually a busier night per se, they could forego any drink deals.
The law is almost certainly to pass, a sign that lawmakers are the economic struggles of both customers and service establishments. They apparently feel the industry is responsible enough, courtesy of server-responsibility training, to offer a deal and still not put a deadly hazard on the road.
Similarly, New Hampshire is likely to extend a helping hand to its service establishments by ending an across the board ban on happy hour ads. Towns and villages would be permitted to decide if local alcohol servers could advertise their drink deals.
That law, too, is expected to pass because local establishments could use the help. Local voters might also appreciate a heads-up about a bargain.
Elsewhere, the fear still prevails that people will drink too much if you make the indulgence enticing. Massachusetts, for instance, slapped Groupon’s wrists because the service’s deep discounts could be extended to alcoholic beverages as well as food. If you were buying a $50 credit for a restaurant meal, the coupon could be put toward the cost of the wine as well as the filet.
Not any more. Groupon agreed to back off that use-it-as-you-want approach after being told it was violating the cradle of liberty’s dram shop laws.
And then there’s Utah, the most begrudging state in the union for drinkers. It recently loosened up its liquor laws, but that easing was relative. A restaurant or bar can’t allow diners to see drinks being made because that might entice youngsters down a pathway to ruin. And a customer can’t indulge in a double gin and tonic. Instead, they have to order two drinks, one after the other.
Still, reason appears to be pulling ahead of fear on the national temperance front. That injection of reason can only help full-service restaurants in an era of 99-cent burgers.
It’s a good trend for those of us who enjoy a craft beer or good wine on the fewer occasions when we dine out today.
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