Alcoholic Beverages

We all know that restaurants make their best profits selling alcoholic beverages. In a frustrating world where your Dover sole or duck confit can go bad before any of your customers order it, and where it is tough to turn a profit on many of your signature dishes, alcoholic beverages are a lifesaver. They are easy to store, not terribly difficult to order, and bring in terrific profits.

Selling Alcoholic Beverages

Of course, the more alcoholic beverages your servers are able to sell, the better. Take a tip from other businesses, and try "direct marketing." In other words, train your servers to pitch certain drinks with certain meals, or certain cocktails as aperitifs.

For instance, if your restaurant has an extensive wine list, you will want each server to know at least three bottles to recommend with each dish. That way, if your server recommends the fume blanc and the customer says she can't abide fume blanc, the server won't be stumped for another suggestion. It's amazing how often customers say yes to direct recommendations.

Pride yourself on unusual suggestions. When waiters return to their tables with dessert menus, have them offer a fabulous blue agave tequila as an after-dinner drink, rather than the typical, cloying port. If the customer has trusted your server thus far, and has been rewarded with a great meal and a great wine, he will be delighted to try an unexpected recommendation. In fact, delighting in the unexpected is what will fix your restaurant in the customer's memory.