October 2014 Bar Business

Keeping Tabs:

From on-premise ordering to gaming options, tablets are taking over the bar.

The How-To Publication

BAR BUSINE$$ October 2014

M A G A Z I N E

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IT’S THE

SIMPLE THINGS NEW YORK CITY gets back to basics

CUSTOM

FURNITURE MADE IN THE USA

PICTURED SEATING: Custom Modular Seating with Custom Wall Panels, Custom Jena Dining Chairs & Jena Bar Stools

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COMMERCIAL FINANCING AVAILABLE • •

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BAR BUSINE$$

On Tap OCTOBER 2014

CONTENTS

10

HOW TO

THE VODKA BATTLE

18

18

23

29

TRIVIAL ENDEAVORS

INCENTIVIZE EMPLOYEES

THE PRICE IS RIGHT?

We head out to Pennsylvania to see firsthand what makes a great trivia event at Arooga’s Grille House & Sports Bar.

When times are tight and staff raises aren’t in the cards, there are other ways to reward and encourage your employees.

Getting the best prices on your supplies and ingredients is vital to reaping maximum profits from sales on-premise.

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October 2014 Bar Business Magazine

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On Tap

BAR BUSINE$$

CONTENTS

Features 34 TAKE THE FALL

38

Departments 4 BAR ROOM DRAWL 6 BOOZE NEWS Perlick’s new glasswasher is the enemy of lipstick; Gerber Group unveils Studio at W New York; NBWA pushes electronic payments; America’s 60 Best Bourbon Bars.

10 LIQUID ASSETS The once dominant vodka category faces challenges from brown spirits with trendy upswings, but the odorless wonder is still fighting.

14 TUNING UP Tablet technology continues to grow its potential on-premise, as the new Tanjarine system leads the way.

42 BIG SIX In New York City, some of the industry’s brightest names take us back to basics with Boilermaker, a bar for a beer and shot and some simple but well executed cocktails.

46 INVENTORY 49 HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS 52 OWNING UP

Guest columnist Doug Brickel breaks down the best ways to build a seasonal cocktail menu year round, highlighting his own creations as bar manager of Marble in New York.

38 WINE ON ICE We venture up to the Great White North to take a look at the latest in Canadian drinking trends in Icewine.

Is this intriguing on-premise addition heading our way?

ON THE COVER:

The Capricorn, served at Boilermaker in New York City.

Aged rum, fresh lime, Batavia Arrack, Falernum, and Pineapple Gomme.

New tax rules are in effect that will certainly change the way you look at tips and gratuity in 2015 and beyond. Are you up to speed?

52 “Bar Business Magazine” (ISSN 1944-7531 [print], ISSN 2161-5071 [digital]) (USPS# 000-342) is published February, April, June, August, October, & December for $45.00 per year and January, March, May, July, September, & November will only be offered in a digital format at no charge by Simmons-Boardman, 55 Broad St 26th Fl., New York, NY 10004. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and additional mailing offices. Copyright © 2014 Simmons-Boardman. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. No part of the magazine may be reproduced in any fashion without the expressed written consent of Simmons-Boardman. Qualified U.S. bar owners may request a free subscription. Non-qualified U.S. subscriptions printed or digital version: 1 year US $45.00; Canada $90.00; foreign $189.00; foreign, air mail $289.00. 2 years US 75.00; Canada $120.00; foreign $300.00; foreign, air mail $500.00. BOTH Print and Digital Versions: 1 year US 68.00; Canada $135.00; foreign $284.00; foreign, air mail $384.00. 2 years US $113.00; Canada $180.00; foreign $450.00; foreign, air mail $650.00. Single Copies are $10.00 each. Subscriptions must be paid for in U.S. funds only. For subscriptions, address changes, and adjustments, write to: Bar Business Magazine, PO Box 1172, Skokie, IL 60076-8172. Instructional information in this magazine should only be performed by skilled crafts people with the proper equipment. The publisher and authors of information provided herein advise all reader to exercise care when engaging in any of the how-to activities published in the magazine. Further, the publisher and authors assume no liability for damages or injuries resulting from projects contained herein. All rights reserved. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Bar Business Magazine, PO Box 1172, Skokie, IL 60076-8172.

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Bar Business Magazine October 2014

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Bar Room Drawl

By CHRIS YTUARTE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Don't Stop Believin' "I have heard him assert, that a tavern chair was the throne of human felicity.”

— Samuel Johnson I read an amazing news story online recently about a man in Omagh, Ireland who, it was discovered, had dug a tunnel that ran from underneath his own bed directly to the local pub some 800 feet from his home. The project had taken him nearly 15 years to complete, and funniest of all, he was using the tunnel to sneak out every night between 11p.m. and 1a.m. unbeknownst to his wife, who slept right next to him. The digger, Patsy Kerr, and his tunnel into town were only discovered when local agencies performed a survey on a sewage problem that turned out to be caused by a pipe Kerr had hit accidentally while digging his way to the pub.

“The wife has a bad snore on her and after watching The Shawshank Redemption on RTE one night in 1994, I decided to do something about it, so I waited til she was in a deep sleep and then set about digging a hole under the bed in the direction of the pub,” explained Kerr.

This was it. This was the story that would be the culmination of my career in this industry. This was the final piece of proof — proof of how much

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Bar Business Magazine October 2014

people truly love bars, proof that they have deep, long relationships with their taverns, proof that the allure of the pub is so strong a man would tunnel his way in over the course of almost two decades. Now I could retire. Nothing I could write in the pages of Bar Business would ever convey more passion for this industry than what Patsy Kerr of Omagh had done.

Alas, as Patsy’s Irish brethren might say, it was all a bunch of malarkey. The tunnel pub story was a fake, as I would sadly discover just a few minutes after reading it. Patsy Kerr was my Bigfoot, just a figment of someone’s imagination that, for a wonderful moment, held my fascination and my amazement. But the dream had come crashing down.

Then it hit me: I had read, with great interest and admiration, about a man tunneling for 15 years just to gain access to his favorite pub, and I had, for that moment, believed it possible, plausible, perhaps even likely, that such a thing was true. All practical thought about the logistics of such an endeavor, about Patsy’s wife never hearing him dig, or discovering the tunnel under her bed, or his clothes being covered in dirt every night, or any of the million other things that ring impossible about this story, went right out the window as I read it. Why? Because I believe that someone could love a bar that much.

Don’t you?

BAR BUSINE$$ MAGAZINE

October 2014 Vol. 7, No. 10 Bar Business Magazine (ISSN 1944-7531) is published by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation 55 Broad St 26th Fl., New York, NY 10004 EXECUTIVE OFFICES

President Arthur J. McGinnis, Jr. Publisher Arthur J. Sutley 212-620-7200; fax: 212-633-1863 asutley@sbpub.com EDITORIAL

Editor-in-Chief Chris Ytuarte 212-620-7223; fax: 212-633-1863 cytuarte@sbpub.com ART

Creative Director Wendy Williams wwilliams@sbpub.com Art Director Sarah Vogwill svogwill@sbpub.com PRODUCTION

Corporate Production Director Mary Conyers mconyers@sbpub.com CIRCULATION

Circulation Director Maureen Cooney mcooney@sbpub.com ADVERTISING SALES

Art Sutley 212-620-7247; fax: 212-633-1863 asutley@sbpub.com CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT

800-895-4389 Bar Business Magazine is published monthly.

All rights reserved. Nothing herein may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher.

To Purchase PDF files of covers, layouts or hard copy reprints, please call Art Sutley at 212-620-7247 or email asutley@sbpub.com.

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Booze News Perlick’s new glasswasher: lipstick’s worst enemy

P

erlick, a leader in total package bar equipment and beverage dispensing systems, recently announced the addition of the NSF certified and ENERGY STAR qualified PKHT24 High-Temp Glasswasher to its commercial glasswasher offering.

Featuring a Booster Heater that increases the water temperature to 180°F for the final, full three-minute rinse cycle — the new glasswasher properly sanitizes and is proven to remove the toughest residues, including lipstick. In addition to being lipstick’s worst enemy, the innovative glasswasher also cleans and sanitizes without leaving behind chemical flavors or odors. The result — wine and beer ready glasses.

“It’s been proven that properly cleaned barware, especially wine and beer ready glasses, leads to added profits and repeat business. This is because improperly cleaned glasses, those that are not considered wine and beer ready, contain residues that ruin the head of beer, create off odors and flavors, and even cloud sparkling beverages,” states Vice President of Sales for Perlick’s commercial products, Jim Koelbl. “As leaders in the beverage dispensing industry for nearly a century, Perlick’s new PKHT24 HighTemp Glasswasher is the perfect addition to our commercial product offering because it’s proven to clean to the wine and beer ready glass standard that operators expect.”

In addition to proper sanitization and the removal of tough residues like lipstick, Perlick’s PKHT24 High-Temp Glasswasher is NSF certified, ENERGY STAR qualified, UL-listed and washes 600 glasses per hour (or 30 racks, 20 glasses per rack). Perlick’s newest glasswasher also features: • All stainless steel construction, with a 16-gauge stainless steel wash tank • Low water usage: 0.75 gallons of water per cycle • A Booster Heater that increases the hot water temperature to 180°F for the final three-minute rinse cycle

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Bar Business Magazine October 2014

"It's been proven that properly cleaned barware leads to added profits and repeat business."

• Detergent and rinse chemical pumps • Fresh water rinse through upper and lower arms – rotating arms provide maximum glass surface coverage • Removable stainless steel pump protection screen for easy cleaning • A large 11¼-inch door opening and raised wash chamber to reduce bending while removing racks • Digital LED temperature gauge and top-mounted controls for easy operation and monitoring • Comes standard with 6-inch legs to raise height for ease of use Family owned since 1917, Perlick’s award-winning commercial product lines have maximized the profitability of the world’s finest restaurants, bars, stadiums, hotels and resorts. As a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based manufacturer, Perlick is dedicated to providing innovative, customizable food and beverage storage and serving solutions.

To learn more about Perlick’s new PKHT24 High-Temp Glasswasher, visit perlick.com www.barbizmag.com

Gerber Group Unveils Studio At W New York – Union Square

L

ast month Gerber Group unveiled Studio, a first-time collaboration with New York-based contemporary artist Domingo Zapata, at W New York – Union Square. Housed in the lounge space formerly operated as Lilium, and incorporating a one-of-a-kind large-scale installation from the artist inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Studio is a completely unprecedented concept, bringing a new vision of nightlife to the Union Square neighborhood.

“We are ecstatic to debut this truly unique venue in partnership with such a talented artist as Domingo Zapata,” said Scott Gerber, Principal and CEO of Gerber Group. “His aesthetic is bold, daring, and consistently cutting edge – a perfect fit for our property at W Union Square, which always

looks to provide guests and local tastemakers alike with unique and innovative nightlife destinations.”

Studio, which represents both Gerber Group’s first venue partnership with a visual artist, as well as Zapata’s first full-scale hospitality collaboration, serves as a transplant location for the spontaneous VIP and celebrity-filled parties at the artist's lavish Gramercy Park townhouse.

Additional elements of the lounge are also personally curated by Domingo Zapata, including the live musical performances, cocktails and guest list. The menu offers an expansive collection of classic cocktails including a “createyour-own” gin and tonic bar with a variety of housemade tonics and seasonal garnishes.

NBWA Aims To Increase Electronic Payments In Beer Industry

T

he National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) and Fintech recently announced a strategic partnership aimed at growing the number of beer industry payments conducted via electronic funds transfer (EFT).

As part of the partnership, NBWA member companies are eligible for discounts on their annual fees paid to Fintech and will enjoy quarterly rebates on new business they refer.

Additionally, NBWA member companies who join Fintech in the future will enjoy discounts on their initial subscription costs. Qualified distributors also will benefit from rate locks on their transaction fees. Finally, as Fintech expands its already significant data services, the two organizations will work together closely to generate industry data.

"For years NBWA has been promoting the use of EFT as a way to meet retailer needs,” said NBWA’s Senior Director of State & Industry Affairs Dave Christman. "Through this partnership, we’re hopeful distributors will increase the amount of electronic payments they collect to the mutual benefit of their business as well as their retailers."

Fintech, a leader in providing electronic data www.barbizmag.com

and payments to the alcohol industry, has been a strong advocate of the NBWA. Fintech currently provides service to more than 300,000 retailer-distributor relationships nationwide and is the only EFT provider that is compliant and available for use in all 50 states. With more than 2,300 alcohol distributors utilizing Fintech's system nationwide, the potential benefits of this partnership are limitless.

"I believe this strategic partnership demonstrates a mutual commitment to providing the beverage alcohol community enhanced data and services that will assist in the creation of a 100 percent electronically-paying customer base, which will in turn aid industry growth and streamline efficiency for both distributors and their retailers,” said Fintech CEO Scott Riley. “We couldn't be more excited at the opportunity to work with such a great organization."

October 2014 Bar Business Magazine

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Booze News

Best Bourbon Bars in America

B

ourbon industry publication, The Bourbon Review, has compiled a list of America’s 60 Best Bourbon Bars as part of the magazine’s sixth anniversary issue.

To celebrate, The Bourbon Review partnered with Four Roses Bourbon for a nationwide “toast” to each of the 60 establishments selected, encouraging fans to take part in the event by tagging their favorite bourbon bar from the list

using the hashtag #60Toast.

“The criteria for the list was simple,” said Justin Thompson of the Bourbon Review. “The bar needed to prominently display Bourbon, educate patrons about Bourbon and provide a superior selection. The winning bars also have a reputation for creating both unique and traditional Bourbon cocktails.”

America’s 60 Best Bourbon Bars: Bourbon Country Region: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

The Old Talbot Tavern (Bardstown, KY) The Rick House (Bardstown, KY) Old KY Bourbon Bar (Covington, KY) Wiseguy Lounge (Covington, KY) Wayne and Jane Whiskey Bar (Danville, KY) Belle’s Cocktail House (Lexington, KY) Bluegrass Tavern (Lexington, KY) Paulie’s Toasted Barrel (Lexington, KY) SkyBar (Lexington, KY) Bourbons Bistro (Louisville, KY) Charr’d Bourbon Kitchen and Lounge (Louisville, KY) Down One Bourbon Bar (Louisville, KY) Haymarket Whiskey Bar (Louisville, KY) Proof on Main (Louisville, KY) Silver Dollar (Louisville, KY) St. Charles Exchange (Louisville, KY) The Monkey Wrench (Louisville, KY) The Miller House (Owensboro, KY)

Northeast Region: • • • • • • • • • •

Citizen Public House (Boston, MA) Beast of Bourbon (Brooklyn, NY) Char No. 4 (Brooklyn, NY) Brandy Library (Manhattan, NY) Flatiron Room (Manhattan, NY) Maysville (Manhattan, NY) Butcher and the Rye (Pittsburgh, PA) Village Whiskey (Philadelphia, PA) Bourbon (D.C.) Jack Rose (D.C.)

Midwest Region: • Big Star (Chicago, IL) • Delilah’s (Chicago, IL)

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Bar Business Magazine October 2014

• • • • • • •

Longman & Eagle (Chicago, IL) Sable (Chicago, IL) The Barrelhouse Flat (Chicago, IL) J.O.B. Public House (Springfield, MO) Sanctuaria (St. Louis, MO) Japps Since 1879 (Cincinnati, OH) Century Bar (Dayton, OH)

Southern Region: • • • • • • • • • • •

Yardbird Southern Table and Bar (Miami, FL) Southern Art and Bourbon Bar (Atlanta, GA) Local Three (Atlanta, GA) Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House (New Orleans, LA) Social Southern Table and Bar (Lafayette, LA) The Crunkleton (Chapel Hill, NC) Husk (Charleston, SC) Capitol Grille at the Hermitage Hotel (Nashville, TN) Peter Kern Library (Knoxville, TN) Whiskey Kitchen (Nashville, TN) The Standard Pour (Dallas, TX)

Western Region: • • • • • • • • • • • •

Acme Bar & Company (Berkeley, CA) Seven Grand (Los Angeles, CA) Pour House (Sacramento, CA) Hard Water (San Francisco, CA) Rickhouse (San Francisco, CA) Trick Dog (San Francisco, CA) Multnomah Whiskey Library (Portland, OR) Pope House (Portland, OR) Produce Row (Portland, OR) Canon Whiskey and Bitters Emporium (Seattle, WA) Liberty Bar (Seattle, WA) Rob Roy (Seattle, WA)

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Liquid Assets

ON VODKA: THIS MUCH IS CLEAR…

By Chris Ytuarte

It’s a new day for the colorless, odorless, flavorless spirit.

Consumer trends have shifted toward other categories as we see brown spirits usurp market share. But don’t count vodka out yet; brands big and small are ready for the fight, this much is clear.

S

omewhere along the line, people became adventurous. Cavemen playing with fire, explorers seeking the New World, Manhattanites moving to Brooklyn.

And in the beverage business, just as we witnessed Budweiser loyalists sampling microbrews and Cabernet careerists craving rosé, we now see those who long favored vodka for its simple core components and mixability, seeking out brown spirits, with all of their complexity

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Bar Business Magazine October 2014

and challenging flavor profiles.

Currently, vodka is the second biggest selling spirit in the world, at 925 million gallons annually, with whiskey in third at 766 million gallons, according to Drinks International. Meanwhile, Euromonitor predicts that global whiskey sales in 2018 will be 17 percent higher than in 2013, while vodka sales will drop by 0.8 percent. Even Russia (Russia!) is seeing a decrease in vodka consumption. And while these statistics are

not lost on the companies who continue to produce vodka brands everyday, there is no backing down when it comes to competition amongst each other, and more so, against other, surging spirits categories.

“There’s no doubt there’s a brown goods wave going on out there, and it’s a very definite change in the consumer profile and what they’re drinking these days,” says Ed Pechar, Chairman of McCormick Distilling.

“Where does vodka fit into that? You www.barbizmag.com

“The number of vodka offerings on cocktail menus is shrinking.” know what — I don’t see anybody selling off their vodka brands. We continue to have a dominant role in the spirits business with vodka.”

Pechar’s company maintains a successful portfolio of straight and flavored offerings with its luxury 360 Vodka brand, and he watches very closely the trends in the marketplace as he sees them shift. “I don’t want to call this a fad, because it probably will stay around for quite some time, but I think there are people who are experimenting,” he suggests. “I think some of the new LDA drinkers are coming onboard and saying, ‘My dad used to drink bourbon,’ or, ‘My dad used to drink Scotch, maybe I’ll give that a try.’ I think there’s a cyclical nature to consumer tastes.” www.barbizmag.com

Vodka cocktails, of course, were traditionally based on the spirit’s ability to blend with almost any kind of cheap mixer available; and that clean palate also opened the gates for the advent of pre-flavored vodkas.

Once again, the very nature of the liquor allowed for its ubiquitous usage across the cocktail spectrum, and now even the brown spirits have caught on to the notion of flavor-adds to expand their presence on-premise and off.

“Anyone who has been to a bar in the last few years has seen the number of vodka offerings on cocktail menus shrink as consumers are demanding more cocktails made with brown spirits and as mixologists have gotten more adventurous in the types of base spirits they’re using in

their drinks,” says Steve Chasen, Director of Trade Marketing at Pernod Ricard. “For ABSOLUT and vodka in general, that means a couple of things, one being that we need to accentuate the drinks that are vodka-owned that consumers gravitate to — the Cosmopolitan, the Bloody Mary, the Moscow Mule, etc. — drinks where ABSOLUT has a history and real ownership stake.”

As vodka faces the pressure from surging spirits categories like whiskey and rum, branding and imagery play a key role in keeping the consumer eye trained on the segment and staying current. “We have some exciting plans for packaging innovations, with our 360 Patriot bottle being a prime example,” says Pechar.

October 2014 Bar Business Magazine

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Liquid Assets

360’s Double Chocolate Jalapeno Popper.

“We produced a patriotic package exclusively for holidays such as the Fourth of July and Memorial Day, and as the brand continues to grow we will continue to look for other unique packaging opportunities.”

ABSOLUT, famous for its innovative bottle programs, recently released its Andy Warhol design, and the brand knows what needs to be done in the face of growing competition from outside the segment.

“The vodka category as a whole has been squeezed because other categories have done a great job of presenting things to consumers that vodka as a whole has not,” says Chasen.

“Bourbons and whiskeys and rye and rum are making a push. We’re keenly aware of competitors from all sides, and we understand that we need to respond to them in fighting for our share. But competition is a good thing. It keeps us sharp.”

Perhaps finding its position as having the best of both worlds, Twenty Grand Vodka combines the finest imported cognac and vodka, mixing two distinct spirits into one unique experience. Here we find the champi12

Bar Business Magazine October 2014

ABSOLUT’s newest bottle design honors the late artist Andy Warhol. on and the challenger joined as one — vodka and brown, working together.

“Twenty Grand started out as an idea of how we can take an innovative approach to the infusion world of spirits,” explains Jon Holecz, Vice President of Marketing at Western Spirits. “When we talk about what’s been moving throughout the entire spirits industry, flavored vodka was a major change and shift in strategy for a lot of those vodka brands that helped build their portfolio and grow it to 33 percent of the industry. So as Twenty Grand evolved we looked at something completely different, taking two spirits and putting them together versus just the flavoring.

We’re trying to grab a crossover consumer who enjoys vodka or cognac.”

Twenty Grand Vodka also offers a rosé-infused spirit along with its two styles of cognac-infused vodka, Original and Black. Has this unique new brand found the secret to keeping the old-school vodka lovers happy while prying away younger, more adventurous drinkers who are testing the waters with brown spirits?

“It’s that hybrid effect here —

you’re getting the younger 21 to 24 consumer because they’re looking for that unique and innovative drink, but it’s more 25-plus than 21 because, at the end of the day, it is a $30 bottle.

Price point does come into play here.

You’re looking for that person who is not just buying the cheapest bottle of spirits in the store. They’re looking for something cool and unique that they can be proud of and want to drink, but, at the same time, they have a little cash in their pocket.”

Also affecting the vodka numbers, surely, is the overall growth of craft offerings, be it in vodka, brown spirits, or even beer. Consumers who are seeking that unique experience may be turned off by spirits (and brands) that they’ve always seen on the back bar.

“In the vodka business, the craft people are putting a dent in everyone’s business because there’s a lot of experimenting going on,” says Pechar. “People are setting up crafted distilleries in all parts of the country, and some of them are making a better spirit than others. Some of them make a very good spirit, and it www.barbizmag.com

gets a little local appeal and the next thing you know they’re selling 25,000 or 30,000 cases in their home market, which is not negligible.”

Chasen agrees. “We’re watching what’s happening in the craft beer space as well, as beer has done a great job of making more complex products and hitting on local, artisan trends,” he acknowledges. “We realize that Millennial consumers and consumers in general looking for all sorts of drinking experiences, and beer has begun to answer some of those needs.

So for ABSOLUT to remain relevant we’ve got to be aware and responsive to all of these challenges.”

“There are consumers for all different types of products out there,” says Holecz. “Vodka is still such a major player that Twenty Grand is grabbing mindshare there, but we’re also grabbing cognac, and we’re grabbing rosé.

As we look at other innovations of the brand, there are some opportunities that will continue to evolve.”

Vodka is not going away. Perhaps its base constitution and its chameleon-like ability to blend is part of what will always allow it to adapt to changing trends. SMIRNOFF®, for example, has launched its latest innovation, SMIRNOFF® Sours, three intenselytangy variants – Green Apple, Watermelon and Fruit Punch — best served as chilled shots. GREY GOOSE® announced its official partnership with Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial passenger flight into space. And LEAF® Vodka achieved one of the highest rankings at the San Diego International Spirits Competition with a GOLD Award in September. Along with brands like ABSOLUT, Twenty Grand, and 360 Vodka, the category has plenty of ammunition to keep up the fight.

“Yes, we have a nice blank canvas to work with in vodka, but it’s really incumbent on ABSOLUT and the entire category to talk to operators and bartenders about innovative ways to bring vodka to consumers that meet the needs of the more sophisticated drinkers we’re seeing these days,” says Chasen. “Everyone in this business is realizing that same-old same-old is not going to work anymore.” www.barbizmag.com

GREY GOOSE® has partnered with Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial passenger flight into space. The French

vodka will bring this space journey to life through exclusive content and a series of limited edition promotions.

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October 2014 Bar Business Magazine

13

Tuning Up

Keeping

Tabs The convergence of tablet technology and on-premise operations has created an environment where customers can combine entertainment, ordering platforms, and payment options all in-hand, melding the modern convenience and control of personal computing with the traditional nightlife experience. By Chris Ytuarte

I

n most bars and nightclubs today, the line between customer and server continues to blur. The rise of smartphones and tablets has put more power in the hands of your patrons, from jukebox functions and drink orders, to real-time reviews and loyalty rewards — and this is not necessarily a bad thing for bar owners. The opportunity is there to streamline service, maximize efficiency, and lower costs, all while providing your guests with a more personalized experience. Win/win.

“TouchTunes, since 2009, has been providing casual gaming on a tablet that was brought to the table for consumer use as a pure entertainment and gaming device,” explains David Lane, Senior Vice President at Tanjarine.

“Over the past five years it has shown us that if you have

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Bar Business Magazine October 2014

the right gaming mix that appeals to all the guests in those restaurants and bars, those guests would be willing to pay to play different games, very similar to music. What that five years taught us was that you can create a platform and sustain it, from a business model, if you have the right mix.

Today’s marketplace is looking for a complete, integrated solution. That’s what Tanjarine is.”

Formed in 2013 as a subsidiary of TouchTunes, the largest provider of in-venue music and entertainment, Tanjarine is an integrated dining and entertainment platform that allows bar and restaurant guests to order from digital menus, play games and music, and pay from tablets at their tables. The technology is designed to dramatically improve restaurant and bar service level by www.barbizmag.com

empowering guests with more choices and engagement during their dining and entertainment experience.

“A 10-inch tablet is brought to the table for the guest to use, and on that tablet is the location’s drinks, their food items, the ability for them to contact the server, to request their check, reorder, refill, pay, check-out, take a customer survey, join the loyalty program, etc.,” says Lane. “All of that functionality is built into the ecosystem.”

Once the decision is made to bring Tanjarine into your bar, the company provides the appropriate number of tabletop tablets for your location and your typical headcount, plus server handhelds devices and television screens that are strategically placed throughout the venue. These components work seamlessly to provide a payment, analytics and guest entertainment solution, and the ordering and entertainment experience gives guests more control and more ways to engage.

Putting all of that power in the hands of the customer provides various advantages to the location, and in fact, enables individual servers to perform at a higher level thanks to the interactive nature of Tanjarine and the way in which it alerts staff to the needs of the guests.

“The servers or bartenders get a five-inch handheld device that allows the guest to ask them to come to the table or bring the check or informs the server that an order has been placed,” Lane explains. “It also allows a server to see everything that the guest has been doing on the tablet in real time — every food item that they’ve asked for, every drink that they’ve ordered, a refill whenever they want it. It communicates and tells the server every single thing that’s happening at the table, and whenever the guest needs them they just press the button and the server is notified.”

Essentially, Tanjarine can allow servers to become predictive of the customer’s needs, and therefore expedite the process. Overall service improves, leading to higher tips, and turnover increases, allowing for more paying customers each shift.

“Our view is that the server is more important with Tanjarine,” says Lane. “We take a picture of every server in the restaurant so when the tablet is provided to the guest they actually see a picture of the server and the server’s name, so we’re personalizing the experience.”

Locations that utilize Tanjarine tablets are seeing a 10 to 27 percent increase in revenue in those locations, according to Lane. Company data suggests that tablets are able to up-sell at a far more significant rate than the servers themselves, thanks to picture and descriptions of food and beverages that can often tantalize the visual-minded consumer better than a simple verbal explanation.

“The tablet serves as an option for the guest to dine at their pace and engage in their way,” says Lane. “To the locations, all of that visual imagery and presenting their food items in a dynamic way will help sell through in a way that the staff has never been able to do. Now you’re www.barbizmag.com

showing pictures of your specialty drinks, showing pictures of your new food items, using descriptions that are enticing, getting them into an up-sell, into a higher priced vodka or a higher priced gin or the flavor of the month craft beer.”

Tanjarine seamlessly integrates with your existing POS system. Orders from the tablet are sent directly to the kitchen with a notification to the server. If labor efficiency and table turns are the goal, orders can be routed to

“OUR VIEW IS THAT THE SERVER IS MORE IMPORTANT WITH TANJARINE. THE TABLET SERVES AS AN OPTION FOR THE GUEST TO DINE AND ENGAGE AT THEIR PACE.”

servers before the kitchen as a “gatekeeper.” The ordering, delivery, and payment process has been streamlined, but that’s not all Tanjarine is about. After all, its parent company is TouchTunes, and they like to rock. If you have a TouchTunes Jukebox in your location, every tablet becomes a digital jukebox allowing guests to browse millions of songs and play their favorites without leaving their seat.

“The next component of this is TouchTunes and all of our experience in the entertainment catalog,” says Lane.

“The breadth of our catalog appeals to all ages and demos, from the casual gaming we’ve had for years to fully interactive trivia that is both tablet-based and on multiple screens throughout.”

October 2014 Bar Business Magazine

15

Tuning Up

Tanjarine also offers a predictive sports game, which is both tablet-based and available for download on the consumer’s smartphone, and uses multiple T Vs in the venue to really draw guests into the experience during live sporting events. “This is one of those games where you predict the next play — a pass, a run, 10 or 20 yards — and then it’s also a mix of trivia about the live event you’re watching. ‘Who was the leading score in the 1984 championship team?’ ‘Will there be a safety before the end of the game?’ We also have a whole catalog of fantasy sports and casino-style games, Xbox-style games, even games where you actually pick up the tablet and you use motion to play the games like racing or charades.

It’s designed to create a socialized experience, not a heads-down experience.”

As Tanjarine continues its rollout through the end of this year and into 2015, Lane is interested in finding different kinds of locations — franchises, multi-venue brands, and independent operators — that are the right fit for the technology and are ready to embrace the changing ways in which bar patrons expect to interact with their environment.

“The way we look at it is that it’s not one-size-fits-all,” 16

Bar Business Magazine October 2014

“THE BREADTH OF OUR CATALOG APPEALS TO ALL AGES AND DEMOS, FROM THE CASUAL GAMING WE’VE HAD FOR YEARS TO FULLY INTERACTIVE TABLET TRIVIA.” says Lane. “There’s always going to be guests that this is not the right option for. What we’re looking for is locations where we think the guests are going to want to pay-to-play for our entertainment options. There’s no charge to order and pay your bill. That’s all between the guests and restaurant. But we charge a flat $2.99 for unlimited game play. If they’re in there for 14 hours, it’s $2.99. They can play every single game we have in the catalog for that flat fee. That’s the core business.”

Let’s face it, the times are changing. Handheld devices like tablets and smartphones are giving your customers more options to entertain themselves in other ways on-premise than what you can offer. So if you’re ready to break-in to their heads-down world, here’s a heads-up: Tanjarine is the future. www.barbizmag.com

How To:

s Draw Crowd With Trivia

ALL THE RIGHT ANSWERS Profiting from on-premise trivia isn’t simply a Field of Dreams arrangement — if you build it, they will not definitely come. But with the right promotion, execution, and incentives, a good trivia event can generate loyal patronage and higher check rates in your bar. By Chris Ytuarte 18

Bar Business Magazine October 2014

www.barbizmag.com

S

ometimes, you just have to see things for yourself. So in late September, on a gray Wednesday afternoon, I made my way from New York City to the suburb of Hershey, Pennsylvania to inject myself into the world of bar room trivia as a guest of Arooga’s Grille House & Sports Bar. I was ready to rock.

Celebrating its sixth year in business this summer, Arooga’s is a successful new multi-venue full-service casual dining restaurant that just happens to have one of the best beer programs in the northeast. But on this day, I was here to find out what makes Wednesday nights in the Hershey location so prosperous — a weekly hosted “live” trivia event generated by Buzztime.

“It’s been a great six years, but we’re just getting started,” said Gary Huether, Jr., President and Co-founder of Arooga’s. “From day one, we felt like we had a worldclass brand.” Since Arooga’s opened its first restaurant in 2008, it has been ahead of the curve in all aspects of its business, evidenced by its selection as America’s Next Top Restaurant Franchise, beating more than 250 entrants from 36 states in a program co-sponsored by Sysco Foods and The Franchise Edge in a nationwide search to find an independent restaurant to become the next great franchise.

Part of the immediate success and growth has been Arooga’s embrace of on-premise entertainment. While each location boasts dozens of flat screen TVs to allow customers a vantage point from every spot in the venue, Huether, Jr., has always valued the way that interactive gaming and competitions create a more unique experience and cultivate loyal followings. All Arooga’s locations feature Buzztime gaming technology to provide patrons that kind of environment.

“Everything we do at Arooga’s is designed to turn new customers into regulars by providing an exceptional experience,” said Huether, Jr. “With Buzztime’s cutting-edge tablets, we are ‘with the times’ in terms of customers’ expected technology and we exceed their expectations for their overall entertainment experience. Buzztime is a great solution for Arooga’s because we know it keeps people entertained and it also keeps our guests coming back.”

With that in mind, I planned my visit to Arooga’s to find out what made their trivia night work. Right off the bat, I’m drawn to their Wednesday night thanks to weekly advertised specials of 49¢ wings from 5pm to 9pm (trivia runs 5:30 to 7:30) and $6 lager pitchers (including local Pennsylvania staple Yuengling, brewed in nearby Pottstown, and superlocal Tröegs craft beer, made fresh right here in Hershey).

Upon arriving, the evening’s trivia event was immediately made apparent by the moviehouse-style announcement on the marquee over the front door. Anyone going through the parking lot would be hard pressed to miss it.

Inside, I take a seat at the very large bar, approximately 15 minutes prior to start time for trivia night. Above the front door, facing in towards all the customers, is a large digital display advertising the music that is available via Rockbot, and below that a scrolling reminder of the evening’s upcoming trivia event. Already present is the evening’s MC,

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"Buzztime is a great solution for Arooga's because we know it keeps people entertained and it also keeps our guests coming back," explains Gary Huether, Jr. seated toward the back of the venue with a laptop and a microphone. He intermittently breaks into the ambient music to announce that the evening’s contest will be begin soon, and he actively encourages customers to grab a Buzztime console and register (“It’s quick and easy, and free!”).

This prompting from the MC — who will be reading the trivia questions out loud as part of Buzztime’s Trivia Live package — pays off almost immediately. While most people who end up participating have already arrived and are ready to roll (testament to promotion and the creation of a loyal, returning game player base), to my right are two friends who seem to have come in for a quick beer and a bite to eat. But once they hear the MC announce the trivia event, and more so the highly impressive prizes (first place — a Yuengling branded foosball table), they request a Buzztime gaming tablet from the bartender. Another one on the hook.

The foosball table and the second-place prize of a beerbranded snowboard are, to be fair, an anomaly, according to

October 2014 Bar Business Magazine

19

How To: one bartender, and had been graciously donated this evening by local distributors. The overall reaction to the prizes from the crowd — shock and excitement — spoke not only to the unusualness of the offerings, but to something else as well: These people weren’t here because of fancy prizes, they were here to play, no matter what was at stake. This was a loyal collection of regulars.

While dinner service at Arooga’s tables began to swell impressively for a drab Wednesday night, most Buzztime players gathered at the bar. While I was a wolfpack of one on this night, it appeared that most every other entry was a team of two, three, or four players. In total, 14 teams battled for trivia supremacy, meaning that, for approximately three hours, somewhere around 35 - 40 people were captivated by the event. The entire left side of the impressively long bar, if I’m not mistaken, was playing Buzztime trivia and cheering (or moaning) after each answer. Due to the timing, most if not all of the participants ordered food along with their drinks.

Paired with my local Tröegs pints, I enjoyed Arooga’s Tater Tots of Glory, a huge portion of tots “loaded with two cheeses, crispy bacon bits then drizzled with a chipotle sour cream,” which happen to be gluten free, for those of you so inclined.

I was now ensconced in the Arooga’s Buzztime experience.

While I kept team Bar Business in the middle of the pack

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Bar Business Magazine October 2014

for most of the evening’s trivia (30 questions spread out over six rounds with increasing difficulty), I was impressed by everything else the bar had to offer. There is nothing, it seems, that Arooga’s does not offer on tap: Firefly Moonshine, segregated cider taps, Fireball Whiskey and Jägermeister taps, two cask ales, a Twisted Tea keg, plus some 40 beers on tap, all served at a chilly 29 degrees. Throughout the event, courteous bartenders ask how I’m fending in the competition while also recommending beers to try and food to sample.

Everyone is having a good time; everyone is engaged.

Arooga’s provides the Buzztime BEOND tablet-based entertainment system, featuring seven-inch touchscreens, at all nine of its Pennsylvania locations and will feature the

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system at all future Arooga’s. Buzztime tablets are connected to a network that delivers single- or multiple-player games like Trivia and Texas Hold ‘Em and are also pre-loaded with more than 25 arcade games for guests of all ages to enjoy.

“We are extremely pleased to have this rock star of a sports bar chain in the Buzztime family,” said Vladimir Edelman, Chief Development Officer at Buzztime. “It’s an exciting time for both of our brands as we look to redefine the consumer entertainment experience inside restaurants, creating a new standard for enjoyment. Partnering with cutting edge brands such as Arooga’s, whose guests expect a next level of entertainment, is fundamental to the Buzztime experience.”

Thanks to the success of programs like Buzztime at the Arooga’s locations, Huether, Jr., in September was named one of Central Penn Business Journal’s Forty Under 40, which recognizes the region’s shining stars for commitment to business growth, professional excellence and community service. “On behalf of the brand, I’m honored to be included in such a special group of people,” says Huether, Jr. “For me, it’s always about Arooga’s.”

And Arooga’s is doing it right. Buzztime trivia and gaming helps it differentiate from the local competition and creates a returning base of customers always ready to play. I may have finished in the middle of the pack on this night of trivia, but by workingd-WHf-prt-BarBusiness-Nov2014-halfpgAd-v1.pdf the Buzztime technology to promote and execute 1 9/11/14 great events, Arooga’s is coming out on top.

THE GOOD BOOK Which animal has four knees? Which famous candy bar is named for a U.S. president's daughter? The Best Bar Trivia Book Ever: All You Need for Pub Quiz Domination by Michael O’Neill provides the answers to the world’s most obscure and fascinating questions, and is the only book focused on the facts most commonly asked at pub quizzes.

O’Neill, founder of Pop Quiz Team Trivia, has been running pub trivia nights for over fifteen years. In his book he arms bar trivia fiends everywhere with the knowledge they need to annihilate their bar trivia competition. Covering everything from sports and pop culture to history and science, O'Neill makes sure trivia buffs are always ready to deliver the ultimate trivia You can find his book now on Amazon.com.

5:05smackdown.

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October 2014 Bar Business Magazine

21

How To:

d Work Aroun the Raise

E

RA CA IS PI ING TA L

By William J. Lynott

Keeping your employees happy when raises aren’t in the budget is a tricky game to play, especially in a service industry like the bar business that is based around tips. But it can be done, and here’s what you need to know. www.barbizmag.com

ven in this slowly improving economy, dishing out raises to your employees may be a scary thought. When the budget is too tight to allow for the raises you’d like to give, it’s important to understand how a little love can save the day.

As far back as 1924 when the so-called Hawthorne Studies originated, researchers began to understand that employee behavior is not dependent on money alone; far from it. In fact, job satisfaction and performance often depend heavily on factors that have nothing at all to do with money. And nowhere is this more important than in the beverage industry. Of course, reasonable pay is the foundation of job satisfaction and productivity, but it cannot do the job alone.

Do you know what motivates your employees to do an honest and productive job for you? On the surface, that would seem to be an easy question to answer. Many employers would suggest that paying a competitive wage is all you need, but research over the years paints quite a different picture.

The groundbreaking Hawthorne studies were probably the first to take a scientific look at employee motivation, but they weren’t alone.

Another study conducted by Abraham Maslow in 1943 fully supported the Hawthorne studies and went further by introducing five levels of needs that we humans require to provide satisfaction in our working lives.

While these studies involve psychological complexities that go beyond the scope of this article, they can be boiled down to the important conclusion that job satisfaction and job performance often depend heavily on factors that have nothing to do with money.

Despite all of the studies on the subject over the years, motivating employees is still far from an exact science. Each person has his or her

October 2014 Bar Business Magazine

23

How To: Employee: "Good morning, Mr. Smith, looks like we're going to have a nice day."

Boss: "Fine, thank you. And how are you?"

That sort of disconnect between an employee and a busy manager is not uncommon — and a clear message to the employee that he and his work are unimportant. Lack of recognition such as this preys on the susceptibility of many workers at all levels of our workplace hierarchy who are starving for self-respect and the essential dignity that goes along with it. Failing to supply it provides a perfect setting for the loss of initiative and lowered work ethic on the part of the offended employees.

Fortunately, providing the kind of recognition that satisfies this important need is an easy task. One of the simplest and most effective ways to develop and demonstrate sincere interest in your employees is to take a little time to learn something about each one, including such simple things as the names of spouses and children, employee hobbies or special interests, and then following through from timeto-time with a little conversation that shows you remember them and are genuinely interested. own set of reasons for working and they are as individual as the person.

We all work because we need to obtain something from the work that is important to us.

While reasonable and appropriate pay is admittedly the foundation of job satisfaction and productivity, money alone cannot do the job. Here are six things that you as a bar owner/manager need to know in order to improve the motivation and thus the performance of your employees when budget restrictions don’t permit handing out raises as often as you’d like:

Self-esteem Every human has a powerful want to feel respected, to be accepted and valued by others. This need is felt in

24

Bar Business Magazine October 2014

every aspect of a person’s life; and nowhere is it felt more strongly than in the workplace. From brain surgeons to bartenders, the craving for self-respect and recognition is so strong that it can dominate and control employee behavior and performance regardless of financial considerations.

The work of an employee who is left with no reason to think that her boss respects and values her contribution is almost certain to fall well below her potential. In extreme cases, negligent or even harmful behavior will be the eventual result.

Unfortunately, it isn’t difficult for a manager to overlook an employee’s need for recognition and self-respect.

Consider this actual exchange overheard between a business owner and an employee passing in a hallway:

Employee Equalization Favoritism, or even the appearance of it, can be a deadly enemy of positive employee attitudes. An employee who feels that he or she is the victim of favoritism is likely to develop an unseen grudge that can silently but effectively damage your business.

Make a constant effort to show appreciation to your staff in a fair and equitable manner. Any indication that you regard one employee with more respect or appreciation than any other is a certain path to negative employee morale. While it’s not always possible for you to avoid regarding some employees more highly than others, allowing that feeling to become obvious to others is a serious management failure that will exact a costly penalty.

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How To: Good Working Conditions and Personal Safety While some jobs are inherently and unavoidably dangerous, most, including those in the sometimes slippery bar business, are not. Still, personal

physical safety is one of those instinctive human needs that rank near the top of our subconscious concerns. Employees need to know that management is aware of the need to take reasonable precautions to protect them from workplace harm.

One of the most obvious

demonstrations of this concern is an on-going and visible effort to make certain that all equipment, electrical and mechanical, is in good working order and is checked on a regular basis.

Another working condition that can affect employee attitudes is cleanliness.

While a bar business environment is obviously not a hospital environment, an on-going effort to maintain reasonable neatness and cleanliness in the workplace demonstrates a respect for those who spend their working hours in it.

While motivation can’t be forced, it is not difficult to create the kind of physical work environment that encourages positive employee attitudes.

Job Security In today’s economic environment, any reasonable person understands that no employer can guarantee an employee’s job will always be there.

Still, it’s important for managers to demonstrate that they understand the need for a work environment that recognizes employees’ concerns about job security. In particular, it’s important to avoid unjustified dismissals which will have a negative impact on all remaining employees.

Employees who feel that management strives to provide the highest possible level of job security will be motivated to do their own part by performing at their best levels.

Recognition and Non-cash Incentives A recent report by the research firm McKinsey & Co., on motivating people strengthened the importance of recognition and non-cash incentives in the workplace. In particular, the report points out that non-cash incentives (including sincere praise and recognition from immediate managers) is often a stronger motivator than traditional incentives such as bonuses and stock options — good news for businesses operating on tight budgets.

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Bar Business Magazine October 2014

www.barbizmag.com

“Cash is too expensive,” says Dave Peer, President of the Incentive Marketing Association. “It costs a lot more to deliver cash awards than noncash awards,” he says. Peer reports that companies are discovering that cash is not the panacea they thought.

Non-cash awards can include such obvious things as a fruit or flower basket, or dinner out with the boss. The only limit is your imagination. Not to be forgotten, however, and suggested as being the most important of all — praise and recognition from the boss.

None of this is to suggest that money in the form of wages isn’t the heart of positive motivation, only that money alone is not likely to inspire the kind of motivation that brings out the best of performance in your employees.

Respected Leadership A serious disincentive for employee motivation generated by some owners is failing to accept the blame when something goes wrong. A reputation for always putting the blame on others is a management deficiency that will eventually exact a heavy toll in the form of employee unrest. Being in charge means taking responsibility for whatever happens on your watch.

In a beverage business, the owner’s behavior, actions and attitudes establish guidelines for employees. “Many so-called ‘leaders’ in the small business world believe that they can operate with impunity because of their position as owners or managers,” says Sally Mounts, Ph.D., President, Auctus Consulting Group, Washington, Pennsylvania. “Do as I say, not as I do is their mantra. They do such things as criticize employees openly in front of their associates, leave early on Friday afternoon for a round of golf, or treat vendors or customers discourteously.

“If a leader wants to build an atmosphere that promotes positive motivation, he or she needs to discuss problems with employees in a private setting. If he wants people to work hard on Fridays to get ready for the coming

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weekend, he needs to stay late himself.

If he wants courteous employees, he must offer courtesy to others. In short, the person leading the company must display the behavior he or she wants others to emulate.”

While employee motivation may seem too theoretical a subject for

some busy owners and managers, others will recognize that attention to the kind of employee concerns discussed here can make the difference between success and failure, especially when current conditions do not permit granting the wage increases they would like to give.

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October 2014 Bar Business Magazine

27

How To:

ts Control Cos and Comparison Shop

$

$

Apples to oranges: Dare to compare

In today’s ultra-competitive bar business, you’ve got to do some comparative pricing, vendor-to-vendor, to stay in business. Here are a few reasons why.

By Bob Johnson, aka BobTheBarGuy.com

P

resently there is a lime shortage. So what to do? I suggest you go to Costco or Sam’s Club and check out their prices for all of your produce (limes, lemons, oranges, strawberries, etc.). They’re probably cheaper and of better quality. And this is where we begin — saving and pricing go hand-in-hand.

First of all, your bartenders should start asking customers who order a Corona if he or she really wants a lime. If so, they get one; but many Corona drinkers don’t want the lime. So, save a lime, if you can. For a lime squeeze, (i.e., for the gin and tonic, Cape Cod, Cuba Libre, etc.), cut the Corona lime wedge in half, put a sword pick through it and place it atop the drink. (There are, of course, health code requirements about not touching fruit as norovirus preventive

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techniques that I told you about in a previous article: Bar Business May 2014, pg. 34, All Hands on Deck: http://issuu.com/barbusinessmagazine/docs/may_2014_bar_busines s_0b792de4fe40b7/37?e=4457919/7977995).

If limes are way too expensive in your area, consider going to lemons instead. Substituting any kind of fruit for limes is presently acceptable, due to the expense and shortage of limes. The lime wheel for the Margaritas and Bloody Marys should be cut a little thinner, if possible. A celery stalk could take the place of a lime wheel or the lime wedge for the Bloody Mary.

Keep your fruit from spoiling. When you receive lemons, limes and oranges, transfer them to a 5- or 10-gallon buckets half-filled with water. Put the buckets with the fruit

October 2014 Bar Business Magazine

29

How To: in your walk-in cooler. This technique preserves the fruit for at least three weeks. Make sure the fruit is washed before cutting. Wear protective latex gloves when cutting the fruit.

Bare hands should never touch fruit.

Know your cleaning supply prices. Write down what you’re presently paying and then, once again, go to Sam’s Club and Costco. Sam’s Club and Costco are probably much cheaper than the vendors that deliver to you. You call the order in by 3 p.m. and pick it up the next morning. Many of you think you shouldn’t have to go to a store and pick up supplies for the bar. Wrong! You have access to plenty of employee vehicles that can make that trip weekly. A reasonable gas reimbursement is fair.

Comparative pricing should be a daily function of all management. You have an obligation to reduce costs wherever, and however, you can. GM’s should form a “Cost Control Team.” One manager is responsible for fruit; another for cleaning supplies, another for repair and maintenance, etc. Analyze everything you’re paying for. Can you get the same product cheaper someplace else? I can get 10 oz plastic cups, 20 sleeves, 50 cups per sleeve (1,000 cups) for $65 a case. What are you paying for your cups? I know of a bar that’s been paying $121 per case for the same order. My management team checked on the price of plastic cups by

WEEK OF

doing comparative pricing and discovered huge price differences amongst vendors. When you order 10 cases of plastic cups per month, and you save $56 per case — that’s $560 dollars you saved your business!

If you’re ordering fresh produce, fruit, meat, seafood, poultry, etc., make sure you weight it in.

Compare the weight on the invoice to the weight in your scale. Is there a difference? I remember paying for 10 lbs of celery, quickly signing off on the invoice, and then weighing the celery one day to discover there were only 8 lbs in the bag. I used to get beat up on shrimp; I was always charged by the pound. When I started weighing the bags of shrimp, I discovered there were fewer pounds in the bag than the invoice said. Another old vendor trick was fresh chickens — vendors would put ice in the case of chickens and charge me for the weight of the case. Are they still pulling that one?

And watch those drivers!

How about other garnishes or ingredients? Have you priced strawberries lately? One of our vendors was charging $7.59 per pound for strawberries. We got them at Costco for $2.98 a pound — and better quality!

Controlling costs is one of the best ways I know to become recognized and appreciated within your company.

Take comparative pricing seriously. Try this:

PERSON DOING ANALYSIS SYSCO

KROGER

JOE’S GROCERY

COSTCO

Strawberries

$7.98 per lb

$3.49 10 ozs.

$3.99 per lb

$7.50 2 lbs

Limes

40 lbs, 200 count $140.00

12 count bag $6.00

40 count case $24.00

10 count bag $6.30

Lemons Celery Oranges 60 gal trash bags Paper towels Bar Keepers Friend Bananas Grenadine And my last suggestion is the biggest winner of all! BUY IN BULK! Figure out what your highest usage items are, FAX your list to me at (803) 593-5459, and I’ll price it for you. You

30

Bar Business Magazine October 2014

won’t believe the savings buying in bulk! Here’s what I’m talking about (there is a 15 total case minimum order to qualify for bulk pricing):

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Bar Business Magazine October 2014

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From One Authority to Another

F

inding a diamond in the rough when comparison pricing can give you a charge. Similarly, finding a diamond bar in the rough area around New York City’s Port Authority Bus Terminal is a noteworthy experience, never mind a bar with a fantastic roofdeck drinking space.

Bar Business Magazine was lucky enough to stumble upon, and up the stairs of, just such a venue recently, called Beer Authority. With over 80 draught beers available, it certainly is an authority. But more impressive is the open, ambient space, spread across three stories, including an amazing open-air rooftop, all crammed into the hectic, haggard, and often harrowing neighborhood surrounding one of New York’s biggest blights, the awful Port Authority Bus Terminal.

While the roofdeck experience involves a constant view of Greyhound and NJ Transit busses buzzing up and down the terminal’s multi-floor ramps directly across the street, its this interesting contrast between wood-heavy outdoor drinking and public transportation exhaust fumes amid urban decay that makes Beer Authority so damn interesting. That, and all the delicious beer, of course.

So if you find yourself one day walking off of a bus on 42nd Street, wondering what to do first in the City That Never Sleeps, just walk across the street, head up to the roof, and let Beer Authority welcome you to the Big Apple in style.

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October 2014 Bar Business Magazine

33

SEASONAL COCKTAILS (AUTUMN)

All Four Seasons In One:

Keeping a Unique Cocktail List Year-round SOME SIMPLE STEPS CAN MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO SEAMLESSLY SHIFT YOUR COCKTAIL MENU FROM SEASON TO SEASON WHILE KEEPING YOUR CUSTOMERS ON THEIR TOES TASTING EACH SUBTLE CHANGE IN FLAVORS. 34

Bar Business Magazine October 2014

www.barbizmag.com

BY DOUG BRICKEL

A

ny chef who takes pride in his or her craft will attest to the fact that quality, freshness and seasonality are vital to the success of any dish. Our guests have become more informed in recent years, and have come to expect more of the restaurants they frequent; in turn, chefs are driven to continue innovating, always keeping these factors in mind.

A wonderful by-product of this call for progress in the kitchen is the increased freedom for bar managers and mixologists to update menus and advance their craft. Quality and freshness of product should be staples behind any bar, but the idea of seasonal drinking extends much further than drinking white wine in the spring, rosé in the summer, and heavy reds as the snow falls. At Marble Modern American Kitchen in Floral Park, New York, we take it upon ourselves to create a handful of new seasonal cocktails every three months to be added to our list of year-round staples. Here are a few of the things that we consider when creating new seasonal beverages:

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hat feelings do we want the cocktail to elicit in our guests? What flavors and aromas fit the season? The smell of a hearty stew bubbling on the stove. Roasted corn-on-the-cob at the farmstand. Flavors and aromas have the ability to transport us to another time, another place, another season. The ingredients we use in our cocktails have the ability to trigger similar flavor memories depending on how and when we choose to use them.

Spirits, as well, seem to have their traditional drinking seasons — gin, tequila and rum-based drinks in warmer months, whiskey and cognac cocktails as it gets cold. With the base spirit in mind, consider some seasonal flavors that can activate flavor memories in your guests:

SPRING: elderflower, thyme, honey, hibiscus, mint, rhubarb, beet

SUMMER: berry, basil, cucumber, lavender, peas, melon, peach

FALL: sage, ginger, citrus, apple, cinnamon, clove, maple, smoke WINTER: cardamom, walnut, rosemary, vanilla, nutmeg, black pepper, coffee Consider using flavors that are inherently tied to the season for cocktails that guests will instantly connect to.

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hat seasonal produce can be brought in that can be cross-utilized in the kitchen?

For inspired mixologists everywhere, the range of cocktails they can craft is only limited by the

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variety of the ingredients made available to them.

Depending on the forward-thinking (or not so forwardthinking) mindset of the owner, manager or buyer, some things on your ingredient wish list may appear, while others seem to disappear into thin air. Testing recipes is very difficult when you are without key ingredients!

My feeling is that a strong partnership with the kitchen will improve any bar program. Aside from pairing food and beverage, it is essential to know what seasonal dishes the kitchen are planned in order to prepare a seasonal beverage program. I am fortunate enough to work with Chef Matthew Corbett, a veteran of twenty-plus years who worked most of his career in fine dining restaurants throughout Manhattan. Prior to starting any seasonal cocktails, Chef Matt and I will powwow informally, discussing our ideas for upcoming food and beverage. In understanding his vision for his menu, I can begin to consider produce and flavors that I would like to experiment with.

At the same time, Chef Matt can take into account how he could utilize ingredients that I may want around. I love fresh ginger as a Fall spice, and wanted to feature it in a seasonal drink. In discussing my plan with Chef Matt, he decided he could grate fresh ginger into the base and graham cracker crust of his strawberry-ginger cheesecake for added flavor. He was also able to incorporate fresh ginger into salad dressings, a hanger steak marinade, and as an aromatic for cooking fish. My cocktail ended up becoming the Ginger Davis, a riff on a classic sidecar that utilizes Domaine de Canton Cognac-based ginger liqueur as the base spirit.

Crushing fresh ginger into the mixing glass gives a real throat-coating spice that also cuts the sweetness of the drink and imparts the Fall flavors I was looking for. The black pepper garnish helps as well, to tame the sweetness and the acidity from the liqueur and the fresh lemon, while imparting a spiciness on the tongue. We don’t usually have fresh ginger root in the restaurant, but in buying them I was able to serve my drink, Chef Matt had yet another ingredient at his disposal, and we were assured not to waste any product.

Make it a point to talk food with your chef, share ingredients back and forth whenever possible, and work together to bring in new products that you can both use to ‘wow’ your guests.

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ow can I add a homemade element to differentiate my drinks? In addition to adding to the seasonal appeal of your cocktails, I think this is the best way that a bar can differentiate itself from the competition. With foodie blogs and multiple channels offering television shows about food twentyfour-hours-a-day, many of our guests have taken a real interest in what they eat and who they allow to prepare it for them.

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STEEP fresh lemonade with woodsy herbs for use as a cocktail ingredient.

COOK down fruit and spices with a bit of pectin to make house jams to sweeten and give texture to cocktails.

MAKE shrubs with berries, herbs and vinegar to acidulate cocktails without having to rely on citrus PUREE fresh fruit from the farmstand.

STEEP flavored teas and herbs in equal parts hot water and sugar to make strongly flavored syrups.

H With so many restaurant and bar options it is getting more difficult for us to make our establishments stand out in the ever-growing crowd. Our guests seem to really appreciate the effort that goes into creating things from scratch. Homemade cocktail ingredients show that you are thinking about furthering your craft, considering the palates of your guests, and overall creating the best possible drinking experience that you can. Any bartender can make a whiskey and cola, but you will stand out by making cocktails that feature your own unique ingredients. As an added bonus, customers who love the homemade cocktails you create for them will be happy to return and tell their friends about the drinks that they can only get at your bar.

One of the many homemade elements that we have made a staple at Marble is our dark roast Bourbon.

By crushing whole dark roast coffee beans and infusing their flavor into Bourbon, we can alter the taste of classic whiskey drinks to create coffeeforward cocktails. One of our most popular drinks is the Breakfast Old Fashioned, a play on a favorite. As opposed to the classic formula, we substitute BLiS Bourbon Barrel-aged Maple Syrup for the sugar to give richness and breakfast appeal. Orange bitters take the place of both the Angostura and the orange slice garnish, and a traditional Maraschino is replaced by homemade brandy-soaked cherries. The float of house-infused dark roast Bourbon along with the lush maple, bright orange and boozy cherry create a flavor unique to our bar.

Consider some of the following seasonally inspired ideas: CREATE house bitters and tinctures for cold months with cinnamon, allspice, pepper, clove.

UTILIZE herb and fruit syrups for the summer as a sweetening element.

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ow can I update a tried and true classic cocktail with a seasonal spin? It is a great time in cocktail history to be experimenting behind the bar. With so many companies competing for their share of our back bar, there is exceptional quality and consistency in the booze that we have to serve. We are lucky as well that so many innovators have come before us, laying out a framework of classic cocktails upon which we can base our new creations.

A popular theory of cocktail innovation says that by keeping ratios the same, we can swap out ingredients in classics for others in the same category to create something new. Balance should be close as long as a spirit is substituted for a spirit, citrus for citrus, liqueur for liqueur, etc. Consider the relationship between the Margarita and the Sidecar, as well as the Negroni and the Boulevardier.

Another way that we have adapted this concept is to substitute infused spirits and liqueurs to incorporate an additional layer of flavor, occasionally with a seasonal twist, for example, in our Cinnamon-Vanilla Margarita. Few things speak to summer as does a citrusy, salty margarita. At Marble, we infuse silver tequila with cinnamon and vanilla for a week, imparting warm spice and depth of flavor. Using this infused tequila in the preparation of a traditional margarita gives the guest multiple flavor memories, both of Summer and Fall. The most common feedback that we get from guests trying this drink for the first time is that it tastes like drinking a Margarita in a bakery or in the kitchen while baking cinnamon buns.

Keeping classic ratios the same but switching one (or more) of the ingredients with related items is a simple way to show off your creativity and the attention that you have paid to the changing of the seasons. In doing so, you will differentiate your bar from the competition and create a unique experience for which your guests will have to return.

Doug Brickel is the Bar Manager at Marble Modern American Kitchen in Floral Park, New York. He previously taught foreign languages to middle schoolers, but now focuses on creating bourbon and gin-based cocktails.

Email him at drinkswdoug@gmail.com.

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RECIPES PUMPKIN CIDER

BREAKFAST OLD FASHIONED 2 parts Kahlua Pumpkin Spice Top with apple cider Lemon squeeze Build over ice in a highball glass, and stir. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

FLYING MOCHA GRASSHOPPER 1¼ parts Kahlua Peppermint Mocha ¾ part Absolut Vodka 1 part half-and-half Add all ingredients to a mixing glass and shake with ice. Fine-strain into a martini glass and serve.

GINGER DAVIS 1½ oz Domaine de Canton 1¼ oz Cointreau 1 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice 1 piece of fresh ginger (½”-1” slice off a thick knob, with skin removed) Crush ginger in mixing glass with a muddler. Add Canton, Cointreau, lemon juice. Shake well and double-strain (through a tea strainer) into a chilled coupe. Garnish: fresh ground black pepper.

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1½ oz wheated Bourbon ½ oz dark roast Bourbon* ½ oz BLiS Bourbon Barrel-aged Syrup 8 drops orange bitters Add BLiS syrup and orange bitters to an empty rocks glass. Add a splash of club soda and stir for a moment to loosen the syrup. Add ice and wheated bourbon. Stir to combine. Float the dark roast bourbon on top. Garnish: two brandied cherries. *Dark Roast Bourbon: Measure out 100g of whole dark roast coffee beans in a stainless steel container. Compress with a muddler or the bottom of a mixing tin until crushed, but not ground too finely. Add one 750ml bottle of Bourbon. Cover well with plastic wrap and keep it in a cool, dark place. Agitate gently at least once per day. Taste it daily; it should take 10-12 days to reach its best flavor.

CINNAMON-VANILLA MARGARITA 2 oz cinnamon-vanilla infused tequila* 1¼ oz Cointreau ¾ oz fresh lime juice House citrus salt** Shake well and strain into a chilled citrus salt-rimmed martini glass. Garnish: lime wedge and cinnamon stick. *Cinnamon-Vanilla Tequila: Split a vanilla pod lengthwise and place in a large stainless steel container with 12-15 cinnamon sticks. Pour in one 750ml bottle of silver tequila.

Cover well with plastic wrap and keep in a cool, dark place.

Agitate gently at least once per day. Taste it daily; it should take 6-9 days to reach its best flavor. **House citrus salt: 5 tbsp kosher salt, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp citric acid, oven-dried fine zest from 1 lime. Will keep indefinitely in an airtight container; keep stock as dry as possible.

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Icewine keeps its cool

Canada’s ultimate drinkable luxury is a rare find waiting to be discovered.

By Elyse Glickman

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hanks to its balance of fresh, citrusy and sweet flavors, a clever sommelier or mixologist can make their most discerning guests realize that Canadian Icewine is perhaps the best thing they’ve never tried.

Some dessert wine enthusiasts will note that Icewine is a uniquely Canadian phenomenon. However, its origins trace to Germany, where comparatively warmer weather conditions made the production of the wine a very rare occurrence, as grapes need to be frozen on the vine before fermentation at the time of a mid-winter harvest. Unlike other dessert and sweet wines such as such as Bordeaux Sauternes and Hungarian Tokaji, the concentrated-but-fresh, bright flavor is not a result of by the Botrytis cinerea (“noble rot”) fungus; Icewine’s distinct balance of sweetness and acidity results from the water in each berry freezing, but the sugar and other solids not freezing.

Inniskillin, based in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, is the most recognizable name in Icewine, with its first major launch taking place in 1984. Other registered wineries include Western Canada market leader Mission Hill Family Estate Winery, which set out to gain a more prominent niche presence in the American luxury beverage market. Now savvy bartenders and sommeliers are coming up with unique ways to show their customers why Icewine so “cool.”

Ingo Grady, Director of Wine Education for Mission Hill, explains that Rick Bonitati, Mission Hill’s president, takes on the distribution challenge with a mix of enthusiasm and strategizing. While Mission Hill Family Estate (purchased in 1981 by Anthony von Mandl, and was formerly known as Golden Valley Winery) and other wineries worked with large distribution channels to get their product into restaurants, wine bars and retailers in the early 2000s, they’ve since become selective about distribution, actively seeking the right distributors in states not already represented, in order to harvest the right customers. Grady adds that in states like California that, for the moment, don’t have a distributor, ambitious sommeliers and wine bar owners can make arrangements to have bottles shipped to their premises.

While some sommeliers insist on serving ice wine in its pure, chilled state, either as a 3 oz. pour for a

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food pairing or 1 oz. as part of a flight, Grady believes adventurous souls adding Icewine to their beverage program would be well served to offer it by the glass as well as feature it in a well-crafted cocktail that plays up its natural attributes.

“Good mixologists will have a field day with Icewine’s set of flavors, adding them to well chosen ingredients, whether its an aperitif or an interesting take on a martini as a dosage that adds a new dimension of sweetness and tart,” says Grady. “(It’s a fantastic ingredient because) you cannot replicate that level of natural acidity and hyper-concentrated sweetness and a range of flavor palates that go from apple-pear to peach and apricot into tropical elements.

By adding Icewine to a beverage program, your goal is to rock somebody’s world” Given that Icewine falls on the ultra-ultra premium end of the dessert wine spectrum, and effort is needed to procure it in most parts of the U.S., Grady stresses a sommelier or mixologist should never be in a position where he or she will have to throw away partial bottles.

“Have your mixologist and your sommelier work together with your chef and culinary program,” Grady advises. “That way, your establishment should be able to sell and empty a bottle every night. Also, this is best for wine bars with specialty tapas and restaurants focused on creating a culinary experience for guests, such as a tasting menu, chef’s tables, etc.”

Although Icewine production at Tantalus winery is smaller than Mission Hill, Jane Hatch, General Manager, has big plans for bringing their Icewines and table wines into the U.S., even though the plans will be done in baby steps.

“Our Riesling is featured in restaurants in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland, and we’re about to enter a relationship with Whole Foods’ Pacific Northwest Division,” says Hatch. “Tantalus and seven other BC wineries were selected for the program where Whole Foods will create a whole new wine category; they will be the first stores to feature a BC wine selection. There’s a certain approach that’s about providing proof that it’s a product here to stay.”

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If you come to the Okanagan on beverage business (or just for fun), a great place to start your Icewine expedition is with Yousef Kayal, Sommelier at The Cove Resort and Bonfire Restaurant. While he acknowledges the American palate is not as attuned to sweetness as other nations’, he introduces it to some U.S. guests through simple but clever cocktails that mellow the sweetness a bit.

“I bring the two worlds together by filling a flute with a 1/4 oz of Icewine and then finish it off with a sparkling wine,” advises Kayal. “The sweetness and bubbliness makes for a very balanced aperitif, with the sweetness tempered by the acidity of sparkling wine or champagne. One thing we’re going to be doing this winter is freezing Icewine and dropping a small cube of it into a champagne cocktail. This format allows the Icewine’s flavors and aromas to open up slowly.

Grant Sceney, who innovates behind the bar of Vancouver’s Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel, has been crowned the 2014 Canadian Bartender of the Year in Canada’s biggest and most celebrated bartending competition, Diageo World Class Canada. “With wine components, and Icewine in particular, you have the aromatic elements and residual sugar working for you,” explains Sceney. “The other spirits and ingredients, in turn, lift the flavor profile of the Icewine, resulting in an interesting cocktails.”

“The key to success with sweet wines to sell the table and pair with food,” says Hristo Zisovski, Beverage Director of the Altamarea Restaurant Group. “Icewine should be included on wine lists with a North American focus, or on international dessert wine lists that 40

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include Sauternes, Ports, and Sherry. To get people excited, I like introducing clients to Mission Hill because of their clean, proper exciting electric style.

And if you are hoping to sell something they were not expecting at the end of a meal like Icewine, you should know the story behind Icewine, how it is created with the labor, time and patience.”

Paulo Villela, Corporate Beverage Director of Bohlsen Restaurant Group (which includes seven restaurants in Suffolk County, New York), affirms the acidity of Icewine not only makes drinks more complex and interesting but also balances out the palate in general.

“I love working with well-crafted Icewines, because they have a higher level of acidity that balances out the palate,” he says. “It actually pairs well with many things, from sweet desserts and cheese courses to starter courses, making it more versatile than people may realize. In cocktail recipes, I not only use Icewine as a sweetening agent but also an acidity booster. In most cocktail recipes, you either need a sweetening agent or something with the tartness to counterbalance residual sugars, and Icewines give you both. One example is something I created with blood orange, a touch of Aperol and prosecco, where the element of the Icewines ties everything together for a rich, but refreshing cocktail experience.”

Although Villela acknowledges that Icewines are an investment, he says better Icewines like Mission Hill are sound investments, especially if you’re known for introducing customers to new spirits either paired with food or as part of a cocktail.

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kind of use, such as the three-ounce pour,” he adds.

“You can include a one-ounce pour of it as part of a flight or different food pairings, or as a cocktail component. This will help you empty bottles (as it is perishable like other wines) and boost your sales.”

Author, Chef and Beverage Specialist Barbara Werner (Musical Pairing: The Art of Harmonizing Music to Your Meal), includes Icewines in her books, noting they have, “the clean feel of a sparkling wine but also avoids the cloying effect of some fortified wines, especially when served ice cold.” She recommends Mission Hill’s Riesling Icewine with Steaming Pork with Apples & Orange and Vegetarian Chili and a Frosted Apple Cocktail with Inniskillin Cabernet Franc.

Molly Wismeier, wine and spirits director of Restaurant R’evolution in New Orleans agrees that the story behind Icewine compels many sophisticated guests to try it out.

“Ice wine is a classic category of wine and creates an incredible experience for our guests,” she says.

“The most effective way to guide our guests is to describe the wine, pair it with a course and then finally have the guest taste it before they commit to buying a glass or a cocktail.”

At BLT Steakhouse in New York City, Icewine is occasionally used in cocktails instead of simple syrup because of its depth of flavor, and is always recommended for dessert courses. “We’re always looking for something interesting, and find that for our guests, Canadian Ice Wines tend to have one of the best quality/price ratios of dessert wines,” says sommelier Fred Dexheimer. “It’s fruity, goes well with sweets and can even be a dessert on its own,” he says.

In Los Angeles, sommelier Coly Den Haan keeps Icewine fresh and top-of-mind at The Must by keeping presentation innovative.

“We make Icewine Negroni Jello Shots with orange peels, the perfect combination of bitter, sweet and fun,” says Den Haan. “Whether you’re pairing it with a dessert or cheese or pushing it as a dessert on its own, it’s an excellent way to increase your check average.”

Icewine Recipes: The following Icewine recipes were provided by author Barbara Werner (Musical Pairing: The Art of Harmonizing Music to Your Meal), who suggests pairing classical music with these drinks, such as Beethoven’s Ode To Joy! FROSTED APPLE COCKTAIL 4 oz Inniskillin Cabernet Franc 2 oz Bourbon 2 oz limoncello 4 oz sparkling wine Tart apple garnish

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SPARKLING ICEWINE COCKTAIL 2 oz Sheldrake Point Riesling 4 oz dry Champagne 2 oz Bourbon ¼ of a muddled orange Splash of grenadine

Just the Facts • In Canada, Icewine must be produced exclusively from grapes that have been harvested, naturally frozen on the vine, and pressed in a continuous process while the air temperature is -8° Celsius (17.6°F) or lower.

The Icewine harvest usually during the night to guarantee a temperature below -8° Celsius, done entirely by hand, commences once the temperature drops below -10° to -13° Celsius.

• The grapes, juice, must or wine may not be artificially refrigerated at any point in the manufacturing process.

After each pressing, the resulting juice achieves a minimum of 32 degrees Brix, when measured after transfer to the fermentation vessel. Brix is a measure of sugar in grapes: one degree Brix equals 18 grams of sugar per liter.

Mature non-Icewine grapes are typically 21 to 25 Brix. The finished Icewine is produced from a must that achieved a computed average of not less than 35 degrees Brix.

• Canadian ice wine must have residual sugar at bottling not less than 100 grams per liter, and the residual sugar and the actual alcohol results exclusively from the natural sugar of the grapes. Sweet reserve may not be added. The Viticultural Area within which the grapes were grown must be declared on the principal display panel of the wine.

• Grapes are left on the vine well into the winter months.

The resulting freezing and thawing of the grapes dehydrates the fruit and concentrates the sugars, acids, and extracts in the fruit, thereby intensifying the flavours and adding complexity to the wine. This juice is then fermented very slowly for several months, stopping naturally. Genuine Icewine must be naturally produced; no artificial freezing is permitted.

• The Icewine harvest, done entirely by hand, commences once the temperature drops below -10 to -13 degrees Celsius and the grapes have frozen naturally on the vines. As the frozen grapes are pressed, the natural water portion of the juice remains within the grape skins in the form of ice crystals. A tiny but precious ration of highly concentrated juice is expressed.

• The juice from wine grape is about one-fifth the amount you would normally get if you pressed unfrozen grapes.

To put it another way, a vine will normally produce sufficient grapes to make a bottle of wine; but frozen grapes will produce only one glass of Icewine. This would explain the difference in price between the two.

• The finished Icewine is intensely sweet and flavourful in the initial mouth sensation. The balance is achieved by the acidity, which gives a clean, dry finish. The nose of Icewine recalls lychee nuts. The wine tastes of tropical fruits, with shadings of peach nectar and mango. The high sugar levels lead to a slower than normal fermentation.

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NEW YORK Boston CHICAGO

Las Vegas Los Angeles MIAMI

Back to Basics

By Chris Ytuarte

In New York City, Boilermaker is the newest bar from a collective of nightlife innovators who decided it was time to recall some of the simpler times of the tavern industry while still providing a top-tier beverage program. Now, who wants a shot and a beer?

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here’s an old adage, complete with cutesy acronym, that only found its way into this nightlife writer’s lexicon thanks to Dwight Schrute of the TV show The Office: K.I.S.S. As my favorite beet farmer explained, it stands for “Keep It Simple, Stupid,” and it hurt his feelings every time Michael Scott reminded him of it.

But the truth is, there’s something to it. And in this lingering age of the extreme cocktail, extravagant ingredients and over-the-top attempts at outrageous (or outrageously authentic) bar environments and drink menus have stretched thin some people’s patience, including those who work within its walls.

With that in mind, we bring you Boilermaker, a new bar in the East Village section of Manhattan that has a symbolic name, a laid-back style, and a classic selection of cocktails and beers, all of which send a message as to what this venue is about — good old fashioned, solid, bar basics. When the name over your door evokes a simple beer and a shot, you’ve made it pretty clear what you are all about.

“We decided to build a place we would like to go to on a regular basis as a local spot rather than a place that was a once-in-a-while-go-for-a-party type of place,” says Greg Boehm, founder of barware web site CocktailKingdom.com and co-owner of Boilermaker. “This space is a lot more personable. It’s definitely industry friendly, but it’s also much more neighborhood focused.”

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for factory and dockworkers during the Industrial Revolution, so much so that by the early 20th century, the combination took on the name of its most loyal drinker — the Boilermaker. Today, a shot and a beer has become a preferred refreshment of craft cocktail bartenders who retreat to neighborhood bars after long shifts. It’s with this in mind that celebrated bartenders Erick Castro and Don Lee, alongside co-owners Boehm and James Tune, have created Boilermaker, where beer, straight spirits, cocktails and burgers share the stage in a purposefully low-key setting.

“We wanted to have something that represented craft cocktails and craft beers, and I just happened to think of the term, ‘Boilermaker,’ which combines whiskey and beer.

It focuses on the combination of spirits and beer, and that’s how we came up with the name and therefore, the idea behind the place, which is to mix both.”

Interestingly, the ownership team behind Boilermaker and all of its odes to simplicity is the same group that ran the bar’s immediate predecessor, Golden Cadillac, in the very same space, only a few months earlier. A brash, glitzy throwback to the 1970s, Golden Cadillac was named one of Esquire’s Best Bars in America for 2014 by none other than David Wondrich, who described it as, “The 1970s viewed through a craft-cocktail lens. Craft Jell-O shots, improved disco cocktails. Fun.“ Essentially a 180-degree turn from the decadence of Golden Cadillac, Boilermaker now sits in its place.

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LAS VEGAS LOS ANGELES MIAMI

“The reality is that nothing was wrong with Golden Cadillac,” explains Boehm. “I said it as a joke once, but it’s actually ringing oddly true — it was a great pop-up. It wasn’t anything about the old place, it’s just that this new place really spoke to us a lot more. Erick Castro, Don Lee and I have been trying to work together for a long time. We were looking for a venue and I really wanted to start something that was more of ‘our place.’”

When the air conditioning at Golden Cadillac met its demise, requiring the venue to close for repairs, Boehm and his partners decided they would rather use the existing space to create their new venture rather than seek out a new location. The opportunity to get back to basics had presented itself right at their doorstep, quite literally.

“It’s a neighborhood bar that happens to have great cocktails,” says Erick Castro, who is managing partner and has relocated from California, where his San Diego bar Polite Provisions recently won “Best High Volume Bar” at Tales of the Cocktail’s 2014 Spirited Awards. Longtime friends and industry peers, Castro and Lee aimed to create a bar that embodied all their favorite things — a wide beer selection in the form of 12 rotating taps and three by the bottle or can, plus four cocktails on tap, 11 cocktails by the glass and two punches by the pitcher; and of course, Boilermaker shot-and-beer pairings.

“In my experience, both from what I’ve heard at Cocktail Kingdom and being in the East Village, people seem to want something simpler and more accessible, which again is part of the beer and cocktail thing,” says Boehm. “It’s less 44

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intimidating, and for us it’s fun because we’re not just preaching to the converted. When you’re in a speakeasy environment, everybody who shows up probably knows a lot about cocktails or at least has a high level of interest.

Whereas in this environment it’s nice to show people cocktails for the first time. The serious cocktail geeks like the fact that there’s no pomp and circumstance, you just sit down and you have a cocktail. For me — I drink cocktails, but after one or two I usually have a beer.”

Chef Miguel Trinidad completes the picture with a burger-focused menu inspired by New York’s famous Corner Bistro and LA’s In-n-Out Burger. “With the food, it’s one of those things that took us a long time to just keep it as basic as we did,” says Boehm. “We knew we wanted to do a burger because our chef had won the TimeOut New York Burger Bash and he has a celebrated burger at his other restaurant, which is a lamb burger. Then we thought, ‘What’s like wings but not wings?’ And after about a month of that we said, ‘We like wings, why not just do wings?’”

That’s how you keep things simple.

To stay true to the neighborhood’s values, Boilermaker’s prices range from $10-11 for cocktails, $5-8 for beer, and $7-11 for burgers. “If you make it too cheap people say that you don’t know what you’re doing, but if you make it expensive then it’s not accessible,” says Boehm. “It’s similar to the space — you want to make it comfortable and basic, but not boring.”

Designed by Crow Hill Design’s Jeannette Kaczorowski in collaboration with Field Lines Architecture, Boilermaker’s www.barbizmag.com

“Cocktail geeks like that there is no pomp and circumstance.

You just sit down and you have a cocktail. But after one or two, I usually have a beer.”

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décor harks back to the days of the Industrial Revolution, complete with burlap, wood and metal surfaces, and a palate of grays, blacks and hints of midnight blue.

“It is incredibly difficult to make a place uncomplicated,” Boehm explains. “The physical bar was built for speed, and overall we just took a lot of time to take out clutter, to make it more open, which is something that New York doesn’t have a lot of — open spaces. That keeps things uncomplicated. It’s actually extremely difficult to keep things basic, so one way we did it was we did a lot of the things ourselves.”

From the menu to the design, Boilermaker strives to keep things simple while at the same time satisfying for customers, many of whom just happen to be industry folk who appreciate the venue and its ambition — or lack thereof.

Boehm himself is evidence of the simplified bar’s appeal.

“Since we opened Boilermaker, I’ve gone in every night,” he says. “I work at Cocktail Kingdom. I don’t need to be there every night. I just find myself there.”

Sounds pretty simple to me.

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Inventory The Glenlivet Winchester Collection

UV Salty Caramel Apple

October marks the inaugural release of The Winchester Collection: The Glenlivet’s first series of rare and precious 50 year old single malt Scotch whiskies. “Vintage 1964” is the first release from this precious collection, anticipated to become one of the most sought after and priceless whisky collections to be released. This October, the first bottle of Vintage 1964 – Bottle No. 1 – from The Glenlivet Winchester Collection will go on sale at Harrods in the United Kingdom. Just 100 bottles of this remarkable Speyside single malt, priced at $25,000 each, will go on sale around the world in limited distribution. An undisclosed number of further releases from The Winchester Collection will then follow, with “Vintage 1966” confirmed to be next in line.

Befitting its price tag, no expense or attention to craftsmanship has been spared in creating the perfect vessel to house it, with every element hand-crafted by artisans from the British Isles, from hand-blown glass, to the inclusion of precious materials such as rose gold and ‘Cairngorm Stone.’ The Glenlivet Winchester Collection is available for private purchase. The next release from the collection will be Vintage 1966. To find out more information, visit www.theglenlivet.com/guardians.

Phillips Distilling Company announces the launch of UV Salty Caramel Apple, UV Vodka’s first limited edition seasonal flavor.

Featuring the perfect balance of sweet and salty, UV Salty Caramel Apple celebrates everything spirits drinkers love around the crisp fall season. Made in the U.S.A. with all-natural flavors, UV Salty Caramel Apple evokes the taste of a crisp orchard apple, dipped in luxurious caramel, capped with a salty bite to bring quintessential autumn flavors together. UV Salty Caramel Apple has impressed spirits critics and fans alike, earning a prestigious Double Gold Medal at this year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The seasonal offering was one of only three flavored vodkas to earn such high acclaim at the internationally renowned competition, which fielded a record-breaking number of entries this year. UV Salty Caramel Apple features a creamy caramel taste with a salty kick, a flavor adults will enjoy in their favorite seasonal cocktails, both hot and cold.

An exciting new twist on a fall favorite, UV Salty Caramel Apple has a golden amber color and is distilled four times to ensure premium quality and a smooth, satisfying taste. It can be mixed or enjoyed on the rocks and is the ideal complement to brisk fall evenings. Visit www.uvvodka.com for more information.

Tap Into New Rye

Save Wine With Savino

The new Tap Rye Sherry Finished 8 Year Old will hit stores midOctober and retail for $39.99/750ml bottle. The new TAP marque is an eight-year-old Canadian rye whisky blended with Spanish Amontillado Sherry, creating a sophisticated rye whisky that is as smooth and flavorful as it is unique. It is handcrafted in small batches at the oldest distillery in Western Canada, finished in small quantities in Quebec by Master Blender Michel Marcel.

With the launch of Tap Rye Sherry Finished, Tap Whisky has created a Barrel-Aged Cocktail Program for on-premise accounts featuring beautifully branded oak barrels where innovative mixologists can serve their guests classic and unique aged cocktails directly from the barrel. Additional barrel-aged recipes will be created by Master Mixologist Jonathan Pogash, the Cocktail Guru, and will be available on the Tap Whisky website.

The Tap Whisky Finished Collection includes Tap 357 Canadian Maple Rye Whisky and Tap Port Finished Canadian Rye Whisky. Tap is imported

by Van Gogh Imports. www.tapwhisky.com

Savino is pleased to introduce their new Enthusiast (Plastic) wine preservation system. Akin to the original Connoisseur (Glass) Savino, still keeps your wine fresh for up to a week.

However the Enthusiast is gently priced at $29.95. It shares the same Patented Savino Technology, is made in the USA, Dishwasher Safe and fits in most refrigerators. The Savino is an extremely easy to use wine preservation system that allows you to confidently open any bottle of wine wherever the night may lead, and will still be able to enjoy the fresh flavor all week long.

Savino started with a simple premise – great products begin with a great experience.

When you use Savino you enjoy a product that is effective, elegant and easy-to-use.

Savino is manufactured in the USA from with the highest quality materials.

Savino holds a full 750ml bottle of wine but is shorter than a wine bottle so it easily fits in your refrigerator.

It is elegantly designed to look great in the kitchen and on the dining table as well.

For more information visit www.savinowine.com.

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Two New From Old Pulteney Old Pulteney Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky has added two new expressions to its distinguished range: Old Pulteney 35 Year Old and Old Pulteney Clipper; both set to launch in the United States this September. The 35 Year Old Malt is exceptionally rare, with only 450 cases rolled out worldwide. This limited edition malt is unique not only in its age but its range of taste.

It is truly an aromatic, full-bodied whisky.

The commemorative expression, Old Pulteney Clipper, was launched in homage to The Old Pulteney Sailing crew successful completion of the Clipper 2013-2014 Round the World Yacht Race. Old Pulteney Clipper has been matured in ex-American bourbon barrels and ex-Spanish sherry casks which contributes to the sweet and crispy nose and the sweet, zesty taste. www.oldpulteney.com

Yaguara, Ya Heard?

Have you heard about Yaguara Cachaça? Launched this summer and produced in Brazil, is the first blended white organic Cachaça in the world. The bottle was designed by Brian Clarke.

The bottle was inspired by the Roman pattern which was made famous as it was used for the iconic Copacabana promenade pavement design

by Roberto Burle Marx, which is now the national pattern of Brazil (even in their world cup posters). It was designed on a eight week trip Brian took to Brazil, where he interviewed over 80 bartenders asking them about preferred weight, grip size and neck length. They then spent two years developing the technology to have it made en mass and for the right price. Yaguara Cachaça recently received a double gold medal from the 2014 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, one of the most respected spirits competition in the world.

Unprecedented for a cachaça prior to launch in the U.S. market, this medal is a testament to the craftsmanship of the liquid.

Additionally, Yaguara received a score of 92 points at the 2014 Ultimate Spirits Challenge, the highest ever awarded for a white cachaça. www.cachacayaguara.com.br

www.barbizmag.com

Espolòn Bourbon Barrel-finished Tequila Master Distiller Cirilo Oropeza has taken his beloved Espolòn Tequila to new heights with his latest experiment gone incredibly right – Espolòn Añejo. To put a creative mark on the world of Añejo tequilas, award-winning Espolòn aged tequila did the unexpected – a traditional Añejo with an Espolòn twist. In using a technique pioneered by Oropeza himself, the first of its kind in Mexico, this innovative process takes white oak-aged tequila and finishes it for two to three months in heavily charred American bourbon barrels allowing the liquid to take on the complex, rich flavor for which bourbon whiskey is famous. Brought to the United States for the first time by Espolòn Tequila, Espolòn Añejo is now available to stir things up. Master Distiller Cirilo Oropeza brings multiple decades of expertise to the craftsmanship of Espolòn, applying as much artistry to the liquid as is found on the label. The traditional Día de Los Muertos-style imagery on each bottle depicts significant moments in Mexican history and pays homage to the brave men and women who fought to establish modern day Mexico. The Espolòn Añejo bottle celebrates the Jarabe de Jalisco, now considered the national dance of Mexico, also known as Mexican Hat Dance. Visit www.EspolonTequila.com.

Spice Up Fall With Bols Pumpkin Lucas Bols, the world’s oldest distilled spirits brand and one of the world’s leading liqueur and spirit producers, announces the launch of the brand’s latest seasonal flavor — Bols Pumpkin Spice. The liqueur joins a portfolio of 30+ flavors currently available in the US. Says Lucas Bols Master Distiller, Piet van Leijenhorst: “Bols Pumpkin Spice is a nice blend of fall spices, like nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves, roasted nuts, and harvest pumpkin. The finish is smooth and comforting with hints of baked cinnamon and aromatic pumpkin.

It is best enjoyed in a seasonal cocktail or alongside your favorite fall dessert after dinner.” Bols Pumpkin Spice weighs in at 21% ABV and is available now in bars and stores across the U.S. It retails for a suggested price of $11.99 for a 750ml bottle. www.lucasbols.com

October 2014 Bar Business Magazine

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Holiday Happenings

November 2014

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Nov 2: Daylight Saving Time Ends.

At 2:00 a.m., turn back the clock one hour and give your customers and extra 60 minutes to spend more money before last call!

Nov 8: X-ray Day. Free drink to anyone who can prove they are a licensed, working X-ray technician. If anyone tries to falsely claim they work in this profession, tell them you can see right through their lies.

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Nov 21: Alascattalo Day. This holiday honors Alaskan humor and is named after the mythical genetic cross between a moose and a walrus. Honor it by mixing up the ugliest drink combinations you can think of.

Nov 23: International Image Consultant Day Shouldn’t bartenders be referred to as image consultants? It only takes a few drinks before your customers think they are the best looking human in the bar with a personality to match, and it’s all thanks to you.

Nov 25: Blase´Day. We are sooooo not into this holiday. Whatever.

Nov 16: World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.

I am a victim of road traffic every time I drive into midtown Manhattan, so on this day, drink heavily in my honor.

www.barbizmag.com

11 Nov 11: Origami Day. Announce to your customers on this day that a free bar tab awaits the winner of a bar napkin origami contest at the end of the night.

14 Nov 14: National American Teddy Bear Day. Free drink to any male customer who has the guts to show up and sit at the bar with their childhood teddy bear in tow. Beers for bears.

15 Nov 15: National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day. A good thing to do regularly, but on this holiday make it mandatory for staff to clear out all the crazy things that end up lingering in those coolers and fridges.

28 Nov 28: Buy Nothing Day. Stay away from retail, spend it all at the bar!

October 2014 Bar Business Magazine

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50

Bar Business Magazine October 2014

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Index of Advertisers COMPANY

WEB SITE ADDRESS

PAGE #

Agave Loco LLC (RumChata) American Beverage Marketers Barzz.net Buzztime Coast to Coast Insurance Custom Earpiece G&G Closed Circuit Event LLC Global Billiard Mfg Harbortouch Corp Harbortouch CA Innova Products Modern Line Furniture Royal Penn Products LLC Shiftgig.com TouchTunes Western Spirits Wristband Specialty

www.RumChata.com www.RealIngredients.com www.Barzz.net www.GoBeond.com/barbiz www.CtoCinsurance www.CustomEarpiece.com www.GGboxing.com www.GlobalBilliard.com www.Harbortouch.com www.iHarbortouch.com www.StrahlBeverageWare.com www.ModernlineFurniture.com www.ez-squeeze.com www.Shiftgig.com www.TouchTunes.com www.WesternSpirits.com www.WristbandSupply.com

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Inventory Companies Bols Pumpkin

www.LucasBols.com

Espolòn Tequila

www.EspolonTequila.com

Glenlivet, The

www.TheGlenlivet.com/guardians

Old Pulteney Whisky

www.OldPulteney.com

Savino

www.SavinoWine.com

Tap Rye Whisky

www.TapWhisky.com

UV Vodka

www.UVvodka.com

Yaguara Cachaca

www.CachacaYaguara.com.br

To advertise in Bar Business Magazine contact, Art Sutley, Ph: 212-620-7247, e-mail: asutley@sbpub.com

www.barbizmag.com

October 2014 Bar Business Magazine

51

Owning Up

TALES of THE TIP

As the year winds down, it’s vital that bar owners and employees understand their requirements under the new IRS tips reporting rules. So stop counting cash for a second and listen to what 212 Tax & Accounting Services can tell you about it.

EFFECTIVE AS OF JANUARY 1, 2014, enforcement of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Revenue Ruling 2012-18, pertaining to the classification of tips as service charges began. According to Anil Melwani, CPA, managing partner of 212 Tax & Accounting Services (www.212tax.com), a full-service Certified Public Accounting firm serving the New York-Metro area’s hospitality industry, bar, restaurant and other hospitality business owners and staff are encouraged to learn their compliance requirements under the rule.

“IRS Revenue Ruling 2012-18 now classifies automatic gratuities as service charges instead of a tip,” said Melwani. “Since the IRS regards service charges as regular wages, they must now be reported for payroll tax withholding,” said Melwani. “A common practice by many hospitality businesses was to charge an automatic gratuity of, for example, 18-20% for parties of six to eight or more customers. Establishments can no longer have automatic gratuities for parties of any size, unless they want to pay the higher minimum wage for their employees, pay sales tax on automatic gratuities, and lose the FICA tip credit. Each business must weigh the advantages and disadvantages associated with continuing a policy of automatic gratuities. Restaurants and bars still have the option of suggesting what they feel is a fair gratuity, but in order to keep the benefits listed above, they have to stop the automatic calculations of tips and leave it up to their customers to tip what they want.”

The IRS isn’t fooling around with this rule, believing it has been “shortchanged” on taxes from employers and employees. It is determined to capture previously lost revenues. According to Melwani, the rule comes at a time when the hospitality industry was already being targeted by the IRS, as well as the U.S. Department of Labor, for wage and hour infringements.

Melwani urges employers to be diligent in their processes to facilitate compliance with IRS and other government agencies.

Melwani advises employers to secure IRS Form 4070A, Employee’s Daily 52

Bar Business Magazine October 2014

Record of Tips, and Form 4070, Employee’s Report of Tips to Employer, and distribute to staff. The forms can be obtained in the IRS publication 1244 (www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1244.pdf). Employers can also elect to create their own form as long as it contains the following required information: employee’s name, address and Social Security number; employer’s name; period covered and date reported; total amount of tips received by the employee; and employee’s signature.

Employers must collect these forms and, with the guidance of their accountant, calculate the amount of Social Security, Medicare and income taxes to withhold for the specific pay period on both an employee’s wages and reported tips. It is the employer’s responsibility to collect the employee’s portion of the Social Security and Medicare taxes and the federal income taxes. Also, as part of the reporting requirements for businesses serving food and beverages, with more than ten employees and where tipping is common, at the end of each year, employers must file IRS Form 8027 (www. irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8027.pdf) which provides a summary of the business’ total sales, charged sales, charged tips and total reported tips.

“In New York City alone, there are over 24,000 restaurants and bars employing over 240,000 people,” added Melwani. “The industry represents one of the region’s most important economic engines. For that reason, it is vital that these businesses be able to thrive, while operating in full compliance. As with any new regulation, it is important that employers turn to their trusted advisors for guidance.”

For more information, visit www.212tax.com. www.barbizmag.com

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