Editor’s note: The author is the principal of Culinary Options in Seattle. The highlighted story below is part of The Schechter Report and NRN’s content partnership, and the content here does not necessarily reflect the views of Nation’s Restaurant News. It has been edited for length and a complete version appears at TSRMag.com.
As you read in my last blog, Happy Hour programs can – if not carefully planned – produce very unhappy results for operators. So how can I, too, be happy operators may ask themselves? Some thoughts:
Tip 1: Different foods for different moods.
Too many restaurants simply take a few items from their regular menus, discount them significantly and call that their HH elections. It’s quick and requires no new items, no new training. But why would a customer come for dinner anymore and pay $13.00 for something they know they can get a HH fro $5.00? You blinked. That item is now dead for dinner.
Happy Hour items should not be meals; they are snacks, palate teasers, meant to transition diners from their workday to a soothing evening out. These items need to be unique and bar oriented because the real relaxer is the cocktail and that’s in the bar. So the guideline is: Bar – sociable, transitional, stimulating; Dining Room – personal, intimate, relaxing.