Not to impugn on any on-premise operator’s
abilities and capabilities, but even the best of the best in this
industry need a little help sometimes in their quest for ultimate sales
and success. Even stellar operations can get stale to guests at some
point or another — the key is in knowing just how and when to mix it up
for them. And while offering select products and undertaking certain
services may not be as easy a process as mixing up a Margarita, some
compiled research does make the task easier.
Check out the following assortment of
industry-specific suppliers whose goal is to assist you in increasing
your venue’s revenues, and consider the planning and promoting you can
do around them. Let the summer of sales begin.
Keeping Tabs Inc.
Bar inventories off? Cash receipts down?
Where there’s smoke, there’s probably fire. Don’t get burned ––
extinguish those bar staff losses with Keeping Tabs Inc. and its
services for bar and nightclub operators.
The Keeping Tabs Program is a professional bar spotting service with a
national network of trained, licensed and insured investigators. Using
fully customized visit directives to match your operational procedures
and specific concerns, Keeping Tabs provides detailed and confidential
reports the next business day. Sworn testimony is available for
prosecution of theft or HR disputes. Keeping Tabs is managed by
professionals with decades of experience in your industry offering
budget-friendly solutions for independent operators and major chains.
How much are over-pouring, service of underage patrons, over-serving
intoxicated guests, poor cash handling or deceptive register entries
costing your business? Let Keeping Tabs’ live bar surveillance help
keep you in compliance and save you thousands of dollars.
Sega Amusements USA
Extreme Hunting 2: Tournament Edition is now
available from the pioneer of coin-op hunting games: Sega Amusements
USA. Extreme Hunting 2 KIT offerings allow the 20,000-plus Sega/Sammy
hunting games in the market to be upgraded to this hot title! Available
in Full Conversion Kits, Update Kits, 29-inch Upright and 50-inch
Deluxe Cabinets for those locations ready to walk on the wild side.
Extreme Hunting 2 is a blend of new animals, including wolf, bison,
bass, bat, shark and alligator, as well as new weapons: muzzleloader,
assault rifle and revolver. In addition, there now are more realistic
and complex scenes and scenarios and an all-new gun unit with realistic
force feedback. Also coming soon is the ALL.Net KIT, Sega’s online
platform allowing players to compete nationwide, enter into tournaments
and track stats. Your bar also benefits from easy software downloads
and increased cashboxes from this online entertainment craze.
For more information, call (888) 877-2669 or visit www.extremehunting.net.
Gold Productions
The Men of Las Vegas Thunder Male
revue show is “The Premier Ladies Night Experience,” as the company
states. The show combines the talent of the absolute finest collection
of male entertainers form around the world in a first-class stage
spectacular. Dynamic choreographed production numbers, elaborate
costumes, live vocal performance, acrobatics, hilarious comedy and a
fast-paced show have been designed especially for women.
The Men of Las Vegas is a turnkey promotion that
offers state-of-the-art lighting and sound, as well as a
top-of-the-line media kit to help make the ladies night event a
success. No venue is too large or too small to consider. Gold
Productions currently is booking dates for its three touring shows in
the United States and Canada. Call for pricing and availability in your
area.
The Quaffer is a patented shot glass with a
built-in chaser, and it appeals to guests of virtually any age over 21.
It measures 2.25 ounces on the bottom and 1.25 ounces on top. You
put any chaser in the bottom, any liquor on top, and the liquids will
stay separated until consumed.
Send a cocktail waitress around with a tray full of
Quaffers, serve them from behind the bar or do both. No matter how you
present the Quaffer, guests will love them, and operators will love the
pour cost.
Pour Jäger Bombs, Tuaca Bombs –– any Bombs –– or
check out hundreds of recipes at www.quaffer.com and serve a variety of
Quaffer shots.
Customize the Quaffer by adding your logo, and separate yourself from the competition.
For more information, call (800) 383-2541 or visit www.quaffer.com.
ShotLuge.com
ShotLuge.com has designed and manufactures the world’s best Shot Luge Stand.
If you’ve hosted Shot Luge Parties, you know how fun
and profitable they are. You also know the challenges: messy melting
ice, makeshift stands and customers who balk at direct contact with the
ice. ShotLuge.com has resolved each of these concerns with their
highly engineered products.
A heavy-duty polymer sled holds ice at the optimum
angle for liquid flow. Built-in drain and tubing carry the melting ice
to a floor drain, bar sink, bucket or grass. Convenient bottle holders
are located on the back of the sled. The sled also can be used without
the base, such as on a bar top or at the edge of a pool. The sled
assembles in less than one minute without tools or hardware.
ShotLuge.com also has developed ShotSucker straws,
which eliminate the need to place one’s mouth directly on the
ice.
For more information, visit www.shotluge.com.
Dish D'Lish
Dish D’Lish recently has released its Pomegranate
Margarita Cocktailor, the latest splash to join Kathy Casey’s growing
line of specialty retail products.
This new high-end mixer makes creating exciting
cocktails a breeze. The bartender need only add tequila to the
bright-flavored mixer for a tangy twist on a classic Margarita or mix
the versatile Pomegranate Margarita Cocktailor with sparkling water for
a sassy virgin cocktail.
Pomegranate Margarita Cocktailor’s Kathy Casey said,
“Pomegranate is the hottest flavor in beverage trends right now, and
creative Margaritas have never been more popular ... and, by the way,
the Pomegranate Margarita Cocktailor makes a really great Lemon Drop,
too!”
Other Dish D’Lish Cocktailor mixers include Classic
Cosmo Cocktailor, Sapphire Mojito Cocktailor, Lemon & Lime Sour
Cocktailor and Red Sangria Mix Cocktailor. Dish D’Lish products may be
found at fine specialty food stores and independent grocers nationwide.
The products also are sold online.
For more information, visit www.kathycasey.com.
Online Bar Promotions
Bar promotions made easy is the goal of Online Bar
Promotions, and the company’s Online Promotional Kit includes
everything you need to launch a professional, well-organized promotion
with very little time or effort on your part. Online Bar Promotions
also offers you a choice of 50 different online promotions. Just
complete the straight-forward and simple input forms on the company’s
Web site to schedule and generate the entire promotion. It’s as simple
as that. In only 15 minutes, you’ll be ready to roll out your
promotion. Spend 15 minutes online and you’ll receive the following:
• Set of printable documents for each promotion
• Customizable 365-day online calendar
• Home Web page
• Individual Web page for each promotion
• Web page to collect e-mail addresses
KillerSpots.com
Ever listen to the radio and hear your commercials and then your competitor’s? Sound the same?
It’s amazing how much effort, time and money go into
a successful promotion –– not to mention all the cash that goes into
radio advertising. Make your spots involve your potential customers to
entice them to head to your venue.
Killerspots.com Inc. is a full-service advertising,
marketing and radio buying agency dedicated to the nightclub and
hospitality industry with clients worldwide including Game Works,
Jillian’s, Pure Romance.com Inc., Barracuda - Portland, Vicci - Austin
and thousands more.
Killerspots.com offers a wide variety of marketing
solutions to increase sales and excitement: radio commercials, radio
buying and effective placement, club flyers, magazine/newspaper ads,
Web design, on-hold jingles and more that excites new business ––
guaranteed.
For more information, visit www.killerspots.com, e-mail or call (800) 639-9728.
The Sports Page
Sports fans don’t just want sports scores –– they
need them. That’s why SportsPageTV makes it easy for bars, restaurants,
race tracks, and any other business with a TV to bring sports
information, including Vegas odds, right to their customers. With
SportsPageTV easily installed, fans can receive up-to-the-minute scores
and sports information from nearly every American college and
professional sport known to man. Owners can even advertise their own
specials, promotions and events right on their own televisions or sell
that advertising space to other businesses to make some extra cash.
It’s truly a blessing for sports lovers and owners alike.
Custom Earpiece
Custom Earpiece has introduced three new products
designed toward superior communication in loud nightclubs. The Black
Diamond Industrial radio features superior high noise performance in a
small industrial radio. BlackDiamonds are strong, inexpensive and
powerful.
Match the BlackDiamond with either the Sentinel or
the Centurion high-noise, discreet surveillance kits and you have
crystal clear communications in the loudest club. These earpieces will
eliminate nearly all background sound. These feature Kevlar-reinforced
wire and industrial strain relief. The Centurion is designed to wear
down the sleeve or on the lapel, the Sentinel is designed to wear on
the lapel only.
The entire package, earpiece and radio can be
purchased for as little as $239 or the earpieces for your radios as
little as $34.95 each.
Tobiner Talent Booking
Johanna (of MTV’s “Real World: Austin” and “The
Freshmeat Challenge”) is one of the more than 100 MTV reality stars
available through Tobinder Talent Booking LLC. Tobinder Talent agents
are down to earth, fun to work with, and not only do they make sure you
get the celebrities to your club that you want at the lowest price, but
also they take care of all the hassles for you.
Tobinder will organize travel for the celebrities
and set up radio interviews to help you promote your nightclub’s event.
To book MTV reality stars at your nightclub to host events, MC contests
and more, contact Andy Binder of Tobinder Talent Booking at (518)
369-9238 or e-mail
Trivia Company
Trivia Company, a full-service trivia content
supplier and game programmer, has launched a new entertainment
product for bars and restaurant/bars. Trivia Pipeline provides your own
in-house trivia channel; a continuous supply of trivia content
entertains your patrons, drives mid-week business and keeps your paying
customers hanging out longer. Trivia Pipeline also can integrate your
marketing/promotional messages directly into the programming.
Trivia Pipeline’s starter pack
includes 50 hours of original trivia content delivered on DVD. Each
month, additional hours of trivia are made available that cover sports,
entertainment, general knowledge and themed content based on the season
or holiday. Order a free DVD demo at www.triviapipeline.com.
Think Drink Inc.
The Game Ball is a handheld vinyl cooler that is
shaped like a football. Its unique design allows it to hold most
industry bottles or cans and use the insulating properties of air to
keep beverages colder. It even throws like a real football. You can
logo the Game Ball on two panels for maximum exposure during your
promotion and continued advertising when it’s over.
This product is made in the USA and has a large
production capacity. Don’t be afraid to throw the Game Ball into your
next promotion.
Continental Packaging Solutions
Continental spices things up this month with a
decorative, durable container created for an abundance of uses. The
SafeLock jar and lid are designed for reliable filling requirements
with a common lid diameter (one lid fits all sizes) and a strong
collar. Available in a variety of sizes, Continental chose the 8-ounce
jar with a colorful label. This dependable package is perfect for
storing volatile substances that need a trusty container. Continental
Packaging Solutions is your turnkey packaging solution provider.
Headquartered in Chicago, Continental has offices in New York City,
Boston, Miami, Columbus, Ohio, Louisville, Ky., Indianapolis,
Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Denver.
Daily's
Designed to improve drink preparation, consistency
and delivery, the new program by Daily’s Cocktail Mixers offers a range
of quality mixer products and equipment options for high-volume frozen
accounts, whatever their needs.
“We are committed to offering the best equipment
program out there,” says Paul Beranek, vice president of sales for
Daily’s. “We understand that our customers need products that are
consistently great tasting and equipment that helps them deliver
superior, uniform drinks time after time. Daily’s now offers both.”
The Daily’s Caribbean Groove product line offers a
range of shelf stable product options including 10 popular blended
cocktail mixes, formulated for use in frozen beverage machines. The
program offers equipment options from Vita-Mix blending stations to
Crathco single and double frozen Beverage freezers. Daily’s also is
partnering with The ICEE Company and more than 400 service technicians
to offer customers a proactive Equipment Service Plan with preventative
maintenance and a 24-hour maximum response time.
For more information, call Gary Vega at (504) 782-6097.
Visual Sports Systems
Visual Sports Systems (VSS) has announced that
its new RealSoccer JR game is out-earning just about every other game
worldwide. Games shipped to Europe, North America and the Middle East
have ranked in the top five at every location, and six-month test
results show that payback is 20-30 weeks at most. With FIFA World Cup
excitement on the rise, the game is attracting players and buyers from
every corner of the world.
VSS has become a worldwide player in sports simulation equipment for
coin-op. In addition to RealSoccer JR, VSS offers the RealSports MAX, a
six-in-one, multi-sport simulator.
Spirits Brand
Spirit Brands is living up to its tagline, “Spirit
Brands: Helping Our Customers Serve Theirs,” by continuing to introduce
new and innovative products to meet industry needs.
Spirit Brands’ latest additions include an upscale
Martini glass prism pick. This three-sided prism has a
three-dimensional Martini glass on the top and is the perfect way to
enhance the upscale image of a premium Martini. The pick is 4.5-inches
long, which can accommodate three olives if necessary. It also is
offered in black or crystal for an elegant look that merchandises the
drink in a way that adds value.
Spirit Brands also has introduced a fruit muddler
that is perfect for pressing the juice out of a fruit wedge in a glass
of any beverage. It is great to use with a Mojito to press the mint
leaves, for example, and it also can be printed to support brand image
for increased visibility. The muddler is 6-inches tall and is available
in crystal for an upscale look. An 8-inch version soon will be
available for tall iced tea glasses, as well.
The Spirit Brands company has many new specialty products to enhance any beverage or meal service.
Incredible Technologies
Silver Strike Bowling, the video ten-pin game that
took more than 13,000 locations by storm in 2005, is getting bigger and
better than ever in June of 2006. Silver Strike 2007 Bowler’s Club is
the newest version of the acclaimed SSB series that connects millions
of bowlers online with Incredible Technologies LIVE tournament system.
With 2007 Bowler’s Club, video bowlers will be able to compete in local
contests, compare their skills nationally and be a part of IT’s new
weekly and monthly Bowler’s Club Sweepstakes. Huge prizes –– from cash
to cars –– will be given away throughout the year at no extra cost to
players.
For as long as beer has been
around, art has been on the scene to honor it. From a solemn pint to a
festive mug, beer and art have gone together to celebrate the craft —
and often the humor — that guests love so much.
Today, www.buyenlarge.com is providing guests and
operators alike with its own homage to brew: posters that capture the
very essence of brew-ha-ha. These posters add a new dimension to any
bar, be it “We hold these truths to be self evident that all beers are
not created equal” to a Rhett Butler quip, “Frankly, my Beer, I don’t
give a Damn!”
Each poster can be recreated in a variety of sizes
and done on canvas or paper. For the brewery, distributor or bar that’s
in need of some extra color and individuality, these posters can be
customized just for them. Tap the possibilities.
Cosmic D'Lite
Cosmic D’Lite introduces an innovative new concept
to the food and beverage industry: five stellar flavors of cocktail
mixers, all with zero carbs, zero sugar and less than 10 calories.
These cutting-edge mixers offer an alternative to existing cocktails
that often contain more than 150 calories and have high sugar and carb
content.
The five flavors include Cosmic Strawberry Mango,
Cosmic Margarita, Cosmic Cranberry Twist, Cosmic Energy Watermelon and
Cosmic Green Apple. They are able to be paired with your favorite
spirits in mixed drinks, Martinis and shooters.
Cosmic D’Lite also presents an energetic promotional
team, The Cosmic Girls, who have everything it takes to ensure that
your next special event is a success. Contact a Cosmic D’Lite
representative today to find out more about how you can take part in
this fresh new twist in the industry.
The Cell Zone
The Cell Zone is the first commercial,
sound-resistant cell-phone booth to hit the general market, but this
new product from Woburn, Mass.-based Salemi Industries was specially
designed for use in establishments such as nightclubs.
Based on patent-pending technology, The Cell Zone
allows users to talk on their cell phones in privacy without being
distracted by outside noise or disrupting others. Developed with an
expert acoustical engineer, The Cell Zone is specially crafted using a
sound-resistant chamber and acoustic material scientifically proven to
significantly reduce noise.
With five models ranging in price from $2,400 to
$3,500, The Cell Zone provides a convenient, quiet area for guests to
conduct business or converse with friends or family.
For more information, visit www.cellzone.net or call (781) 368-1028.
Shotbelt.com
Load up, strap on, and shoot shots of your favorite
beverage with the Shotbelt, a patented beverage delivery system from
Shotbelt.com. The Shotbelt allows quick and easy dispensing of
shots to everyone, eliminating any need for a server to carry a
tray. Watch your shooter sales skyrocket without the mess of
dirty shot glasses, spills, or breakage. The Shotbelt will make
any atmosphere exciting and any event more memorable. Each Shotbelt
comes with 25 reusable oral syringes and fits any size waist.
Breath Alcohol Tester
The Bracebridge Madasa Group Ltd., established by
Chris and Nicole Etherington, has started installing the Breath Alcohol
Tester in bars to help stop impaired driving. “By giving people
definitive proof of intoxication we hope that people will choose not to
drive after consuming alcohol, even if it is ‘just a 5-minute trip,’”
Nicole Etherington says. The Bracebridge Madasa Group Ltd. is the
Ontario distributor for Breath Alcohol Testers, a Canadian product
invented by Craig Atkinson of Sterling Vending from Calgary, Alberta.
Patrons now have the ability to check on their own Blood Alcohol Level
(BAC) with a machine that is as accurate as the police units’. Chris
Etherington says this about the Breath Alcohol Testers, “You can check
your level on our machine and make a responsible choice or you could
risk getting tested on the police unit and get arrested. For $1 per
use, we believe people would prefer to have control over their own
choices rather than having consequences imposed on them or worse yet,
hurting or killing someone.”
The unit now is available for use in bars in Canada and the United States.
Sega Amusements USA
The Quaffer
KillerSpots.com
Custom Earpiece
Trivia Company
Continental Packaging Solutions 
Visual Sports Systems
Cosmic D'Lite
Shotbelt.com 
