Bread & Butter
A Lowbrow Theme Finds Success
Amidst the Swank of San Francisco 

MoneyMakers

Frost's On Fire

DJ Rafe Gomez Goes Beyond the Barrier

Oil Money
Offering Fried Food is Healthy for Sales and Guest Satisfaction

    We were down to the last bite of this unusual food item. I could see it in my wife’s eyes — she wanted it, but so did I. Our kids watched us nervously; they had never seen us both with forks poised so aggressively.
   Was it lobster? A fine steak? Beautifully prepared fish? A tender veal dish? Nope. It was none of these. It was better than these high-end menu items. It was a fried Twinkie.

Professional Profits
Chalk Up Solid Fall Sales to Pro Football Programs

   FUN facts about professional football: In 1899, a player named Chris O’Brien formed a neighborhood team, which played under the name the Morgan Athletic Club, on the south side of Chicago. The team later became known as the Normals, then the Racine (for a street in Chicago) Cardinals, the Chicago Cardinals, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Phoenix Cardinals and, in 1994, the Arizona Cardinals. The team remains the oldest continuing operation in pro football. In 1904, a field goal was changed from five points to four, and in 1909, it was changed from four points to three. Due to young men departing for service for WWII, the Cardinals and the Steelers were granted permission to merge for one year under the name Card-Pitt, April 21, 1944.

Pads, Points, Profits
Let the Sales Season Begin!

   It appears there are few slow periods in the life of a bar owner, especially one of a sports-oriented venue. The calendar brings with it seemingly limitless days and nights of pool, darts and coin-op competitions for patrons. Bikini and bull-riding contests, live music, drink specials, baseball, boxing, horse and auto racing — there always is plenty of action for patrons, right? This is true, but there is a time when Mondays may be slow, and even the weekends can be less than stellar. Then the fall begins.

Gameday GO
College Football Competition Promotion Turns Rivalries Into Revenue

NCAA Gridiron is coming.
   Can you hear it? It’s coming with the ferocity of an angry linebacker. You probably hear a little rumbling from the training camps going on across the country as we speak. So, it’s time to implement a training camp of your own and get your staff ready for the impact that’s coming at month’s end. It’s August, and the temperature and action will be heating up, so ice down the beer and get ready to quench the thirst of the legions of college football fans ready to cheer their team to victory. 

Amber into Gold
Fall Brings Premium On-Premise Beverage Sales 

   When the heat of summer turns into the cool, cool, cool of the fall, patrons’ beverage wants shift along with the seasons. The moving spirits parade goes from white to dark, from lighter to more substantial in palate and proof, and even from cold to warm to hot in temperature. It’s a virtual equinox of the spirits taking place to be sure.

An Aspen Affair
The Food and Wine Classic was a Sophisticated Success

  In 1934, recent M.I.T. graduate Jay Sindler had a moment of clarity while enjoying a Martini in Boston’s Ritz Carlton. Sindler was opposed to placing his fingers into his Martini to extract the  

Location, Location, Location Comes Second for Sales 

   To preface this article, I have been a licensed real estate salesperson for more than 25 years. Listing and selling bar and restaurant/bar properties is the function of my company, Specialty Bar and Restaurant brokers, a Specialty Group division. In addition, simply as a daily part of all of our businesses here, we deal with licensed real estate professionals from all over our state.

A Golden Opportunity Grows
‘The Show’ and Atlantic City Shine In the Not-so-Far East

   The Nightclub & Bar Beverage and Food Convention & Trade Show at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, October 9-11, is shaping up to take the East Coast experience of “The Show” to another level.

   IN the competitive world of cocktails, trends can be a dime a dozen. Every few months, it seems, a new concoction breaks through as the must-have drink of the moment. Bartenders and establishment owners have to adapt to meet the demands of this competitive industry; otherwise, they will be washed away in the wake of progressive competition.

Buy the Best Be the Best
Why Take a Chance With Your Business’ Well-Being?  

In our fast-paced society of cell phones, text messages, 60-hour work weeks and now even fast-casual food, you may say, “How can I get a better deal on my insurance? I don’t have time for researching. I don't have time to negotiate.” As with most things in life, though, insurance selection — particularly for the best –– does take some time and effort. However, there are some simple steps you can take that not only make the process faster, but in the end, you'll come out on top — less stress, more reward.

Food Distributor Preps for the 50-Year Mark with Promotional Incentives, Market Expansion

Frozen Foods
have taken on gourmet distinction under the direction of long-time, Wisconsin-based distributor McCain Foods. 

Taking Stock
Technology’s Latest Inventory Scanners Offer Bars a New Code

    Stock room employees need not scurry about, crunching numbers like accountants and maintaining checks and balances over the expensive supply of spirits that just arrived off the truck. Retailers and nightclub owners alike now easily can  audit with no more round-the-clock monitoring or inventory shrinkage stemming from employee mistakes, theft and over-pouring.      

Austin, Texas’ Molotov Lounge is Slightly Soviet and Ahead of Its Time

    Austin's Sixth Street district— the place could only be more appealing for bar owners if all the spilled Jägermeister were to suddenly turn to oil. More than 30,000 guests visit on single, high-traffic weekend nights, a number in which any entrepreneur with half a concept  could find fortune — if he could only find rentable space. Saturated with a mix of tourists, trendsetters, college kids and music connoisseurs, the area is teeming with kinetic energy in the form of entertainment value.

Bloody Mary Recipes Always are Worth the Time and the Alchemy 

She’s the queen of cocktails, the princess of profit or the regal red temptress of fall guest traffic. By any nickname, Bloody Mary sits on a special throne, surrounded by tomato juice, vodka and a full court of spicy counterparts.

Ginning Up
Gin Is ‘In’ Despite a Flood of Spirits Competition

With our gin, the on-premise world would be a different place. Try to imagine a parallel cocktail universe without the classic Martini or the Gin & Tonic and all of the evolution and innovation that these two cocktail stars have inspired in the bargain.
 

Canadian Club is on Track for New Sales

With a newfound speed akin to that of an Indy car — which, non-coincidentally, Canadian Club now is sponsoring — one of Beam Global Spirits & Wine’s leading whisky brands is on the move, and on-premise operators are along for the ride.
 

Stellar Brand Equity
L.A.’s SBE Group Takes Nightlife to New Levels

    At only 29 years old, real estate and development visionary Sam Nazarian already had achieved celebrity status in the hospitality industry, and that had less to do with his being in Hollywood than it did his far-sighted take on the evolution of nightlife as we know it.