Here's Looking at You
Taylor Rau Lives On

Through a many late night and weekend marathon working side by side, I came to know him well.

Money Makers

Beverage News

Back to School
Cultivate Alumni Groups for College Football Crowds

    Mad River Bar & Grille in Chicago, college football Saturdays easily are more popular than NFL Sundays. Though the obvious, no-brainer attraction is the game itself, setting the stage for it is important in edging out the competition.

Game Day Psychology
Get Inside Your Patrons’ Heads

    Football fans usually aren’t too hard to figure out. You know what they like, and it’s pretty simple.

Mixing the Monk
DJ Monk Mixes Old School and Visuals

If you were to ask DJ Monk when his obsession with music started, he’d simply reply “since I was a child.”

Smart Growth
The Responsible Hospitality Institute Aims to Keep Urban Hospitality Centers from Failing

Re-directing entertainment development to urban centers from suburban areas is a trend many markets are seeing. And it’s a trend in which the Responsible Hospitality Institute is elbow-deep, helping parties with vested interests in such development approach it wisely and effectively.

Getting the Spirit
A Very Good Year for Bennigan’s

For a chain fairly credited as one of the forefathers of the modern field of bar and restaurant chains, Bennigan’s has found that competing today meant going back to basics, for starters. Basics reestablished, the chain now has implemented the next phase of its bar-side rebirth.

Burgers, Fries and Synchronicity
An American Classic Often Is the Measure of a Menu 

With the exception of Ray Croc and the meatpacking industry itself, perhaps no other form of business enterprise in the country has benefited more from the hamburger than the bar.

Pop the Top on Beer Promotions
The Top Beer Companies Want To Throw a Beer Party At Your Place All Summer Long

Raising beer margins is a bit like wishing upon a star.

Marketing on the Fly
Flyers and Promo Cards Are As Relevant As Ever

Many a mighty nightclub and bar success story has been built on the strength of untold numbers of flyers and promotional cards handed out by street promoters dispatched to get the word out about a hot music group in town or a special Happy Hour event or nightclub promotion upcoming.

Premiums and Protection
Good Insurance Coverage Requires Thought

    The first thing that generally comes to mind when seeking an insurance policy is “Who can offer the cheapest rate?” says Sherri McCullers, president of Coast to Coast Commercial Insurance in Oldsmar, Fla., an insurer that specializes in comprehensive policies for nightclubs, bars and other hospitality-related businesses.

Scan It and Plan It
Buying Inventory Scanning Equipment

As hard as it would be to imagine life today without cell phones, the Internet and e-mail, it should be harder for operators to wonder how they ran a business with accurate accounting before the current age of inventory scanning technology. Perhaps no equipment in your establishment is as important. So shop around, make an educated buy, and improve your efficiency. Here are some options.

Sound Test
Quick Tips to Improve Your Sound Quality 

Good sound quality in a nightclub or bar venue does not come cheap or without effort.

Comeback Special
Gin’s Dressed and Ready to Roll

Stirring Cocktails
Drink Accessories Do Their Part To Raise The Bar

Newsletters Continue to Be Important In an Age of Technology

A newsletter is designed to help create loyalty from your customers and to give the customer a reason to visit your establishment. You need to keep in mind that your mailings need to be fun, exciting and easy-to-read. Newsletters create loyal, repeat customers.

Part 2: Incremental Sales by the Hour

My hospitality industry mentor Vance Campbell, owner of the Oasis Cocktail Lounge in Vancouver, Canada, used to say, “The frontline is your bottom line, and you need to train your people to work professionally. So plan your work and work your plan.” Well, here’s the plan.

How a Staple is Getting Dressed Up But  Not Messed Up

Fernand “Pete” Petiot is said to have invented the Bloody Mary at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris. It was then introduced to America when Petiot began serving his hair-of-the-dog concoction — a simple recipe of vodka, tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, salt and cayenne pepper — to well-heeled customers at the famous King Cole Bar in Manhattan’s St. Regis Hotel.  

Saving Downtown L.A.
213 Inc. Brings Peace and Playfulness to a Struggling Scene

The 213 Inc. nightlife company began in 2001 with the hope of revitalizing an alternately dead and dangerous downtown Los Angeles. While many would have viewed nightlife venues as a risky idea in such a downtrodden area, this group knew that socializing was the ticket to new life and productive patronage.

Hospitality Central
‘The Show’ Becomes Part of International Hospitality Week

When we write about ‘The Show’ as it approaches each year, we always focus on how damn big the thing keeps getting — to the point it seems we keep repeating “bigger and better” every year. Well, it happens to be true. But this year brings far, far more to the table, as ‘The Show’ becomes part of a much greater whole — International Hospitality Week. 

Mix and March Forward
Evolving With Bar Staples and Important Variations

Cadbury-Schweppes Americas Beverages, a subsidiary of United Kingdom-based Cadbury-Schweppes, covers all of North America, including the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The Cordish Company Revitalizes Downtown s By Creating Entertainment Districts

    When development in most American markets ran for a fresh start in the suburbs in the 1970s, The Cordish Company went with it — that is, until David S. Cordish put his company on hold for several years, when an experience in the higher levels of government gave him a new perspective. 

Blues for Taylor
Remembering Taylor Rau

He’s one of those who knows that life
Is just a leap of faith
Just spread your arms and
Hold your breath
And always trust your cape
                 — Guy Clark, “The Cape”

DeKuyper Injects Cordial Category With Flavor and Innovation

“One of our long-term strategies as a brand is to strengthen DeKuyper as the cordials category innovation leader,” says Senior Brand Manager Amy Underwood. Last year, the brand began to add extensions to its Pucker line, including Strawberry Passion, Berry Fusion, and this year launched Pomegranate, Mango, Papaya and PineappleCoconut flavors.