Pour On the New, But Don't Forget the Old in Introducing New Martini Cocktails
By Mike Hanley
Every bar wants to have the newest Martinis in town. Martinis are still the hottest category of drinks, and some customers will try anything that sounds like the next big thing. There is one problem, however. Most drinkers are creatures of habit and moving them away from "their" cocktail to try something different can be a hard sell. Although bar owners and drink developers can get as creative as they want when building a new Martini menu, keeping ties with current and even past successes in Martini recipes might keep your new menu afloat.
Making the Best Out of Increased Mardi Gras Traffic
By Steven Bevilaqua
Mardi Gras means different things to different people only if those people aren't in the nightclub and bar industry. For the people within the industry, the celebration is nothing less than a weeklong chance to rake in non-stop profits.
If anything, Mardi Gras can and by all means should do justice to the old revenue bracket on the books. This is a holiday where the foundation was literally built by the idea of excessive eating and drinking.
It's a week where New Orleans, the city that is nearly synonymous with Mardi Gras, almost packs out more than 30,000 metro area hotels with party-going bead throwers and chest-bearing bead catchers. After hitting powerhouse parades such as Endymion and the Rex, bars will be needed for patrons to converge upon and converge they will.
Beer Trends for 2005 to Help You Reach Greater Pour Growth
By Andy Ashby
With the calendar turning rapidly to 2005, there is suddenly another year to fill with beer sales. With more beers available in America then ever, there are plenty of areas for sales to grow. Whether you're stocking your coolers with beers from small microbreweries, medium-sized craft beers or a domestic from one of the big three, it's a safe bet business will continue to grow this year.
The question is, by how much? As individual and or regional results from various parts of the country indicate, not all beer sales strategies are created equal. And the playing field is far from level. Some geographical areas enjoy a higher propensity for beer consumption over others.
Eric Shepard, executive editor of Beer Marketing Insight, says beer has been growing at about 1 percent for the past few years. In 2003, the growth was more. However, beer volumes have a distance to travel to equal the 3 to 4 percent growth each year for wine and spirits.
"Beer continues to be outperformed by spirits and wine," Shepard says. Of total beer volume, craft beers maintain a 3 percent share of the market. "They've been unable to build on that initial surge," Shepherd says.
What's Cooking
Get on Track for 2005 with Hot to Go Food Trends From F&B Experts
By Brenda Owen
As bar, club and restaurant owners tally their 2004 sales figures and set goals for exceeding those numbers in 2005, they might benefit from taking a look at some future food trends predicted by some of their more experienced peers as well as other industry experts. From an influx of exotic new ethnic foods to the backlash from the low-carb revolution, here are the food trends to keep an eye on in the coming year.
Pop culture is a funny thing. What's in style one day is out the next, only to be replaced with something that in turn awaits the same fate. Then, just as suddenly, it all comes back full circle.
It's not open for debate that cocktails can be considered part of pop culture, nor is there doubt that they are involved in the way society carries itself. They impact everything from music and movies to marketing and leisure management. Would Frank Sinatra have crooned as classically with a bottle of beer in his hand?
With this American love of libations comes a few factors to consider. So, cheers! Here's to 2005 and to the cocktail trends underway that surely will make everyone in the industry feel like the Chairman of the Board.
Denver's Club Rise is a Happening Haven for Revelers
By Deidra Jackson
On any given party night, Colorado's Club Rise, a booming downtown Denver mega-club set at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, must emerge to revelers like a mirage in the West. The high-energy clubbing inside the 18,000-square-foot hotspot, which boasts outdoor palm trees and one of the largest club layouts in historic LoDo (Denver's lower downtown district) with four dance floors and five separate bars, offers much more than jaw-dropping kinetic light presentation, cutting-edge DJs and massive video shows.
