Imagine you’re the first-time owner of a new bar that’s about to open. You have a space, a staff, maybe even a theme, but you’ve just about used up your launch budget and need to start earning some cash. The last step: the menu. How do you craft a cocktail list that keeps costs down while getting guests excited?
Creating such a successful menu is one of the most fun but tricky balancing acts in a bartender’s career. After all, rent, payroll, and other external factors will remain more or less the same after you’ve opened the bar. But a menu is something you and your staff can change and learn to adapt over time. And throughout the lifespan of your bar, the menu will be a great tool for reducing your overhead costs and increasing profitability.
While there exists no one official philosophy to menu development, it can be helpful to launch a new bar program with a core selection of cocktails that employ different bases (unless you’re a single-focus or single-spirit bar, of course) but still utilizes some of the same secondary ingredients.
Start small and work your way up instead of going over the top from the get-go. Your menu should be as friendly as possible and have something for everyone, using a good variety of spirits to cater to different preferences.
With that in mind, identify the key flavors you want to have on the menu, be those tropical fruits or autumnal spices. Then experiment. When conducting research and development on your menu, you’ll want to think about the real-world execution of each individual drink. The more cocktails your staff is able to make, the faster your table turnover will be, and by extension, the more you’ll make in a night.
Conceptualize your new menu with larger blue-sky thinking such as, what spirits, flavors, and styles will be included. Once research begins, drill down and figure out how to implement the big ideas in a practical way that’s easy to execute in the middle of busy service and ensure it is price-efficient.
1. Keep It Simple
There’s an argument to be made for preserving the overall simplicity of a menu, in addition to the drinks, as a means of expediting the guests’ decision-making process. This won’t work for bars that intend to showcase a long list of cocktails as a primary draw, but limiting the scope of your menu can help ensure consistent quality and speed.
This philosophy can even be extended to the pricing of your menu. Rather than employ tiered pricing, keep everything almost the same between the various drinks. This helps eliminate price from a guest’s decision-making process, allowing them to focus on choosing a cocktail they’ll truly enjoy, rather than choosing one that’s simply less expensive.
2. Know Your Neighbors
When setting your prices, you’ll want to first consider the neighborhood your bar is located in and the standard asking price for your location. Be realistic, but don’t shortchange yourself. While staying competitive with happy-hour discounts can increase business during slower hours, your overall goal shouldn’t be to have the cheapest drinks in town.
Thoroughly cost out each drink’s ingredients, components and accouterment. A premium drink demands a better price, and as long as your guest can tell that it’s superior, they’re often happy to pay the extra amount.
After you’ve created a menu, you’ll want to collect data on the drinks. Which were the cash cows and crowd favorites? Which were not cost-effective or not ordered at all? When it comes time to change menus, keep these data points top of mind to help ensure subsequent menus showcase your strongest suits.
3. Don’t Fix What Isn’t Broken
If one drink does exceptionally well due to its popularity—think viral Instagram trends—perhaps try leaving it on even as the other drinks change. Depending on how often you change your menu, remember to take into account seasonality for availability of high-quality ingredients. At the same time, don’t force yourself to revamp an entire menu by a certain date or seasonal timeline.
Seasonal menu changes can be challenging in locations that may not experience distinct seasonal variation. However, consider making changes that reflect seasonal ingredients, because certain ingredients, like produce, are more cost-effective at different times during the year.
4. Waste Not, Want Not
Swapping fresh ingredients isn’t the only way to save on costs. Be mindful of your spirits inventory, as well. Challenge yourself and your bartenders to create recipes using ingredients of which there’s a surplus. For example, if you ordered a liqueur for a drink that didn’t sell well on your winter menu, find a way to use up the rest of that product in a spring cocktail.
Don’t cut corners when tracking inventory or rush when placing orders. Take the time to create data-driven estimates of how much you’ll go through before ordering. When possible, use the same product more than once on a menu. Consider buying more cases, as you often receive a better discount by doing so. Navigating this market can be confusing, but bartenders can leverage invaluable relationships with importers and distributors to get information on new products, discounted samples, and bulk-ordering deals.
5. Make It Pretty
Last but not insignificantly, don’t forget to spend time on the visual design and physical manifestation of your menu. Regardless of whether you choose to go with a creative presentation or something more straightforward, here are a few common-sense pointers:
Names are important: They can make or break a cocktail on your menu, whether or not it’s the best drink anyone has ever tasted. Avoid names that may be overly hard to pronounce. Try using names that are peppy and attention-grabbing.
Be descriptive: Use certain keywords in your menu descriptions that guests find enticing such as fresh, homemade and local. Let patrons know the hard work you and your team put into making great cocktails. Explain where unique ingredients are sourced from, when applicable.
Make it readable: Surprisingly, many menus are too difficult to read and are therefore left unread. Ensure the font is legible in your bar lighting, and proper grammar and punctuation are used as needed.
Consider the order: List lower-costing items as the first and second drink, as well as in the middle of the menu. These placements are where people order off a menu the most. Place experimental items towards the end of the list, since people looking for something a bit different are most likely to read through to the end.
And at the end of the day, be you. Authenticity is key in menu making. Your cocktails will only make you more money if they tell a story about who you are and what kind of hospitality you offer. Make sure your bartenders are experts on the menu who can help direct guests to the right choices and advocate for each of the drinks. Allowing your bartenders to contribute to the menu, or work collaboratively on it, will help them feel like they have a higher stake in the business.
The person who curates the menu should ensure there is a clear message of the bar while bringing together each individual talent on their team. Your menu represents who you are, the bar’s identity, and how you’d like to be recognized by guests.
