Any negatives to Beer and Wine?

[Preston]

Hey guys,

We have a small (35 seat) dine in area. Currently our sales (30K a month) are roughly 50% dine-in, 40% carry out and 10% delivery (Just started doing delivery).

I would like to add beer and wine, I have the room to add a 96" kegerator which I think I could do between 4 and 8 beers depending on keg sizes.
From what I’ve read on the forum I believe beer sales would be between 5 and 10% per month.

One of my concerns is that the families that come to Dine-In will be turned off by people drinking beer so close to them and won’t come in anymore. Has anyone experienced anything like that?

Or are there any other reasons why I wouldn’t want to add beer and wine?

Thanks!

 

[GotRocks]

Adding beer increased my bottom line considerably, I want to add liquor next. But it all depends on your community,
Here’s a little video to better describe the alcohol culture where I live

 

[tguag]

i am struggling with a similar thought except my sales are 70% delivery 25% take out and 5% dine in. and would adding the liquor licence, dramshop, headaches that come with alcohol sales boost sales enough to be worth it? i too only have about 35 seats and do about the same sales.

 

[smiling_with_hope]

After 20 years as a full time musician and living in nightclubs every night we will never serve/allow alcohol. Also our disabled trainees are often born of and raised in bad drug/alcohol situations and we don’t want to trigger that. Most people are responsible drinkers but that small % that aren’t will mess up your restrooms, make a mess of their eating area, talk more than they spend, and disturb other customers. 1 of those a year is 1 too many for me. Many people have asked if they can bring in wine or beer and we explain about the disabled component and we want to be a family friendly place and alcohol doesn’t mix with this. 2 shops down from us is a bar/restaurant and we refer people there if they want a drink. The customers from there come to us right before we close and order pizza. Judy, my wife, walks it to them at the bar and the owner is fine with that. Those customers are usually a bit high and we are glad they just order and walk back to their drinks. Our goal is once they understand our NY like menu they will call from the bar and we just walk it over. Walter

 

[noreason]

Beer and wine works well for us but our full bar never really did. Most people associate Italian food with wine and pizza with beer.

Where I am, you can still be a family joint serving beer and wine but that might not me the case for every city.

Anyone that is out of hand (very rare) is 100% without a doubt out of hand because they were wasted before showing up, not because we served them so much that they became this way, so I’d say it’s a possibility regardless if you sell it or not.

It’s not super fun having to tell someone, “sorry but there ain’t no way I’m serving you a drink”, but that’s just how it goes.

We sell about 115k a year in alcoholic beverages.

 

[johnmorrison]

don’t sell pitchers, we are family dining 50 % take out 50%, beer and wine seldom interfere with families dining, sometimes they let their kids run amuck but so do regular customers, i agree the occasional drinking problem started before we served them and we would be dealling with same problem even without serving them,best drinking story – drunk guy called for delivery, swearing at me trying to take his mumbled fumbled order, i told him i am refusing to take his order for swearing at me, he hits auto dial , phone kept ringing with him swearing for an hour, i told him to go order from dominoes down the street, he said he was coming down to my shop to kick my butt, called cops who show up right after he showed up, they arrested him for public intoxication, bottom line, he would rather go to jail than eat a dominoes pizza rather than mine !!!

 

[bodegahwy]

One of my concerns is that the families that come to Dine-In will be turned off by people drinking beer so close to them and won’t come in anymore.

Maybe some if you were trying to become a bar but if you are serving drinks with food I can’t see that happening in a big way… our family does not go out to dinner where we can’t get a beer or a glass of wine! I never thought to connect “family” with “no alcohol”. To me a family restaurant is one with a menu and casual atmosphere that kids will enjoy and where kids being there does not bother the other diners.

 

[noreason]

I have two kids, both under 3 years old and trust me, come dinner time either me or my wife need an adult beverage…

 

[smiling_with_hope]

I agree few people will come in your shop sober and proceed to get totaled and will come in pretty high most times. But when you don’t server alcohol most problem drinkers will not sit down and eat in your place. We have had several leave over this and one was actually a case worker for people with disabilities who places people in our shop! Walter

 

[GotRocks]

Maybe some if you were trying to become a bar but if you are serving drinks with food I can’t see that happening in a big way… our family does not go out to dinner where we can’t get a beer or a glass of wine! I never thought to connect “family” with “no alcohol”. To me a family restaurant is one with a menu and casual atmosphere that kids will enjoy and where kids being there does not bother the other diners.

In some southern states, a good percentage of families will not patronize a restaurant that serves alcohol,
Now where I live, I have had people walk out because we do not have liquor, so they go to the bar up the street, get all schmitt-faced there, then either have us deliver to that bar, or come back stinking drunk and eat here.
Alcohol is a damn religion in Wisconsin, especially as far north as where I am at.
When you have snow up to your buttcrack half the year, I can understand the appeal of it.

 

[bodegahwy]

My guess would be that if you do not serve alcohol except with a food order you avoid 90 percent of the problems.

 

[Home_Town_Pizza]

My guess would be that if you do not serve alcohol except with a food order you avoid 90 percent of the problems.

I really like this idea. I’ve been wanting to add dine-in beer/wine (we have carryout now) but I don’t want to be a bar where people come just to drink. I think this could be a good way around it.