Beer/wine

[ilwp]

We have been opened for almost 2 years and currently do not sell beer/wine. We were thinking of adding to help with sales. Couple of questions:

• what percentage of your profit comes from beer/wine sales
• the licensing fees in Georgia seem high, between State fees and Local fees, so will it be worth it
• should i hire an attorney to get the license or is this something that i can do

Thank you for your feedback.

 

[pizza2007]

ilwp,

You don’t need an attorney. As a % of sales, beer/wine made up 4.7% of our 2009 sales. For 2010, I think we can double our Beer&Wine sales, but that will still place it no higher than 7% of total sales. For comparison, soda (fountain) sales were 9.5% of total sales in 2009. Profit wise, kegs are much higher than can or bottle.

We recover our licensing costs by March of each year.

 

[famouspizza]

just added it less than a year ago and it is steadily increasing…what does suprise me is the number of customers that said they can dine-in now because we offer beer&wine, so I do not think you can look at beer&wine #'s only b/c chances are that it will help your business without a doubt. I did the paperwork myself which was not a big deal…we do beer by the bottle which if less profit but much less hassle…highly recommend!

 

[15thStreetPizzaandPu]

ILWP…

We are in Georgia as well so I can tell you there is no need to get an attorney to get the license.

Our beer/wine account for 18% of our sales and can recoup the cost of the license very quickly. So it becomes a huge profit center for us very quickly!

I will disagree with the other post about bottle versus draft. The profit is less on bottles, that I agree with, but how is draft beer any more difficult to deal with? If you have room for one keg cooler, you can add a few draft beers that can be sold for as little as 10% cost. Yes you have to store some kegs for backup but you would have to do that with bottles too! I small torpedo keg holds 65 16 oz pints and takes up less than 8"X8"…imagine how much room that many bottles would take up!!!

Another reason I believe draft is easier is the stocking…you only have to change the keg when its empty, as for bottles they have to be stocked every night…

That is just my opinion…

Go for it either way!!!

 

[Kinsman]

A pitcher of beer for Mom & Dad; a pitcher of root beer for the kids…yup. Draft.

 

[famouspizza]

i had space limitations so the bottles are easier b/c my storage includes 2 racks in my existing Pepsi Cooler that holds 112 cold bottles in the 20oz speed racks…of course I do not get the same margins as draft but I will take 75% profit margin for screwin off a cap

either way, no doubt to do it

 

[Kinsman]

famouspizza:

either way, no doubt to do it

 

[smeagol8]

Beer/wine is, frankly, a pain in the but. Between the licenses, Minors,drunks, rules, and employee requirements, it is just a pain. But, you can’t claim to be a Pizza Parlour without it.

 

[slicedpie]

We’re doing beer in our next place, but questioning wine. Ladies probably want it in glass so that means glads and no plastic, dish-washing, breakage, etc. Customers are actually saying that beer would be enough, so they’re helping to decide.

 

[pcuezze]

As I stated in another post, my place will have a full pub because of the neighborhood demand. I intend to be a very beer-friendly place offering 10 beers on tap. Many of them cannot be found on tap anywhere else in Kansas City. There is a growing sub-culture of beer geeks. They tend to be 30 something, affluent, and willing to drive. So I figure by catering to this crowd, I stand a chance of drawing a little from outside my 2-3 mile radius. Plus, I like the beers - it’s fun.

My point is that I agree with famouspizza - you should use alcohol to drive your other profit centers not just as a profit center itself. Adding Bud Light on tap and nothing else is probably not going to net you much. But a well thought out strategy that incorporates beer and wine (and maybe liquor) can yield something great.

But what do I know, I’m not even open yet