EPOS Direct Should you sell alcohol?

Advantages

Increase Average Spend Usually, alcoholic beverages will be more expensive than non-alcoholic drinks. If your customer decided to purchase an alcoholic beverage instead of a soft drink, they will spend more on their drink. This shows that serving alcohol will encourage customers to spend more in your restaurant which will increase the revenue of your restaurant. As a restaurateur, it is important to understand that customers will be willing to spend more on alcoholic beverages which will enable you to increase the prices of your alcohol. This will give your profit margin the opportunity to widen. It is highly recommended that you offer deals on your alcoholic drinks. For example, bottle of wine for £15. This will lead to the customers buying a bottle of wine instead of just a glass as they will not want to miss out on the deals. Serving alcohol will encourage your customers to open their wallets!

Larger Audience

Who is your target audience? If you serve alcohol in your restaurant, you will have the ability to attract customers who do not regularly visit your restaurant. Customers will choose your restaurant over your competitors as they will be able to accompany their meal with an alcoholic beverage. This shows that serving alcohol will attract a larger audience to your restaurant. Many restaurants will include a bar area in their establishment as this will allow customers to have a drink at your restaurant without being seated at a table. This will attract people to your restaurant who want to go for a drink at the weekend or after work. This will increase the number of customers that your restaurant receives which will lead to your sales increasing. Serving alcohol gives your restaurant the opportunity to cater for a wider range of your customer’s needs.

Disadvantages

Alcohol licence

Are you licensed to sell alcohol? In order to serve alcohol legally, you will have to apply for a liquor licence. The process of applying for a liquor licence can be very expensive and time-consuming depending on the location of your restaurant. Before applying for a liquor licence, you should decide whether a liquor licence will be a worthy investment. Remember, a liquor licence will not guarantee your restaurant to generate a substantial number of sales. Even when you have a liquor licence, you will not be able to sell alcohol at any time you want. The government will put limitations on the type of alcohol you can sell and the hours which you can serve alcohol to customers. This may prevent you from serving customers alcohol when they ask for it which could lead to them leaving your restaurant. Just because you have a liquor licence, doesn’t mean you can always serve alcohol to customers.

Increased Costs

Do your staff know how to pour a pint? As a restaurateur, it is crucial that you serve alcohol in a controlled manner. This is why it is essential for your employees to be trained in preparing and serving alcohol. If your employees do not how to prepare or serve alcohol, you will have to pay for their training which will increase the costs of your restaurant. In order to serve alcohol to customers effectively and quickly, you will have to purchase specialist equipment for your restaurant e.g. beer taps. This shows that before ypu generate revenue from your alcohol sales, you will have to invest a substantial amount of money into the equipment that you will require.

Customer Behavior

Do your customers have the tendency to have too many drinks? After consuming alcohol, some customers may begin to act aggressively which will cause disruption in your restaurant. This will damage the reputation of your restaurant and may lead to customers avoiding your restaurant. If there are regular disruptions in your restaurant, it will lead to your customers being unable to relax which will prevent them from enjoying their meal. This shows that serving alcohol may deter customers away from your restaurant which will significantly reduce the number of customers that your restaurant receives. As a restaurateur, it is recommended for you to ensure that your staff know how to deal with intoxicated customers. This will allow you to defuse any heated situations which will prevent your other customers from being disrupted. In order to reduce the number of intoxicated customers, you should make sure that your employees are serving alcohol responsibly. It is recommended to put a limit on the number of alcoholic drinks a customer can order at once and you should ask customers who look under the age of 25 for ID. Do you serve alcohol?