Photo courtesy of North Italia
It’s a sad fact that diners have a growing list of reasons not to eat out. Virtually anything can be delivered to their homes, a growing number of people are suppressing their appetites with GLP-1s, the experience is increasingly hit-or-miss, it can be time-consuming, and it’s really freaking expensive.
Many of these obstacles can be overcome by a well-run bar.
“My wife Nikki and I always like to sit at the bar,” said Troy Guard, owner and executive chef of TAG Restaurant Group, based in Denver, which includes fine-dining steakhouse concept Guard & Grace, Mexican chain Los Chingones, and a cocktail bar called Done Deal, among others. “I like the excitement of the bar, the vibe of the restaurants; you get to talk with the bartenders and interact with other guests. You watch the commotion of the bartender pulling wines and making cocktails.”
That kind of energy helps avoid mediocre experiences.
Sean Huggard, founder and president of Shucking Good Hospitality, also in Denver, with concepts including Blue Island Oyster Bar, Mexican concept Ash & Agave, and Oliver’s Italian, says bar dining can also be fast.
“I’ll see a single person walk into Blue Island, sit at the bar, order a glass of wine and a dozen oysters, and 15 minutes later they’re gone. … It’s an affordable luxury.”
And a well-run bar menu can help diners control how much they spend.
“With our Happy Hour menu, I let guests dictate the price point they want to be at,” said Ken Hoffman, chief operating officer of Dividend Restaurant Group, which owns 14-unit Sullivan’s Steakhouse.
That menu started three years ago with a $10 tier, and has since expanded to include $15, $20, and, at the end of August, a $25 tier.
For $10, Sullivan’s guests can get cheesesteak egg rolls, shrimp lettuce cups, or ground beef sliders. For $15, they can get shaved prime beef sliders, a burger, or beef Wellington bites. Beef carpaccio and crab cake sliders are $20 each, and $25 gets them a lobster roll, A5 wagyu beef nigiri, and more.
“Every time we added a tier, the guests were asking for higher quality and better value — just like me; just like you,” Hoffman said.
Of course they take a hit on food cost, but he said, “If I make 5% less in margin, but drive traffic up 10%, I win, and that’s the mindset that I look at.”
He’s hoping customers also will buy a couple of drinks or maybe decide they like the restaurant enough to plan an anniversary dinner there. Either way, the traffic justifies the investment.
Huggard has built his bar strategy around that principle.
“The most expensive thing in a restaurant is an empty chair,” he said, and that’s one reason he launched a $20 bar menu available from 6 p.m. until close with items such as a 4-ounce filet mignon with shrimp scampi sauce, a crab cake, and a steak-frites.
The result? People who used to come in once a quarter can now afford to come in twice a week, “because it’s $20 and a $10 glass of wine. … That’s not noshing at the bar; that’s having dinner.”
He and his former business partner, Rock Bottom Brewery founder Frank Day, spent a lot of time turning restaurants around, and he quickly learned that the first place to start was the bar, “and particularly happy hour,” which especially attracts locals, who are almost any restaurant’s bread and butter. Done right, it creates regulars who are willing to spend money for value.
“They’re spending the same amount. They’re just ordering more things,” he said. Those include Blue Island’s sliders and fish tacos for $7.99, a quarter pound of peel-and-eat shrimp for $14, coconut curry mussels for $15, and a $29 caviar bump with chips and crème fraîche.
The happy hour menu is available between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. and all day on Sunday, and it’s the highest-volume period of the day.
“It’s been a proven model throughout the years,” he said, and to keep it profitable, “we make sure we sell a lot of liquor.”
Cross-utilization of ingredients can also help when it comes to profitability, and Guard does that with his crispy tuna. It starts with leftover sushi rice from Guard & Grace’s lunchtime Bubu Bowl — a cross-promotional reference to his fast-casual concept Bubu, which in turn is named for a Japanese rice cracker called bubu arare.
The rice is pressed and frozen, then deep-fried and topped with trim from the hamachi, salmon, and ahi tuna that also go on the Bubu Bowl. It’s then seasoned with shichimi togarashi, a little soy sauce, and chives.
“It’s not heavy, and very, very tasty,” Guard said.
So is the octopus, which is steamed until tender, tossed in butter and house steak seasoning, and then finished on the chargrill. It’s served cut into bite-sized pieces for sharing.
Jason Shelley, corporate chef of Ocean Prime, Cameron Mitchell’s flagship brand with 21 locations across the country, said bar guests are looking for the same great service as in the dining room, but in a more relaxed setting.
“A lot of [our bar customers] are traveling for work and want to have a conversation and hang out,” he said. “And maybe for food that’s a little bit more fun.”
What that is exactly varies by location: Escargots sell well at the Denver location, while crab tostadas and caviar and chips perform well in Beverly Hills.
Although some customers want full coursed-out meals, just at the bar, “during the week we see a lot of small plates and sharing,” he said.
North Italia, a 50-unit concept founded in 2002 by Sam Fox and now part of The Cheesecake Factory, launched a new happy hour program in mid-September.
“We drew direct inspiration from the traditional Italian aperitivo hour,” Chris Curtiss, North Italia’s senior director of culinary and R&D, said in an email. “We wanted to capture that spirit of community and connection, while evolving our daypart strategy to offer a stronger value proposition for our guests.”
He said people eating at bars are generally looking for something casual and flexible “that prioritizes conversation and value.”
So they introduced bundles that focus on socializing, like the Spritz & Snacks that pairs the chain’s signature spritzes with snack trios such Castelvetrano olives, Campari-glazed nuts, and zucchini chips. The Sangria Social pairs a pitcher of sangria with a choice of flatbread.
“It gives guests that complete, high-value bar experience where everyone can sample and share,” he said.
Other new shareable items include grilled mortadella skewers and baked burrata in a spicy “diavola” tomato sauce.
“They’re designed specifically to complement our upgraded beverage program,” which includes $8 zero-proof cocktails, $10-$12 wines and spritzes, and $12-$14 cocktails.
Great deals, inventive food, and a strategy that keeps things profitable are all essential for a successful bar food program, but Huggard of Shucking Good Hospitality said one last thing is crucial, and it’s something delivery can never replicate: great people.
“It’s the people behind the bar,” he said, “that people come back to see over and over again.”
Contact Bret Thorn at bret.thorn@informa.com
Follow him on TikTok and Instagram: @foodwriterdiary
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