What Specials/Promo's bring You Into A Bar? (1 Viewer)

[Vega$$aint]

high def golden tee!!!!

Also, bartenders who have a little room to work with returning customers and charge a little less. Makes you feel like your at cheers. great for returning guests. say you go through the night and order 10 beers at 2.50 a pop and it comes time to pay the tap, the bartender says oh ok, you owe us 20 bucks. you still have your mark up and the bartender gets a little better tip. The bartenders are happy cause they get those repeat customers and make more, so then the service is better.

 

[theicebox]

Door prizes....

 

[antipop]

You need a wookie who builds a sense of community and buys drinks for everyone.

that means he has to keep bubble gum flavored vodka stocked

 

[BHM]

Install a pole.

 

[You]

What the prior owner was doing did not work so you know that much.
Do some market research. What does the market need? What does it want? Check demographics.
If there is no sports bar in the area then do that but if your town is full of 50+ year olds then think again.

If the market has everything then you need to just do one thing and do it better. If there is already a sports bar - does it have a projector and screen? Sofas?

Carve a niche and do it well.

Hot bartenders matter but it depends on the crowd you want to draw.

 

[geauxboy]

Here in Queens (mainly), the Irish bars have a buy back policy. After your 2nd or 3rd drink (your call), you get one on the house.
I've seen A LOT of first timers that are now frequent repeat customers because of it. It is such a big draw for these bars and still quite profitable. Without ever being to S.D., I think that would be a unique special that would draw in customers.

Another special is $2 pints of Coors Light which he calls the Recession Special. Of course you would have to get a great price from the distributor and reflect the price accordingly, but cheap beer is a fad right now. The profits may not be great, but you are moving product and making profit none the less. If you can get a good deal on cheap keg beer, it should go quickly. He is selling 2 kegs a day.

 

[Kamara 4 MVP]

Use a smaller cup and do:
on monday nights do a pour till they score.
and a free beer with every sack or interception or something like that.

 

[Jackavelli]

keep it simple, lot's of tv's showing lot's of different sports. hire pretty women (have a uniform so they are not covered up too much), free popcorn machine. then go from there.

 

[dapperdan]

It's looks like you're in San Diego, so I've got to ask if Humphrey's By The Bay is still in business? I went there many years ago, early 90's, when my ex and I were on vacation in San Diego. They had an incredible Happy Hour there. Great food, music.

But to answer your question, I would say good, reasonably priced food is always a plus. It sounds great to offer all the free food, but you've got to stay in business as well. I was thinking that maybe you could add a burrito, or two tacos, with the beer that your offering and maybe bump the price to say, $4.

 

[dtc]

I'm old fashioned so I think hookers and blow are the keys to getting a good bar crowd.

If that don't work, you could try strippers and free beer.

Beyond that, duck fat fried shoestring taters with lots of salt and $10 PBR Growlers.

 

[LanceStarr]

high def golden tee!!!!

Also, bartenders who have a little room to work with returning customers and charge a little less. Makes you feel like your at cheers. great for returning guests. say you go through the night and order 10 beers at 2.50 a pop and it comes time to pay the tap, the bartender says oh ok, you owe us 20 bucks. you still have your mark up and the bartender gets a little better tip. The bartenders are happy cause they get those repeat customers and make more, so then the service is better.

I agree with this more than anything posted so far. The bars I've gone to regularly that recognize me as a regular and tend to slip me drinks here or there, or give me breaks on my tab, are the bars I'm most loyal to. The key is good bartenders that remember people and giving them a little bit of power to give a drink here or there. "That one's on me." from a bartender does a lot for making me play it forward and buy a round for buddies or shots or whatever...so it's actually getting me to buy more, while thinking I got a great deal because the bartenders remember me.

Oh, and I agree with the Golden Tee...spent probably $20 in one last night.

 

[Danleco]

2 for 1 Lap Dances

Have you tried Rock Band or Guitar Hero karaoke contests? Set up a prize, small entry fee & make it a weekly thing.

 

[LSSpam]

Just took over as GM of a struggling bar....looking for some ideas

What sort of ambiance/style/clientele are we talking about here?

 

[LSSpam]

right now happy hour is $2.75 domestic drafts, $4 import/micro, and $3.50 well

on gameday every time the chargers score a td it's $3 u-call-its during the commercial break

I'm guessing sports then.

Offer pitchers-of-beer, like on Monday nights. If you have a kitchen pairing it with .25 cent wings is a nice combo.

Get all of the sports packages, Sunday ticket, NCAA Mega Marchmadness, etc. Consistently having any mainstream game someone could conceivably want to see along with consistent drink specials creates a regular clientele.

If I know I can get cheap beer and watch whatever game I want to see at one bar, once I've established that, I'm not going to another bar. I won't "try a new one out" just to see or "be adventurous". I want my beer, I want my games. Fulfill those needs and you can steadily add regulars.

 

[LKN H20Girl]

I agree with this more than anything posted so far. The bars I've gone to regularly that recognize me as a regular and tend to slip me drinks here or there, or give me breaks on my tab, are the bars I'm most loyal to. The key is good bartenders that remember people and giving them a little bit of power to give a drink here or there. "That one's on me." from a bartender does a lot for making me play it forward and buy a round for buddies or shots or whatever...so it's actually getting me to buy more, while thinking I got a great deal because the bartenders remember me.

lus-un2: Agreed. And it's best if the bartender says "this one's on me" so that I know that it was intentional and not that they didn't ring one in accidentally.