Can To-Go Cocktails Save Our Local Restaurants?
Manhattan. Old fashioned. Cucumber infused martini. Mojito.
These are some of the cocktails I’d order when I went out. Remember that time? Before.
Alcohol is 20-25% of a restaurant’s income
Photo Credit: www.thecocktailproject.com
The pre-dinner cocktail. The dinner cocktail. The post-dinner cocktail. The late night for no reason cocktail. The lazy afternoon cocktail. You’re not just ordering a delicious beverage; it’s an experience. Nice ambience, a nibble of an appetizer, music, good company…
Restaurants know this and identified to-go cocktails as one of the ways they could possibly make up lost revenue during this pandemic once the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control amended the guidelines. Did you know the average revenue from selling alcohol is 20-25% of a restaurant’s income? We have so many great restaurants in our little mid-sized suburban town and we do our best to support them with take-out. The county has issued new guidelines stating they can have 25% capacity inside but none of the people in my house are ready for that. Well, the two adults, my husband and I aren’t. The kids don’t care.
Restaurants are doing all they can to bring in revenue so they can stay afloat, if not be profitable, for the foreseeable future. In addition to the to-go drinks, many are expanding outside seating where they can. Our downtown Main Street now closes from 2pm on Friday to 10pm on Sunday to car traffic to accommodate more outdoor spaced seating.
I also learned over the last several months that some of our favorite restaurants are offering special “date night” menus for two - and a “family meal” for 4-5 people. That has taken some of the painfulness of ordering for every person in our house. Two of our local favorites are Brava Garden and Casa Orozco. The latter has amazing margaritas offered, yes, to-go.
My initial thought was that to-go cocktails really could save local restaurants. The labor involved in mixing drinks to patrons is a lower than the labor costs in the restaurant’s kitchen. There's also less waste with alcohol than meat or produce because alcohol has a long shelf-life. (I’m looking at you 4-year-old bottle of elderflower liqueur.)
Throughout the past six months, restaurants, bars and nightlife venues have been hit the hardest by the restrictions brought by the pandemic. According to Yelp, 32,109 restaurants have closed, as of August 31. The number of restaurants forced to permanently close is slightly above Yelp’s total average, at 61%.
According to the National Restaurant Association, nearly 1 in 6 restaurants is closed either long-term or permanently due to the pandemic. That’s about 100,000 restaurants!
California restaurants are even worse, with 1 in 3 restaurants telling the California Restaurant Association they will either close permanently or downsize by closing some locations. With the current rules from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control there are more options available for our local restaurants, but will it be enough?
Alcohol may not be the answer after all but I’m willing to do my part.
If you’re able, I encourage you to support your local businesses, with cocktails or not. Most importantly, take care of yourselves.