Check out the recent lists of the top full-service restaurants of the year that have appeared in multiple media sources. Almost invariably, each restaurant on the list has some type of liquor license. When is the last time you saw a full-service restaurant without a liquor licenses ending up on their Best Of lists? It's quite the rarity.
Let's face it, a full-service restaurant would have difficulty surviving for any length of time without a liquor license. That's one reason why all-alcohol liquor licenses are so expensive on the secondary market, sometimes costing as much as $600,000 in Boston.
It's commonly stated that many restaurants derive about 30% of their revenue from alcohol sales. In addition, the margins on food are usually low, in the single digits, while margins on alcohol sales can average about 30%, if not more. With all of the costs and expenses involved in opening and operating a restaurant, increasing your margins is an imperative to long-term survival.
January is a tough time for many businesses, including restaurants. They often have trouble with filling their seats each night and Dry January makes it even tougher for restaurants. So, even when the restaurants fill their seats, there are a significant number of their customers who won't drink alcohol in January, thus reducing the highest profit margins. Some restaurants may offer non-alcoholic drinks, such as mocktails and alcohol-free beer, but they don't offer the same potential profit as alcohol. There is a big difference between a customer ordering a bottle of wine and one ordering a single mocktail.
January is a tough time for many businesses, including restaurants. They often have trouble with filling their seats each night and Dry January makes it even tougher for restaurants. So, even when the restaurants fill their seats, there are a significant number of their customers who won't drink alcohol in January, thus reducing the highest profit margins. Some restaurants may offer non-alcoholic drinks, such as mocktails and alcohol-free beer, but they don't offer the same potential profit as alcohol. There is a big difference between a customer ordering a bottle of wine and one ordering a single mocktail.
Dry January hurts restaurants!
Ask yourself whether you truly need Dry January or not. Is it a medical necessity or are you just following a trend? Are you letting yourself be convinced to participate by advertisements from companies selling alcohol-free products? Could you simply drink more moderately in January instead of giving it up totally for 31 days?
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