Learn How to Get a Liquor License for Your Restaurant or Bar

bartender tricks for mixing cocktails

“Opening a bar is about a little more than choosing the perfect beer and liquor list. In fact, there are a number of restaurant licenses and permits that you need to get out of the way before you can open your doors for business. In getting caught up in dreaming about all the delicious drinks that a new restaurant owner plans to offer, many forget about the extent of the legalities they have to navigate first, legalities that can throw a serious wrench in your grand opening plans if they aren’t executed correctly.

Although alcohol laws will vary from state to state, attempting to open a bar without a liquor license is going to lead down a road of penalties, fines, and shut doors—all of which every restaurateur wants to avoid at all costs (…).”

    1. “How much does it cost to get a liquor license? The cost of obtaining a liquor license can vary greatly depending on the state. Full liquor licenses can range from $12,000 to $400,000. Beer and wine liquor licenses can cost as low as $3,000. The actual cost you can expect to pay really depends. The best way to estimate it is by chatting with bars and restaurants in your local area that are similar in size and scope to yours.
    2. How old do you have to be to get a liquor license? Like all things related to alcohol in the United States, a person must be 21 years of age to work in a bar or obtain a liquor license (…).”

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Restaurants at New York’s Hudson Yards Have a Big Plan to Feed Office Workers

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“More details are emerging about the dining roster at the $25 billion Hudson Yards project, and as a food editor who also happens to be a native New Yorker, I can say that it’s time to get very excited. By mid-March the megaproject’s 25 restaurants and food concepts, from José Andrés’s Mercado Little Spain food hall to the fish temple Estiatorio Milos, should be open.

Hudson Yards anticipates more than 40,000 employees arriving to work daily—a new epicenter of Manhattan supporting companies from Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management to Tapestry, VaynerMedia, and Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs.

The question of feeding all those workers, as well as the thousands of residents and tourists who will be flowing through the 1-million-square-foot space, has obsessed Kevin Stuessi, vice president at Related Companies LP, the real estate company developing the project. He’s determined that most of the restaurants will have continuous service, starting at about 11:30 a.m., with late-night menus planned.

Following an exclusive hard hat tour in early September, Stuessi and Related Urban CEO Kenneth Himmel shared some of the most exciting details of the project’s signature concepts.”

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The Continued Evolution of Coca-Cola’s Portfolio

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“(…) The products, which debuted at the 2018 NACS Show in Las Vegas, tap into trending categories and insights, said JC Harvey, director of retail channel strategy and commercialization at Atlanta-based Coca-Cola.”

“Far Coast is the company’s foray into the explosive cold-brew coffee segment. Slated to launch in January, the products are packaged in resealable aluminum bottles and feature single-origin coffee beans. Varieties include Single Source Ethiopian, Signature Blend Latin American and Café con Leche, which includes milk.

In the premium water category, Coca-Cola’s smartwater brand is expanding with two varieties: smartwater alkaline and smartwater antioxidant. Like the original product, both are vapor-distilled with added electrolytes for taste. The antioxidant water is infused with selenium. Alkaline water is ionized and has a higher pH level than regular drinking water.”

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Rare Wine Auctions Show No Signs of Slowing

While Burgundy continues to reign at rare wine auctions, top Bordeauxs like Pétrus are seeing higher prices.

“In the third quarter of 2018, global sales of fine and rare wine at auction totaled $70.4 million, up a whopping 31 percent over 2017’s third-quarter total of $53.7 million. U.S. sales totaled $36.1 million, up 19.1 percent. Hong Kong sales rose 49 percent, to $26.3 million, and London sales increased by 40 percent to $8 million. As in the previous two quarters, pristine single-owner cellars and winery-direct consignments generated much of the heated bidding.”

“Acker Merrall & Condit’s first September sale, held in New York, brought in $7.2 million against a presale high estimate of $7.3 million. It was 96 percent sold. “Burgundy didn’t take a vacation this summer,” quipped Acker Merrall and Condit CEO John Kapon, in a statement. All 25 of his sale’s top lots hailed from the French region.”

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PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi: 5 powerful career habits that drove her success

“PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi steps down today after a 24-year career with the company. Born in India, the 62-year-old was one of a handful of people of color to run an S&P 500 company. During her 12-year tenure as chief executive, Nooyi transformed PepsiCo into one of the most successful food and beverage companies worldwide. Her push for healthier snack and beverage choices, along with an eye for product packaging, led to an 80 percent sales growth in the 12 years she was CEO.

As a child in India, Nooyi and her sister were asked to play an unusual game. Each night at dinner, their mother asked her daughters to imagine what they’d do if they were the prime minister, the president or some other world leader. By the end of the dinner, the girls presented a speech and their mother decided which speech won her vote.

Though her mother instilled many traditional values in her daughters, she also encouraged them to be whoever they wanted to be. “She gave us that confidence,” Nooyi said (…).”

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At Zauo, Diners Can Catch Their Own Dinners

“It’s catch-and-relish, not catch-and-release, at this new Japanese import. Customers can opt for baited hooks to snag rainbow trout, salmon trout, fluke, shrimp, flounder, farmed striped bass, rockfish, lobster or abalone swimming in the pools. Or a staff member can lend a hand. (Prices are $16 to $125 if they do the fishing, and $12 to $110 if you fish.) The chefs then prepare the seafood to order, salt-grilled, simmered in soy sauce, sashimi or tempura. Whimsically instructive menu cards provide guidance. The restaurant, which has 13 locations in Japan, was introduced there in 1993 by a company called Harbor House: The New York restaurant is its first branch outside that country. Takuya Takahashi, whose father was the founder, is president of the New York branch. A narrow but soaring space, the restaurant has a fish tank opposite the bar on the ground floor, and two more tanks on a loftlike second floor. The hull of an immense, hand-built polished wooden boat hangs from the ceiling. In addition to the freshly caught seafood, the menu offers a vast array of Japanese standbys, mostly seafood, including salads, sushi, hand rolls and rice and noodle dishes”.

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Face-To-Face Meetings Help Improve Sales Rates

The Sales Profession Saved My Life -- and Made My Company Millions

“(…) Prospects who refuse to make a final decision even after being held accountable to their previous declarations are politely telling you “no.” And keep in mind, “no” is a perfectly acceptable answer because “no” will not kill you in sales — “I don’t know” will destroy you with false hopes of commissions that will most likely never materialize.

This selling method can be applied to any number of excuses you are likely to hear at the end of your sales presentation. By addressing “I want to think about it” or “I don’t want to change suppliers” or “I need three bids” proactively, you will be in a very strong position to get a final decision about you and your company.

Never be caught flat-footed when it comes to objections and stall tactics. Proactively anticipate and prepare for whatever excuses may come up.

The key is to combine basic psychology and sales fundamentals to proactively eliminate the inevitable excuses prospects will raise to postpone making a decision. By removing the excuses ahead of time, the prospect will be more likely to make that final decision in your presence, which will dramatically increase the probability of a successful outcome.”

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2019 US Coffee Championships Coming to Kansas City

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“The 2019 U.S. Coffee Championships (USCC) will be taking place in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 15-17, according to an announcement from USCC organizers today.

USCC events are typically held in conjunction with the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Expo, where thousands of coffee professionals are already gathered each year. Yet this year, the World Barista Championship and World Brewers Cup competitions are taking place during the SCA Expo in Boston in April, meaning U.S. champs must be crowned ahead of that event.”

“This is a special year because the U.S. Coffee Championships will take place outside of the Specialty Coffee Expo,” Melissa McGuinness, senior event manager of national competitions at the SCA said in today’s announcement.”

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Restaurants Are the Next Big Coworking Trend

Spacious members working at Crave Fishbar in New York City’s Upper West Side.

“If you walk past Crave Fishbar on a weekday afternoon, you might make the mistake of thinking it’s open for lunch. The restaurant, located on New York City’s Upper West Side, certainly looks busy enough. On a recent Thursday visit, I counted a few dozen people sitting in the restaurant’s booths or at the bar. Most of them were hunched over their laptops. A few were quietly taking phone calls. Curiously, no one was talking, no one was eating, and no one was there for lunch.

Crave has gotten into the coworking business. In April, the restaurant partnered with a startup called Spacious to transform its dining room into a weekday workspace. After all, in an age where everyone seems to have a side hustle, why shouldn’t a restaurant? Founded in 2016, Spacious bills itself as a cheaper, more flexible alternative to traditional coworking spaces like WeWork.”

“Brian Owens, the restaurant’s owner, said the Spacious partnership has been a welcome source of revenue in an industry where profit margins are tight. Crave has another location, in Midtown East, which is open for lunch because it’s near offices and other businesses. But the Upper West Side, Owens said, is a dead zone on weekday afternoons.”

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Great News for Restaurants as IRS Reaffirms Deductions for Entertaining

“The Internal Revenue Service is giving businesses a tax break they thought they had lost in the tax overhaul last year — write-offs for wining and dining clients.

The agency said Wednesday companies can still deduct 50 percent of meals while entertaining clients and customers, clearing up confusion about whether tax law changes last year had completely eliminated that benefit.”

“Kathy Petronchak, the director of IRS practice and procedure at Alliant Group and the chair of the meals and entertainment task force at the CPA group, said that the guidance and examples “align with what we had hoped to see with the clear distinction between entertainment and allowable business expenses for meals.”

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