We are opening a restaurant with a bar tomorrow! Can someone please help me figure out how to price my cocktails? Do I have top shelf one price…middle one…and well one? Per drink? I'm so confused…and tired!! Thanks
Okay…I don't need the critizism please. We only decided to do this whole adventure two weeks ago..and have been busy. We understand the restaurant end…we already have one. But we have never had alcohol. I've been trying to figure it out on my own. I have a broken down of what we paid per oz…but I'm not a drinker so I have no clue where to go from here. I've tried to buy the books…etc. This is the last detail left. It's 1:30 here in Northern Maine…I'm pregnant and tired…. We have spent two weeks cleaning (it was GROSS) and renovating. Like I said this is the last detail. I had help buying…now I need it for pricing. Thanks.
Beer distributors have said to go 2.50 for bottles…and 3.00 for sam adams, heiny..etc. draft is natural light at $1.50
one more detail…. we are located on a golf course…and have been pressured by the course to open for the holiday weekend…it was not our choice.
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6 responses so far ↓
1 meme123 // Jul 4, 2008
We need to know your location.
2 dinosaurkisses // Jul 4, 2008
around $5 each for regular cocktails, 3-4 for beer, 6-7 for top shelf. good luck! i think you're gonna need it if you're opening tomorrow & still haven't figured this kind of stuff out!
3 Tinabna // Jul 4, 2008
You have no reason to be in business if you are opening tomorrow and haven't done your research on pricing yet. I wish you well, but you better get your act together or you are doomed. It wouls depend on the demographics, location, type of bar (upscale, dive, etc.). So many variables.
4 Joe E // Jul 4, 2008
wow you open tomorrow and you still dont know how much to charge!? I find that hard to believe but a top shelf is 7$ and a regular simple with one type of liquor is 3.5$ and 2 types of liquor is 5$. a complex one liquor type is also 5 $ like a bloody mary or martini Margaretta.
5 yash // Jul 4, 2008
OK when i was a bar tender & when go for drinks at a bar usually its 6.00 bux for bottom shelf (bacardi , stoli, smirnoff,malibu , etc) 7.00 bux for johnny walker , grey goose,etc 8.00 bux for crown . beer was 3.50 for domestic 4.50 for imports 12.00 for a pony. if you are serving champagne 25.00 for stuff like ballitore and 150.00-200.00 for a 2 year old bottle of DOM or Moet and Chandon
wheres your bar btw would love to be a patron if im in town email me
6 joex444 // Jul 4, 2008
I believe the general rule in alcohol is to charge triple what it costs. If you charge a bit less, you may get more business.
Generally, you will have your "well" liquor. Use whatever brand you want that isn't offensive, but is also cheap. Then you should keep a couple different top shelf brands of each liquor. These will be your "calls." You can also keep a mid-range liquor, such as Ketel One for vodka. I would probably add that later, though.
For now, I'd say figure out what amount of each ingredient the drinks will use, and then double or triple the cost to make it and there's your sale price.
Your beer prices of $1.50 for a macro, and $3.00 for something like a Sam Adams are competitive, atleast where I am. Usually I see the macros for $2, and the Sams is $4.25 or so. That's for a 16oz, for what it's worth.
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