Restaurant mark ups

Hey, somebody's gotta pay the restaurant owner's drug dealer and baba mamas, OP. Might as well be you.

My husband owns one restaurant and is a partner in 4 local bar and grill type places. He said the food brings them in but the liquor pays the bills.

[quote]That's wino swill!

Not if you had ice and a can of diet 7-up.

I don't believe it. Nobody would pay it.

I live in a fly over state. I can believe the rubes here would think Riunite is a fine Italian vintage.

Maybe they charge extra for the paper bag.

The profit margins on the restaurant business are slim. Like r2 said it is common to rely on alcohol sales to make money.

Was it Lambrusco? It's kind of enjoyable, but everyone knows it retails under 5 bucks. I can see charging 20 bucks for unknown shit chianti or montepulciano. 30 bucks for cheap chuck - Che cavolo!

I've seen a few restaurants that put what I consider 'gas station wine' on the menu. Barefoot, Cupcake, Yellow Tail - might as well sell Ripple or MD 20/20.

There are a few others I've seen - but if I recognize it from a 7-11, I know the food is going to be a disappointment.

There are plenty of good wines under $15 that they could sell - it's just lazy to do otherwise, so you know the food is going to be bullshit too.

This irritates me to no end. It's not often, but when I see it, I just can't believe my eyes.

Although I like to have a glass of wine with a meal when I'm dining out I won't have any if I think the wine prices are overly high. These places would probably sell as much if not more liquor if they kept the prices at a reasonable mark-up.

Who eats at restaurants anymore?

I could see $15, not $30.

R10 - true. It's a remarkably easy thing to do. First, give a large pour - 8 oz instead of 5 oz and charge slightly more.

There's a perception of value - plus, a lot of times I want a bit more than 1 glass of wine, but 2 glasses are slightly more than I want and I don't want to pay for 2 glasses of wine. Particularly when you finish over half of it chit-chatting before the food comes.

You get 4 glasses out of a bottle with an 8 oz pour, and 5 glasses with a 5 oz pour. But you'd sell a lot more and could make higher profits.

5 oz @ $10, 5 glasses = $50 per bottle. 8 oz @ $13, 4 glasses = $52 per bottle. The perception is 60% more wine at 30% more price.

Plus people leave a bit drunker - contributing to a better atmosphere and perhaps more dessert sales.

Delivery services sometimes make similar mistakes. I can see there is more leeway to mark up finer wines, but have recently noticed several services selling Yellowtail and Sutter Home at $10-12... One is already paying a fee and tip, so it seems foolish and greedy.

I stopped buying wine at Restaurants when recently I was charged £30 for a bottle the cost £6 at the local Supermarket. And they wonder why people are not going to Restaurants?

R15 - yeah - that's a sign of desperation. It's also offensive to customers in the know.

That's why it's best to avoid getting the same wineries as the most common ones in grocery stores or convenient stores.

I typically expect 100 to 150% markup on a bottle of wine. 500% is ridiculous and would ruin my meal.

Oh - and I know brussel sprouts and cauliflower are 'in' - but fucking get out of here charging $8-$10 for 10 grilled brussel sprouts with garlic and shaved parmesan on top. I hate your restaurant now.

The restaurant industry is in for a reality check

R9 You crack me up with your "Gas Station" classification. Hilarious, and much of that crap burns like petrol too.

Does that include the COVID tax for disinfecting the outside of the bottle? And then there's the uncorking fee. The sommelier's tip. There is also likely a bottle recycling fee in there. These little extras add up.

OP, next time one-up them by asking to pay the corkage fee for a jug of Carlo Rossi. Problem solved.

What am I, chopped liver?

It's all about Franzia, baby!

Bota Box Crew in the house!

Hey R23! I like Bota Box!! It's actually (most of it) is pretty good. I'd order a glass of that for $6 over some of the swill I see on some menus.

OP, how much does that restaurant charge for their 2017 Charles Shaw?

I ordered Room Service during a recent hotel stay and couldn’t believe the wine list included Sutter Home for $34/bottle! Quite a stretch....

[quote]Queen Elizabeth was at a private party at the Savoy Hotel in London in the early '60s when she was dissatisfied with the wine selection and asked for some Mateus; the hotel manager had to send out for a bottle.

I haven't seen Mateus in a restaurant for many years.

R22 Wasn't Franzia Kathy and Mother Griffin's choice for the longest time, at least in her stand-up schtick?