All-day dining: How pubs can maximise sales during quieter hours

If it really isn’t worth a licensee’s while to keep the kitchen open, there should always be something available — and not just a packet of crisps or peanuts. Bar snacks are so easy to put on offer even if there is not time to make them in-house — and imagine how much better that peckish customer will feel when they see a counter-top oven full of hot sausage rolls and pies.

The biggest opportunity in pubs is food, and an extension of that is all-day dining. When it comes to grazing, every time of day is an eating opportunity — breakfast, brunch, afternoon tea and late-night snacking.
Morning trade​

Around 50% of independent pubs, restaurants and hotels now offer snacks throughout the day, including during breakfast hours, according to a survey by supplier Brakes.

The company has a number of products that make offering breakfast easy, including on-the-go porridge pots. They are available in strawberry & cream or maple syrup varieties and tap into the market for healthy food for consumers and profitable options for operators.

“Offering on-the-go porridge pots alongside takeaway coffee, pastries and muffins and other items, such as fruit, is a great way to attract morning workers who don’t have time to sit down for breakfast,” says Brakes marketing director James Armitage.
Events opportunities​

Interesting, well-timed events can attract crowds and push up food and drink sales. It is a good idea to hold something, such as a quiz, bingo or film night, over a quieter period rather than attracting more people at a time when the pub is full.

Hand-held food such as chicken wings, breaded chicken drumsticks, sharing platters, onion rings, wedges or paper chip cones should be on offer. “Publicans can even incorporate food into drinks deals to upsell from the cheaper bar snacks such as crisps and nuts,” says Armitage.

Upselling desserts after lunch or dinner to extend people’s stays can also help fill the pub, as will putting on an afternoon cake and coffee offer.

In general, the dessert market is flat, with just 20% of diners opting for afters, so it is a good area in which to maximise opportunities.

Mini-desserts might be the right way to go in order to convince diners they want a cake. Offering takeaways can be a good idea in the right area — city outlets are likely to receive more late-night takeaway orders as people fancy a bite on the way home.
Make it easy​

Admiral Taverns pub the Church Inn in Darley Dale, Derbyshire, serves a lot of beefburgers, chicken grills and barbecued pork rib steaks throughout the day. Managers Peter Howlett and Jay Nicholson buy the products frozen from Big Al’s Foodservice after they sought a simple solution for launching a food offer.

The 4oz and 6oz pre-cooked burgers, chicken steak, chicken wings and barbecued pork rib steaks are popular in the pub, with up to 45 dishes selling each week. Dishes sell for £2.99, with accompaniments of chips, peas, salad and vegetables. The products can be heated up in a few minutes using a fryer, oven, griddle, barbecue or microwave.

“The range is quick and easy to prepare and enables us to provide food at all times of the day,” says Howlett. “We’ve even had requests from customers for takeaways. The chicken wings are a new addition to the menu and they are really taking off. We’ve also seen an uplift in our wet sales as people are staying in the pub for longer.”

The Big Al’s range is backed by posters, menus and price cards enabling venues to set their own prices.   
Afternoon sales​

Trade does tend to drop off in the afternoon — it’s a bit too late for lunch, a bit early for dinner and not quite socially acceptable to start drinking — so publicans have to work harder to draw people in.

Luckily, many people still have one vice that is easily indulged in the afternoon — caffeine. “Having the right range for the right time of day is fundamental to maximising sales from hot beverages,” says head of standard products at Nestlé Professional Wendy Christensen.

“Consider PoS and swing signs promoting latte and espresso as a great start to the day, for example, and signage advertising heavier specialities such as cappuccino and mocha as suitable for a mid-morning or afternoon break. Once you’ve enticed customers with a quality coffee they are more likely to purchase food — creating the opportunity to cross-sell.”

The Nescafé Alegria A510 produces five café-style coffees and is suitable for outlets serving fewer than 20 hot beverages a day.

Julia Jones, head of customer marketing at Mövenpick Ice Cream, recommends adding ice cream to hot beverages for extra interest and value, such as combining a scoop of vanilla ice cream with an espresso or introducing café affogato to the menu as a day-time treat. Ice creams and sorbets can also be added to smoothies as an all-day feature.

As well as simpler coffees, afternoon tea is going down a storm in pubs across the country.

Kalton & Barlow pub the Swan in Tarporley, Cheshire, has two afternoon tea offers for two people: half a bottle of Laurent-Perrier Champagne with a pot of the Swan’s own blend of tea, a sandwich selection, opera slice, two sultana scones, strawberry preserve & clotted cream for £35, or £18 without Champagne; and the Swan’s own-blend tea and two sultana scones, strawberry preserve and clotted cream for £7.95.
Snack attack​

People eat with their eyes and noses as much as with their mouths, so it is a great idea to keep some tempting snacks on the bar where people can’t miss seeing and smelling them.

London-based Geronimo Inns usually has a covered display of sausage rolls or some other tasty treat on the bar. It covers the hours in the afternoon when the kitchen is closed to keep the tills ringing.

St Austell-managed pub the Globe in Topsham, Devon, has a bar snack menu, which is served between 12noon and 5pm. It includes dishes such as soup of the day, olives marinated in garlic and herbs, hummus with toasted pitta bread and warm focaccia with aged balsamic, pesto and olive oil, as well as an antipasti selection for £11.50. The snacks start at £4, while a six-variety sandwich menu is served all day from £5.50.

The pub covers morning trade with a cake selection on sale from 10am to 5pm, including Danish pastries (£2.75), muffins (£2.50), cookies (£1.95) and slices of cakes for £3.50