10 Tips for Great Happy Hour Buffets

What’s your bar business without a happy hour buffet? It may be pretty slow, for one thing. Happy hour buffets have become a staple for many lounges and if your idea of a buffet is a bowl of mixed nuts on a card table with some napkins, you could benefit from a happy hour makeover. Here are 10 tips from restaurant and bar industry pros on how to liven up your buffets:

1. Quality is Job #1. Just because you’re giving it away, don’t think it has to be the cheapest products you can find. If the food you serve is good, customers will stick around and probably make a return visit. If it’s not good, don’t expect to see them again.

2. Theme It. Some of the best buffets are specially themed. Chili Dog Buffets for Monday Night Football, Mexican Food and Margaritas on Friday nights, etc. Put together some fun themes to go with local events and run with them.

3. Spice It Up. The classic happy hour buffet food, the Buffalo chicken wing, has been successful, in part, because it’s a great spicy product. Consumers expect happy hour buffets to have plenty of fried, spicy and salty foods, it’s part of the ambiance and it’s what helps your drink sales.

4. Variety Clubbing. Salads, pastas, sandwiches--keeping them guessing is the key. If customers start thinking about your place as that same old,chips and salsa from Sam’s Club bar, your buffet is done.

5. Sit Down and Eat. When you can get a customer to actually sit down, they’re inclined to stay awhile (and order more drinks). Keep that in mind when planning the layout and tables for the room.

6. That’s Entertainment. Don’t forget the ambiance, how’s your big-screen TV system? Your sound system? Karaoke? etc.

7. Display Your Wares. The mistake many make is to hide buffets in a dark, out of the way corner. Make sure your buffet area is well-lit and it’s not a bad idea to have an employee stationed nearby to clean-up the inevitable spills and keep the food fresh on a regular basis.

8. Cheap Drinks. Just because you’re spending on a good quality buffet doesn’t mean you can get away with no drink discounts. This is what consumers associate happy hour with in the first place. When presenting a first-class buffet though, consider offering a modest discount, or heavy discounts on certain products.

9. Ask What They Want. Looking to make your buffet stand out from the competition’s? Ask your customers what items they’d like to see. You’d be surprised by the ideas they can give you and if you get more than one person suggesting an item, you can be sure that others are thinking the same thing.

10. Get the Word Out. If your center is located in an area that’s near some hotels, you’re probably already aware of the benefits of getting to know the hotel staff so they can recommend your place. Also try advertising the buffet in your local entertainment papers to see what kind of reaction it gets.