Tell me about the venue.
A few lines on where the bar is and what's going on with the numbers is enough to start.
Notes
Short answers to the questions operators ask.
Gross profit, costing, menu engineering, batching, the POS — written from the bars I’ve run, in the order people ask. By Jesse Williams.
- 18 September 2026
What GP should a hotel bar run?
Beverage cost versus gross profit, what a defensible number looks like across several outlets, and why an average of percentages will lie to you.
Read - 18 September 2026
How do you cost a cocktail properly?
Ex-tax, per serve, with every prep and batch behind the drink carrying its own yield loss — and why a spreadsheet loses the chain.
Read - 18 September 2026
Menu engineering for a cocktail list
Sales mix against contribution per drink, the four classes every list sorts into, and how to re-price and re-cut to a target GP without guessing.
Read - 18 September 2026
Why purchasing and the POS never agree
Two systems, two code namespaces and a price list that moves — and the monthly reconciliation that keeps a hotel bar's margins honest without an integration.
Read - 18 September 2026
What does a bar consultant actually do — and what does it cost?
The shapes an engagement takes, what a venue hands over and gets back, and why the price is on enquiry rather than on a rate card.
Read - 18 September 2026
Stocktake variance under 2% — what it actually takes
Variance is a symptom, not a cause. The pars, ordering, prep discipline and spec adherence that keep unknown loss under two percent, venue after venue.
Read - 18 September 2026
Batching cocktails for service and events
Bottled, kegged and freezer serves — when a batch earns its place, where the water goes, and how to cost it per serve so the GP survives the shortcut.
Read - 18 September 2026
Why bar documents go stale — and how to stop it
Spec cards, prep sheets, order sheets and costed menus drift apart because they are separate files. The fix is to make them views of one database.
Read