With hunting seasons upon us, it’s only natural to think about capturing a piece of that business at your bar. Hunting season can be big business if all of the stars align properly for your bar. However, the season’s time frame is pretty narrow so you have to act quickly and decisively. Also, some bars rely specifically on fishing and hunting customers, and that opens up a whole different set of considerations. Here are some tips on setting up your bar for hunting season no matter what type of venue you operate.
Location Matters
First off, the location of your bar will play a large role in how you set it up for hunting season. Do you have a neighborhood bar and grill that just happens to get a large wave of hunters because of your location? Or, are you specifically out in hunting and fishing territory? Your bar’s location will determine if you setup the theme to be geared towards hunting year-round or if you will just supplement your building with decorations during hunting season.
Importance of Food When Setting Up Your Bar for Hunting Season
Food is also a major factor, no matter what type of bar location you’re running during hunting season. Groups of guys are going to be out in the woods from the wee hours of the morning until the darkness of night; and chances are they’re going to be tired and hungry! That means they don’t want to cook, but are almost certainly looking for a hot meal in their bellies. This is particularly true if your bar is also located on a snowmobile trail. If your bar isn’t offering food, you’re not going to last long in that market. Also, you may want to open up early for breakfast during hunting season to become a “one stop hunting shop” for everything that the hunters need.
Lodging and Packages
Lastly, if at all possible you should try to offer as many services. This including offering lodging to the hunters if possible. If you have some land nearby, consider offering camping sites so you can keep the hunters nearby and utilizing your bar and other amenities. Also, try to offer things like ice, fuel, showers, laundry machines, and any other conveniences you can muster. You may also consider off-sale liquor sales to supplement your income. Doing a load of laundry gives the hunters the perfect amount of time to grab some dinner. Plus, they’ll have a couple of beers before they retreat to their cabin or tent. By keeping them coming back to your bar for everything they need, you can build loyalty and enjoy repeat business across the board.
Up-Selling to Increase the Total Revenue
There are several ways you can up-sell your customers to get them to purchase more expensive items. Assuming you have your food menu in order, the next place to look is at beer and cocktails. Chances are, setting up your bar for hunting season doesn’t include offering bottle service. However, there are other uses for bottle sparklers other than bottle service, so they can still drive revenue. Consider adding them to a delicious warm cocktail to make it more appealing. Similarly, you can garnish a warm bread pudding or other heated dessert to increase customer interest. By using small props to up-sell, you can easily see a bigger bottom line.
In a perfect world, every bar owner would be able to offer a whole slew of great amenities to their customers. That’s honestly the best thing you can do when setting up your bar for hunting season. However, that’s just not viable for every location or building. So, you just need to do the best you can with what you have at your disposal. Make sure you decorate your building in a way that is appropriate for your location. Also, offer food to your hungry patrons, and also offer as many amenities and services as you possibly can. Lastly, utilize bottle sparklers to up-sell items that would otherwise be overlooked. If you can do that, setting up your bar for hunting season should be pretty easy and yield you some fantastic profits.
