Happy Hour Patrons Cheer New York’s Latest Nightlife Deal: the $1 Drink
Stiff competition leads to rock-bottom pricing on tipples; state regulations may curb the trend
Source: WSJ
By Charles Passy
Dec. 15, 2016
In recent years, pizzerias throughout New York have made the dollar slice a staple of the city diet. Now, some of the city’s bars and restaurants are pushing another value-minded concept, especially around happy hour: drinks for a dollar.
In Harlem, the recently opened French restaurant RDV Rendezvous Harlem has launched a dollar happy-hour promotion featuring the Harlem Mule, the establishment’s take on the classic ginger beer-and-vodka Moscow Mule cocktail that it normally sells for $10.
On the Upper West Side, Playa Betty’s, a beach-themed Californian-Mexican restaurant, has rolled out a happy-hour special with a dollar-priced, shot-sized version of its signature drink, the frozen Paloma, which is offered otherwise in a 10-ounce pour for $12.
And in Greenwich Village, Dante, a historic dining and drinking spot that has been under new ownership since last year, is aiming to do one better. It recently started offering a 99-cent happy-hour martini-tax included. During other hours, the bar offers a slightly larger martini starting at $14.
The idea, said Dante Managing Partner Naren Young, is to pay homage to the 101-year-old establishment’s roots, when drinks were priced well below the double-digit mark. It is also to give the place, with its cosmopolitan leanings, a certain cheeky identity. “We want to be the home of the 99-cent martini,” said Mr. Young.
Indeed, most dining and drinking spots are pushing the deep deals as a way to stand out from the competition in the increasingly cutthroat New York market, say bar-industry professionals and experts.
“These over-the-top specials create buzz,” said Art Sutley, publisher of Bar Business magazine, a New York-based trade journal.
Of course, the deals cost bars and restaurants-at least in the short run. But in the long run, the establishments hope to profit-either by convincing patrons to order food or buy a regularly priced drink (or two).
At times, the gambit pays off. A case in point: the near-$50 tab that Laura Myers ran up at Dante on a recent weeknight. The Dante regular had the 99-cent martini, which is limited to one per customer. But she also had a standard-priced glass of wine and a plate of beef tartare.
Still, Ms. Myers seemed pleased with her budget martini, especially since the drink was made with name-brand gin and came in a vintage-style glass. “It’s not like it was a Jell-O shot,” she said, referring to the cheap, college-crowd bar staple.
Another factor that is playing into the dollar-drink trend, say industry insiders, is the challenge bars and restaurants are facing these days in promoting happy hour-typically, a late afternoon or early evening ritual.
The problem? Many New Yorkers now work until at least 6 or 7 p.m., so the inducement has to be all the greater if establishments want to persuade would-be customers to leave their desks.
“Offering $4 off a $15 cocktail is not going to draw people in,” said Helen Zhang, a strategy director with LFB Media Group, a New York agency that promotes several bars throughout the city. Recently, Ms. Zhang worked with Vaucluse, an east Midtown French restaurant, on launching the deepest of deals. That is, the dining spot welcomes patrons on Sunday nights by offering free sparkling wine and french fries as an appetizer of sorts.
Nevertheless, there could be legal issues with these promotions. In an effort to curb excessive drinking, New York state prohibits establishments from offering free alcoholic drinks or even discounts beyond half-price.
New York State Liquor Authority Spokesman William Crowley said exceptions to the law might apply, such as instances where a bar offers a discounted drink that is smaller in size than its standard offering. “We’d have to look and see,” he said.
Some bars and restaurants, such as Dante and Vaucluse, declined to comment about the legal aspects. Playa Betty’s pointed to the sizing difference of its discounted frozen Paloma.
As for RDV and its $1 Harlem Mule promotion, restaurant spokesman James Monahan said the aim of the deal is to promote the new establishment with the community, “not to encourage the irresponsible consumption of mixed drinks.”
And as Mr. Monahan noted, the Harlem Mule isn’t all that boozy. “The majority of the pour is ginger beer,” he said.