Use these opening and closing checklists

In addition to working at The Safe Bar Network, Darian Everding manages London Underground, a craft beer and whisk(e)y bar in Ames, IA.

She's implemented a lot of systems at London Underground since taking the reigns, but one of the most important was updating the bar's opening and closing checklists to make sure they're helping the bar run smoothly.

The effort was successful, and Darian was kind enough to share templates of LU's opening and closing checklists:

And if you've got a few minutes, check out the interview clip to learn:

• how to implement these specific checklists
• the vital role opening and closing checklists have in a well-functioning bar or restaurant

Why worry about menu design?

A poorly designed beer and drink menu can flatline your bev sales. But a well-designed menu can:

• Make your customers want to spend time with your menu.
• Help customers figure out what to order more easily.
• This puts customers at ease: coming back to the menu to order another beer isn't a daunting task. It's a pleasant one.

How can I get a well-designed beer menu?

You could do it manually. How you'd implement it depends on your situation, but one route is manual: find a graphic designer, create a custom menu, train staff on researching products online and updating the menu, and so on.

It certainly takes some effort, but this is def better than a poorly designed menu that's ugly, difficult to understand, or both.

• Consumer survey results give reason for optimism at bars and restaurants. Inflation has risen and times are tough, but folks still see going out for a drink as an affordable luxury worth keeping. This is among the highlights of the survey, run by CGA from Nielsen IQ. Also good: >75% of consumers plan to go out for a drink as often or more often than they did in 2023. I'd expect that number to be significantly lower given other consumer sentiment numbers we're seeing about the broader economy.
• More chain bankruptcies. Both Buca di Beppo, the popular family-style Italian chain, and World of Beer, the smaller but still well-known national beer bar chain filed for bankruptcy protection within the last week.
• Higher minimum wage coming in MI. This week, MI's supreme court cleared the way for a minimum wage increase. Germane to this audience, tipped wages need to be brought up into line with this new minimum wage by 2029. Bar and restaurant owners are unsurprisingly concerned about what this will mean to the health and survival of their businesses. We'll keep an eye on this in the months ahead.
• And for a fun read: learn about the fancy Japanese oak barrels sought after by all manner of distillers. Food & Wine looked at the near fetishization of mizunara oak barrels.