Business at the Bar is on the Rise

New Hampshire's bars are much more than a place to drink. In fact, some of the state's bars have been serving some of the best food for years-and the public is finally catching on.

The trend over the years is people are eating more in bars now, says John Tinios, owner of The Galley Hatch in Hampton. Today, we're using our bar as an extension of the dining room. We've always nurtured that anyhow by offering a full dinner menu.

Scott Rice, owner of the Woodstock Inn Station & Brewery in North Woodstock, says he too is seeing growth in bar business. It's really where we grow and maintain business, he says.

John Wylie, executive sous chef at Murphy's on the Green in Hanover, says it's not as if bar customers represent only one demographic either. We get a very broad clientele, he says. Everyone from college students from Dartmouth and university professors to affluent locals and tourists.

Tinios notes other curious changes like more families eating at the bar. It's a generational thing. When older people try [eating in the bar] they become regulars, he says.

Dan Mancini, bartender at The Peddler's Daughter in Nashua, says he too sees more people eating at the bar, and, he notes, the customers come from a variety of backgrounds.

People just belly right up, says Mancini. As far as dinner goes, we have a lot of middle-aged people, couples, and groups of couples. The late crowd is usually younger people.

Noting that bar business is up while the dining room has slowed, Rice says the Woodstock Inn uses bar specials and frequent-diner programs to help draw in everyone from the single consumer to families. We have specials just for bar customers and they're very popular, he says. A lot of families come in, too, for our half-price appetizers.

Are Specials profitable?
Rice says customers won't always order the special anyways. It's about building your loyal clientele all the time, he says.
In contrast, at The Peddler's Daughter's, Mancini says he rarely offers specials since the bar features live music four nights a week as an enticement for many to come and enjoy an entire evening out.

Most agree the bar brings in diversity in customers as well as food choices.

Wylie says their customers' ordering preferences are as diverse as the customers themselves. Some customers at the bar come in for a hamburger, medium with cheddar, while others tend to order a lot of our specials that tend to be fancy and upper crust', he says.

Shawn Furbish, general manager at Murphy's on the Green, says he is somewhat surprised at the diversity of Murphy's bar customers' habits.

They run the gamut, says Furbish. You can have one guy at the bar with wings and next to him someone with halibut. It's always been like that. People [in the bar] actually order more dinner specials than not-it's sort of an enigma.
John Dunn, general manager at Buckley's Great Steaks in Merrimack, refers to the food as his bar's central feature.

They're as likely to order a burger with a pint as they are a cowboy steak and a bottle of wine, says Dunn. We want people to know we're not just a special occasion place. We're here every day.

Dunn says the bar and its surrounding area provide customers with additional options for socializing.

People dining in the bar are looking for more of a casual atmosphere, or more social interaction [and] conversation with strangers, says Dunn. It's more of a community feeling. According to Tinios, that sense of community is essential for any bar. There's been a big demographic change, says Tinios. People are looking for something more comfortable, more casual. It's the meeting place in town. I think more and more people are cooped up at work, so they are looking for more social time.

He says the economy also has people more concerned, resulting in a clientele looking for value. He believes the bar dining experience with its classic bar specials can fit into the economic equation. People still want to go out and Americans love a deal-they love specials, says Tinios. That said, bars are also feeling the pinch of a sluggish economy.

Admitting bar business is still robust, Andrew Corbin, owner of the former Molly Malone's in Portsmouth, says while numbers served may not necessarily be down, the amount each customer spends is down.

One new trend is that people can trade down, Corbin says. Maybe they were once drinking a Grey Goose martini and they are now going to order well' drinks.

Despite seeing more actual diners in his bar since the smoking ban went into effect, Corbin says he also believes some people are eating at home and then coming out.

Mancini says he's noticed the same thing with business picking up later in the evening.

Tinios adds that the key in the coming months will be to provide the value for every dollar a customer spends to offset the effects of convenience food facilities. Service plays a bigger role than it ever has before, says Tinios. And hiring becomes a bigger piece in this thing going forward.

Rice agrees and looks to his staff to get to know each and every bar patron on a personal level. "Anybody can go to a bar and just get a drink, Rice says. It is up to the bartenders to build those close relationships-that's our job.