Revel Blog

Prep Your Bar For St. Patrick’s Day

Revel | March 11, 2017 |

st. patrick's day iPad POS bar POS Industry Insights inventory management system qsr prep your bar
Prep Your Bar For St. Patrick’s Day

People have been ‘wearing the green’ celebrating St. Patrick’s Day for over two-hundred years, and it’s no surprise that in 2017 spending for the holiday is expected to reach $5.3 billion. St. Patty’s Day is one of the most globally celebrated holidays all year. It’s a great time for businesses to boost sales during a time that is typically pretty slow for retailers and restaurants. January through April are often sleepy with consumers tightening purse strings following the winter holiday season, not to mention tax season.

This year St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Friday, which is sure to bring folks out for traditional Irish fare and a pint of Guinness, as well as seek out a hearty Irish breakfast Saturday as the perfect antidote to maybe one too many Irish coffees, whiskeys, or car bombs. Whether you run a cafe, diner, bar, frozen yogurt shop, gift store, candy store - you get the idea - be ready to offer up the most creative Irish-inspired products for your customers to take advantage of the weekend’s St. Patrick’s Day enthusiasts.

Make the most of St. Patrick’s Day with these tips and tricks:

Create a festive ambiance

With a holiday as jolly as St. Patty’s, why not do a bit of, ahem, tasteful decor. No one said you have to rush to the party store to purchase four-leaf clover or pot-of-gold cut outs, though we certainly wouldn’t judge you if you did. But breaking out a few green, vintage pieces or putting some brighter green flower arrangements about is a subtle way to have some fun with the holiday. If you want to get serious, you can always add a Celtic print table runner or green table cloths or napkins. Making an awesome playlist with favorite Irish songs and bands is always a favorite because (a) music makes any environment and (b) music is one of the most fun, authentic ways to show your appreciation for a culture.

Get creative with your menu

The iconic children’s tale, Green Eggs and Ham, foreshadowed the fascination with green food, and bars and restaurants celebrating St. Patty’s Day, have joined in by selling green food and drink. Want to join in the playful tradition? There are a ton of themed drink and food combos you can pepper your menu with. For example, pair your boozy Shamrock shake with some sweets: green frosted Irish cream cupcakes, key lime bars, or a green velvet cake. Go traditional and offer a combo meal of Shepherd's Pie and an Irish stout, and with a Point of Sale you can easily allow a combination of items from different kinds of products to be rung up for a set price.

Getting creative with your menu, doesn’t have to be a headache on the back end. Add a splash of green and easily customize the back-end to reflect a changing menu for your bar patrons. To take a deeper dive into menu building, check out this article for more.

Don’t leave your Inventory up to luck  Screenshot 2017-03-10 16.01.17

Now that you’ve spiced up your menu it’s time to Dublin down on your inventory. With a perpetual inventory management system, switching up your menu is simple. Whether you’re receiving shipments, scanning barcodes, or entering SKUs, reducing the opportunity for human error by integrating your inventory tracking into your point of sales means that you’re getting an exact account of your current stock levels.

Restock the right levels at the right time and easily forecast for upcoming holidays and 2018 St. Patty’s Day.

May the luck of the Irish be with you!