Customers who come to a Japanese
restaurant in America expect a unique dining experience
with unusual dishes and drinks. This is quite understandable
when you think about it: If you go to an Italian restaurant
in Japan, you expect an Italian ambience and Italian cuisine
such as pasta dishes. And as for drinks, you would naturally
like to try some Italian wine or beer rather than settling
for Japanese beer or sake. If your restaurant is experiencing
sluggish sales of Japanese sake, or your customers order
only house hot sake, it may be time to implement a new
strategy. Try to give some helpful hints about sake to
your customers, and you will definitely be pleasantly
surprised with the enthusiastic response. Customers are
willing to try new sake varieties. They just do not know
which one to order. They probably do not even know the
questions to ask.
There are ways to boost sake sales
at your restaurant, even if you do not have knowledgeable
staff or a dedicated sake sommelier. And boosting sake
sales is exactly what this column is about.
<Restaurant’s
Approach>
(1) Make sure the menu lists not only the name of each sake
and the price, but also the flavor characteristics and the
kind of dishes that pair well with each type of sake (selling
points).
Example: name of sake, Junmai Ginjo (pure premium sake),
brewed in Nagano prefecture
This excellent sake is created by a brewery with 300 years
of history. Unlike most Japanese sakes, this one has a fruity
aroma and a well-balanced acidity, which brings out the
full flavors of rich and hearty meat dishes. Recommended
dishes that go well with this sake are duck marinated in
miso (soybean paste) or silver cod marinated in sakekasu
(the sediment left behind from making sake).
$8.00 / a glass (4 oz) $32.00 / a bottle (720 ml)
(You can ask the vendors for more information on different
types of sake.)
(2) Make sure that sake is
served in a quantity that customers feel comfortable about
sampling. It is important to have sake available by the
glass at a reasonable price. If you have sake available
only in bottles for $50.00 to $70.00 each, that is not appealing
for sake beginners who may otherwise like to try something
new. It is therefore recommended to have glasses of sake
available for between $5.00 and $8.00. Or you can offer
a sake sampler set.
(3) Make sure of the visibility
of your sake display inside your restaurant. For instance,
putting some empty sake bottles on display or using some
point-of-purchase advertising to inform customers of recommended
sakes or new items may be good promotional strategies.
(4) Make sure your menu
includes various appetizers that “go well with sake.”
These appetizers have to be within a reasonable price range
and the serving size should not be too overwhelming.
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