Restaurants, Wine, and Hospitalians w/ Richard Hanauer, Lettuce Entertain You

As the wine director and partner of the Lettuce Entertain You restaurant group, Richard Hanauer oversees ~100 restaurants' wine programs. Seeing beverage sales grow from single digits to ~20% of sales, Richard discusses the role beverage plays in restaurants, sommeliers, the elements of good wine programs, and his newest wine country themed concept, Oakville Grill & Cellar. Detailed Show Notes: Lettuce Entertain You ("LEY")~100 restaurants in Chicago/IL, CA, NV, FL, TX, VA, DCPartitions of different culinary groupsBeverage impact on sales - can be 0% - 50% of salesFine dining and wine sales used to have a positive correlationMore casual concepts w/high-end beverage programs (e.g., luxury whiskey w/ casual BBQ)LEY - Wine was single digit of sales, now high teens-20% over the last 20 yearsThe volume of sales driven through by the glass ("BTG") programs (e.g., RPM Seafood sells 4-5x Pinot Grigio vs. Sancerre, which is 2x the price)Wine program drives return visits vs. initial visits - people come back for the person who recommended the bottleDefinition of a good wine programUsed to be verticals of great traditional producersNow, more about how the wine program fits into the restaurant (e.g., Piedmont wines w/ Piedmont food)Need good stemware; not great stemwareWines at the right temperature and match the menuRole of the SommelierOperations - wine binning/storage, ordering, tasting, building wine menusWhen not involved in wine, they should be "hospitalians," helping with everything elseBest somms build relationships with wineries (get access to unique wines) and guests (getting them into the right bottle, not the most expensive -> brings customers back)Average fine dining ratios - 24 tables, 1 somm per 12 tablesSomm turnoverPre-Covid - average tenure 18 monthsRe-training takes 6-12 monthsLEY - tries to retain employees, treats them well w/ 401k, benefits, opportunities to grow career w/in LEYRestaurant pricingRent is the most significant expense -> increases COGS for everything, including wineFood/cocktail ingredients are blended together, but wine is not, making pricing a more significant issueGoal - keep COGS down while holding price (sometimes achieved through relationship w/ wineries)Try to get less available wines - have less price transparencyMarkups lower on higher-end wines - standard markups would make the wines unsellableOakville Grill & Cellar - opened April 2023CA wine area themed restaurantNapa inspiration - "Never pretentious, never formal…very comfortable, pleasurable, elevated service & quality of food, rarely decor"The entire wine program is from CACellar Door - tasting studio w/in Oakville Grill6 person suitePartners w/ different winery every monthRe-creates the winery tasting list down to vintage and wine pricingGets training from the wineryGuests can sign up for winery, take home wine~500 guests/month capacity (4 seatings/night, 5 days/week)Winery requirements: right pricing (not low or high), interesting tasting list, pedigree, make sense w/Chicago's seasonality, open to all of CAAlso, BTG in Oakville Grill and usually on the wine list before and afterTrends for RestaurantsAuthenticity - e.g., Aglianico w/ Neapolitan pizzaWine getting more expensive -> The cost of building a cellar is higher, which leads to more focused wine lists Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.