Happy hours continue to be profitable and money saving

Happy hours save drinkers money and keep people going out. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

It’s 5 o’clock somewhere is a phrase often said with a wink and a nod to give oneself and others permission to start drinking no matter the time of day. Five o’clock being the magical hour when so many get off work.

This is also typically the start of the drinking hour or hours as the case may be.

It’s when restaurants and bars would start their happy hour pricing. Now those discounted drinks and food items might be available even earlier, often as a way to bridge the gap between lunch and dinner service.

When one combines the pandemic keeping people in their home office, remote work still being a thing and younger generations saying no to alcohol, it would be easy to assume happy hour isn’t such a jovial time for owners of bars and restaurants.

That is not the case at many locales; happy hour is still very much an integral part of many eateries’ business model.

“People are drinking less, but they are still drinking. They may be having three beers instead of five,” Luis Vastiri, manager at Calistoga Inn and Brewery, said. “We keep the promotion for our loyal guests.”

The Monday-Friday 4-6 p.m. specials also attract tourists, but Vastiri said most are local workers.

“The are definitely middle age and older. They are not young,” he said of those partaking in happy hour.

Santa Rosa’s Bird & The Bottle recently extended its happy hour to 6 p.m. for a smoother transition into dinner service. It was 3-5 p.m. seven days a week.

“It’s good to bring more people in where there is a little bit of a lower price point,” Amber Pineda, assistant general manager, said. “We have lot of great regulars here all the time, but we want to reach more people.”

She said being around the corner from Sutter Hospital is a boon, as workers from there routinely come in.

Bird & The Bottle has had a happy hour since it opened nine years ago.

Jackson’s Bar & Oven in Santa Rosa has had a happy hour since opening in 2008. General Manager Ken Goldfine said the impetus to do so remains the same today — to ensure people are in the restaurant at all times, even when it’s not a traditional hour to eat or drink.

People working remotely didn’t slow traffic to Jackson’s. Goldfine credits the nearby hotels, conventions, bridal parties and regulars with keeping happy hour happy.

While people can order off the happy hour and regular priced menus, the weekday discounts from 3-5 p.m. are only good in the bar area.

Perry’s in Novato started its happy hour a couple years after it opened four years ago.

“We wanted to get a feel for the neighborhood and what the demand was,” Aldy Butler, manager of the Marin County restaurant, said.

The company’s other locations, which include Larkspur and two in San Francisco plus one at San Francisco International Airport, don’t have happy hours. While the goal is to be consistent across the properties, the fact the previous restaurant at the Novato location had a happy hour and customers asked for one led to the decision to do so.

It’s seven days a week from 3-7 p.m. All Perry’s offer half off wine on Wednesdays.

“Fortunately we don’t have a ton of people coming in just to have happy hour,” Butler said. They are either staying for dinner or ordering drinks and/or food not on the happy hour menu.

Many of these North Bay restaurants are finding the happy hour patrons are from the neighborhood — either they work or live nearby. Making convenience a part of the allure in addition to the discounted prices.

“Around the restaurant are many schools and offices. I think the people who work there are coming in,” Jorge Ramirez, a server at Mamita in Novato, said.

He said everyone coming in for happy hour is at least 30 years old. While soft drinks and frescas are available, Ramirez said it is the deal on alcoholic beverages that attracts people.

Village 360 in Fairfield has a more limited happy hour — Thursday and Friday, 2:30-4:30 p.m. Considering it closes at 5 p.m., the early hours work with the business model.

People go there for the pizza and alcoholic drinks. The whole idea behind it, like other places, is to attract people to the restaurant.

1933 Kitchen & Bar in Suisun City instituted happy hour less than two years ago with the goal of driving up numbers. An employee said it’s been successful, with about half those coming in seeming to be workers and the other half not employed for whatever reason. Happy hour is Monday-Friday, 2- 6 p.m.

When Frida’s Mexican Grill in Napa opened in 2007 it only had a beer and wine license. Three years later the liquor license and happy hour arrived.

During the pandemic Frida’s allowed people to order off the happy hour menu in the dining room in order to space people apart. That has continued, much to the appreciation of customers.

About 95 percent of happy hour customers are locals, according to manager Martin Aguilera. They are ordering margaritas and beer at a discount.

While most places have something non-alcoholic available at happy hour prices, they don’t move the needle much.

“We have non-alcoholic beers, and virgin margaritas and virgin pina coladas, but they aren’t great sellers,” Aguilera said.

Note: A version of this story first appeared in the North Bay Business Journal.