Managing the Beverage Department
A large part of any catering operation is the serving of alcoholic beverages. Almost all firms set up a separate department whose duties are to order, store and serve all liquor, beer, wine and soft drinks, even if its only one person. Your profit margin on beverages is much higher than your profit margin for food. Thus, the caterer who can promote and manage an aggressive mix of beverage sales----alongside their food sales----will see better results on the bottom line. Alcoholic beverages, however, present many challenges for management that are unique to the product.
1. Storage and Ordering
Beverages should be stored in a secure room with limited access that maintains a consistent temperature (72 or slightly below), year round. You will almost always store your liquor, beer and wine in separate areas of the storeroom, and then sub-categorize within each category. Most firms will break it down a step further and separate their product by type (i.e. vodka, gin, whiskey, red or white wine), and then alphabetize within the type. I have found that with larger liquor or wine lists it is easier to not break your liquor out by type, but to simply organize in alphabetical order from top to bottom. Since some members of your staff will not be totally familiar will all the different types and categories of liquor, you may end up saving yourself valuable time searching for product if everything is in a simple alphabetical system.
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