Episode 059 - Drinkonomics 101

In this episode, we chat with Brian McGahey of the Neighborhood Restaurant Group (NRG) about how bars develop and price their cocktails.

Some of the specific topics Brian and I discuss in this interview include:

• What you’re actually paying for when you go out to a nice bar or restaurant
• How a bar prices out their cocktails and creates a balanced and profitable beverage program
• The ways in which a cocktail menu is like a resume for a bar, and how to read that resume to determine the potential quality of the drinks before ordering
• How tipping and certain cultural expectations about how bartenders and servers are paid has led to new legislation that’s threatening the service industry here in DC
• A few notes on the Woody Allen movie, Midnight in Paris
• And much, much more.

This interview was recorded at a really cool spot called Rustico in Ballston, just across the river from DC, so please enjoy the audio verite that comes from recording on-location.