BIV special report: As B.C. summers bring longer and more frequent stretches of extreme weather, the province’s businesses grapple with the challenge of rising costs, threats to natural resources and changes in consumer spending patterns.
Offering patio seating and selling cold drinks are surefire ways to attract a crowd in hot weather, but the sophistication and strategy crucial to the success of restaurants and food-service operations demand more than just ice cubes and sun umbrellas during summer heat waves.
Introducing seasonal menu items and offering more things people want to eat in the heat are among key summer sales strategy moves for restaurateurs.
“When the sun shines and the heat comes, your biggest challenge is opening that door early, and keeping it open as long as you can, because the weather determines your business,” said James Coleridge, who this month opened three Uno Gelato stores – on West Broadway, in Stamps Landing and by Canada Place.
One of his tactics is to schedule staff to prepare to stay open past official closing hours. As long as there is a lineup of people who want to buy gelato, he will stay open to serve them.
Average August sales are at least four times what he generates in January. He estimates that during heat spikes, sales are up about 25% compared with a cool and cloudy August day.
Coleridge, who has spent 10 summers in Vancouver and previously co-owned two Bella Gelateria stores, said he must prepare in advance for that volume because his company makes all of its gelato from scratch.
He also knows what flavours to make based on his extensive knowledge of customer preferences. Winter flavours tend to be those that have chocolate, nuts and spice, while summer flavours veer toward citrus.
He compares that seasonal shift in tastes to a similar market cycle in wine retailing.
B.C. wineries’ biggest quarter for sales of deeper-flavoured red wines is October through December, according to the the BC Liquor Distribution Branch (BCLDB). Last October through December, British Columbians bought almost 5.4 million litres of B.C.-produced red wine, the BCLDB reported. Slightly more than 4.5 million litres of red wine sold from April through June, and roughly the same amount sold from July through September.
Sales of B.C.-produced white wine last year held to the reverse of that pattern, with its biggest-selling quarter being July through September, with 5.77 million litres purchased, according to the BCLDB.
Unlike bottles of wine, however, Coleridge’s gelato melts in hot weather. That means that he takes extra precautions and tweaks his recipes to make his gelato firmer with the advent of scorching weather.
He rarely uses salt in recipes, so instead of simply reducing that antifreeze ingredient, he sometimes adds extra milk protein or the binding agent chicory root.
Staff are trained to open gelato-counter doors quickly and to close them promptly to reduce ice buildup. In a worst-case scenario, an ice buildup can cause a freezer to go into automatic defrost mode.
Full-service restaurants similarly have to shake up their menus and change offerings, but sales suffer when intense heat arrives, said Tap & Barrel Restaurants owner Daniel Frankel.
“The heat definitely decreases food sales, especially during the day,” he said. “People tend to drink more beer. Our beverage-to-food ratio definitely shifts as food sales go down and drink sales rise.”
The good thing for Frankel, however, is that even if his guests’ average cheque is smaller, his restaurants rack up considerably more business in the summer. That is in part because his restaurants have some of Metro Vancouver’s largest patios.
He estimated that his North Vancouver Tap & Barrel has about 300 patio seats, while the one at Jack Poole Plaza has 290 seats and the one at the Olympic Village has 325 seats.
“Heat affects the overall trend of sales,” he said, referring to more late-night rushes.
“It’s cooler later at night, so people stay out later and drink later,” he said. “Food-wise, [diners want] lighter fare, like salads and starters and less on the mains and fried foods. Also, umbrellas are key to keep people shaded from the sun and hanging around longer.” •
