All over the country the Bring Your Own Bottle phenomenom is spreading.
Recently reported in the Dallas Morning News Eats Blog, the Mother of all BYOB sites, GoBYO.com now lists BYOB restaurants in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Southeast Florida and Washington D.C. According to the GoBYO.com this site “provides unique Wine-Friendly Ratings illuminating Composite Ratings, corkage fees, phone numbers, cuisines, features, price ranges, days open and maps…plus links to restaurant websites and reviews.”
Additional news feeds reporting this growing trend:
NY Times For Wine Lovers, News Is Good on Corkage Fees
Ft. Wayne Journal-Gazette Restaurants hope BYOB draws guests
The Village Voice What to B when you BYOB
San Francisco Examiner The State of SF Restaurants and Wine Lists
Dallas Morning News Dewhurst said support letting diners carry in own wine
[Analysis of the Texas state bill 2523 proposing the new BYOB approval]
D Magazine’s Side Dish feed on the ongoing BYOB controversy in Texas
The Daily Times of Ottawa (Illinois) Utica: Village approves BYOB ordinance
The Philadelphia Enquirer All the info on BYOs, here and elsewhere
What have you seen in your world? Is BYOB a good thing? Let’s hear your thoughts.
Related posts:
- New Wine Products from California, Texas and South America
- Cornell and Southern Wine & Spirits Research Highlights Winning Wine List Strategies
- Wine of the Week: Brennan Vineyards, Texas, Viognier 2008
Tags: BYOB, D Magazine, Dallas Morning News, Eats Blog, GoBYO.com, Side Dish
April 29th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Yes, BYOB is a good thing. There is a very fine dining place we frequent a lot because it has had a *very* good/fair BYOB policy for years.
To those restaurant owners who claim that “…more paperwork and less profit for restaurants.” would be the result, if they had the *option* to implement it, I say this…
How about you step outside your (kitchen/backroom) box and look at the bigger picture. Use an Excel spreadsheet, too.
Look at how much money you have tied up in wine inventory and what that untied cash could do for you elsewhere in your ops. Then, look at how often you have to reprint your wine lists because you have incorrect vintage years listed ( you *do* do that, no?). Then think about a new wine buying campaign, where you get rid a PILE of wine and only carry the top 15 or so sellers. Then advertise the hell out of your new “targeted 15 wines policy + BYOB option” for those special bottles people want to bring in. Make it a reasonable corkage (no more than 20 bucks or so).
You would have mob at your door in no time.
Get your head outa the sand.
May 3rd, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Hi, nice post. I have been pondering this topic,so thanks for writing. I’ll certainly be coming back to your posts.