Challenges
Juggling the staff and stress of in-house concessions
Before the Daryl Roth Theater brought Sweet Hospitality Group on as their concessions partner, they’d been handling their own concessions in-house for years.
Founded in 1996 by 13-time Tony Award-winning producer Daryl Roth, the Daryl Roth Theater is a landmark Off-Broadway venue with approximately 300 seats.
And while managing their own concessions had been doable since the theater’s inception, it was in running the highly popular show Titanique that both Daryl and General Manager Erika Feldman recognized the time had come to outsource to a pro.
“I’d always wanted to make our concessions look more professional,” Daryl said. “We’d been doing it ourselves for more than 20 years, and while what we were doing was fine, there was definitely room for improvement and an opportunity to offer our patrons a more polished experience.”
Erika said being able to provide an elevated experience was especially important given the nature of Titanique — but it wasn’t something they were adequately equipped to deliver on their own.
“Titanique is a fun, entertaining, and somewhat non-traditional, theatrical atmosphere and serving drinks and concessions is a big part of the experience,” Erika said. “We really needed to have people who understood the type of show that Titanique is and knew how to maximize sales.”
“Along with managing the bar staff, I was also doing all the ordering myself and price-shopping for the best deals. Sometimes we’d get it right and other times we’d over-order.”
From both the patron experience and the revenue perspective, they knew their best move was to bring in a professional concessions vendor — and fortunately, they knew exactly who they wanted that vendor to be.
Solution
A full-service concessionaire that handles everything from start to finish
Erika and Daryl weren’t strangers to Sweet Hospitality Group — they’d known their people and product for years.
“I’d seen Sweet Hospitality Group in many theaters and always loved their displays,” Daryl said. “Their products always look clean, polished, healthy, and delectable, and their bars always look beautiful. I have great respect for the work they do and how committed they are to their business, and I really wanted to find a way to bring them into our theater. I knew that if we were ever going to outsource our concessions it would be to them.”
Erika had worked with Sweet Hospitality Group when she was on staff at another theater, and because of the wonderful experience she’d had, she was comfortable and excited at the idea of bringing them into Daryl Roth Theater.
So, Erika reached out and began the process to secure Sweet Hospitality Group as their concessions vendor.
She said that from the minute they took over the concessions service, Sweet Hospitality Group came in ready to optimize as many aspects of the operations as they possibly could.
To start, they brought in their own fully-trained staff, which included a bar manager and bartenders.
“We have Danielle as our bar manager and they are just so on top of the bar staff, who are all trained in theater concessions where the turnaround time is very, very fast,” Erika said. “They know how to serve drinks quickly and accurately, which is especially important for a one-act show like Titanique that only has a pre-show.
“They also know how to create a fun theater atmosphere while also pouring the correct amount of booze and maintaining a safe environment that meets regulations. That is very important to us.”
Sweet Hospitality Group’s bar staff is also well-trained in elevating the patron experience overall, which includes designing bar displays and signature drinks to match the show’s theme.
“Our bar is beautifully maintained by the staff of Sweet Hospitality Group, and it’s really just pristine at this point,” Erika said. “The bar is laid out with the Titanique colors and there are fun, silly drinks that go along perfectly with the show. It gives our patrons a much more integrative experience because the bar is reflective of the show that they’re going to see.”
In addition, Erika said that she absolutely loves that Sweet Hospitality Group handles every aspect of the ordering, managing, and moving of inventory.
Results
Increased sales and revenue, decreased expenses and stress
Having Sweet Hospitality Group handle their concessions has not only removed a significant amount of work from Erika’s plate, it’s also provided her with access to a strategic sales partner who’s hyper-focused on improving sales.
That’s one of the major benefits of partnering with a concessionaire that’s been exclusively serving — and selling in — the theater industry since 1986.
“Part of the appeal of working with Sweet Hospitality Group is how proactive they are in finding ways to help us maximize sales,” Erika said. “When they started with us, we had lots of booze that had been sitting around unused and they had great ideas about ways we could use it.
“When they want to try something, I always trust that it’s going to be a good idea, and I like that we’re in a constant dialogue about what we can do to increase revenue.”
Increased revenue is exactly what they’ve done.
“In working with Sweet Hospitality Group, we’ve seen an increase in the number of drinks sold per performance and have had a 36% increase in gross sales,” Erika said. “Because of their well-trained staff and the way they create such a fun theater bar experience that people want to come to, we’ve been able to charge a higher price point than we previously thought we could do.”
Erika said another major win of working with Sweet Hospitality Group has been their ability to decrease expenses.
“Before Sweet Hospitality Group came in, we were not getting as good of deals as we are now. They have very long-standing relationships with the vendors we were going through, so now we’re paying much less for things like our branded cups than when we were ordering them on our own.”
From the financial wins to the decreased stress of handling their own concessions, both Daryl and Erika are as happy to have Sweet Hospitality Group running this part of the show as they are with the results they’ve seen, especially in regards to the enhanced experience they’re providing to their patrons.
“Our bar has such a fun and happy atmosphere now and the staff we have from Sweet Hospitality Group is certainly adding to that,” Erika said.
Daryl agreed, and is excited at the potential to continue reaping the benefits of their partnership for many years to come.
“I’m really thrilled with the way it’s going,” Daryl said. “The patrons love it, and I’m excited to have Sweet Hospitality Group as our concession vendor now and into the future. They have their finger on the pulse of the theater world and what patrons really want.”