The 26-unit restaurant chain Chart House, operated by Landry’s Inc., landed this year’s coveted VIBE Vista Award for Best Overall Beverage Program as a result of their compelling cocktail program, bolstered by the aesthetics of their upgraded drink menu.
A new layout and an added fold-out page created to highlight the new “Cocktail Art” section included photography of each of the “art” cocktails to give the guests a sample of the visual quality of the eye-catching drinks.
Already known for sophisticated and innovative cocktails, Chart House featured such drinks as the Smoked & Mango Air, made with mezcal, jalapeno and cilantro with an orange foam topping, pictured in the menu in a way that stimulated great sales.
Chart House also features tableside service including the Mojito flight for two—one of their most popular offerings—consisting of three styles of Mojitos: Black & Blue, Mango, and Blood Orange. The tableside service offers guests the experience of personalized drink-making skills. Chart House has even added a sweet treat to the cocktail menu in the form of the Chocolate & Bourbon cocktail, which is garnished with a chocolate and cherry truffle.
Aside from the innovative cocktails, Chart House offers a full beer and wine selection, as well as non-alcohol options labeled “No Alcohol, No Problem,” featuring beverage creations like the Faux-Jito and Cucumber & Honey. With the diverse and full options on the beverage menu, all items are in line with the Chart House brand to ensure innovation, elegance and taste.
An extensive server training took place at each location when the tableside cocktails portion of the menu was added. In fact, the chain placed extra emphasis on the training since, with guests having a front row seat, creating these cocktails correctly was crucial. Managers, supervisors and trainers and bartenders were given the opportunity to become certified to create these tableside cocktails for guests, with a specific certification program created before a server was allowed on the floor to make the drinks.
The certification process included in-person training, with staff receiving packets of learning materials for them to keep, along with training videos. Each cocktail was created for the staff in pre-shifts and all were provided with training packets and recipes with photographs as well. The goal was to make sure the entire Chart House team was excited about the new additions.
Most of the chain’s beverage marketing is done through the Chart House website, as well as a strong social media presence including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. All three social media channels combined, the chain has more than 77,000 followers, making this one of their biggest marketing platforms. In each unit, the marketing team puts together visually appealing photography to show off the cocktail creations.