Although it’s true that “there’s no place like home,” the on-premise segment strives to offer consumers something they cannot get at home, whether it’s the environment, the service or the drinks. The economic downturn has made it more difficult for restaurants, bars and nightclubs to coerce consumers out of their homes, but analysts see a slow return to growth.
According to Chicago-based Technomic Inc., overall consumer expenditures on alcohol away from the home will increase 2.4 percent this year. The restaurant industry also is experiencing positive growth, reports the National Restaurant Association (NRA), Washington, D.C. Total restaurant industry sales are expected to reach a record high of $632 billion this year, which is a 3.5 percent increase compared to 2011, the NRA says. In fact, the Beer Institute, Washington, D.C., reports that beer sales in restaurants rose more than 9 percent in 2011, totaling about $23.6 billion in sales. Restaurants represented the largest share of on-premise sales last year, encompassing nearly 24 percent of total beer sales, according to Beer Institute statistics.