Pub Crawls are legal in New York, however, the Liquor Authority warns that each participating bar is responsible for overconsumption in their premises. With patrons frequenting many establishments in a single night, it is difficult to determine how much has been consumed. When participating in events like this, you must step up your efforts to prevent serving intoxicated patrons. Here are 10 things you can do:
1. Encourage patrons to consume foods high in protein and fats. Offer late night specials on wings, cheesesteaks, mozzarella sticks or sliders.
2. Serve only one pitcher of beer per table.
3. Serve only one drink at a time to a customer.
4. Limit high alcohol content cocktails and shots.
5. Slow service if a customer drinks his alcoholic beverages quickly.
6. Serve pitchers of ice water to tables or have free water bottles, especially after midnight. This can act as a spacer between alcohol drinks. Iced tea is another cost effective beverage to offer.
7. Announce “closing time” rather than “last call.” Only allow one drink to be ordered per customer at the end of the night.
8. Be sure your front door staff and servers talk with customers throughout the night to detect signs of overconsumption and intoxication.
9. Train your servers about suggestive selling to encourage food consumption while drinking.
10. Use properly sized glassware for drinks. Oversized glassware can lead to overpouring.
11. Bonus! Do weekly or monthly pour tests of you bartenders to ensure accurate pour skills. Consider implementing technology that measures pour volumes or audits liquor inventory against beverage sales.