How a Banquet Table Bar Top Pays Dividends

The average wedding guest can be expected to consume about $16.50 in alcohol and beverages during a wedding reception, according to the Cost Helper website. That turns out to be just a little under three grand per event. If you’re in the catering business, the addition of bar service can add a great deal to your business’ bottom line. If you figure that you’ll cater five weddings a week during the 12 weeks of summer, you’re going to earn about $18,000 in just those three months. That doesn’t even factor in other big event seasons like Christmas.

The question is then, how will you accommodate this flow of traffic? What types of equipment will you need in addition to tables and tablecloths? The answer may surprise you. With our banquet table bar top risers, you can avoid buying expensive and heavy portable bars that you have to lug to each event. Instead, you can convert your tables to bars and back again, giving yourself a great deal of flexibility in the process.

How To Do It

You already have most of what you need already to make this conversion if your company carries standard banquet tables plus the tablecloths and skirts to go with them. Banquet table bar tops are all that’s necessary to make the switch from table to bar.

In appearance, these risers actually look like miniature banquet tables. They have folding legs with reinforcements to keep them upright. Chiavari makes banquet table bar tops to fit both rectangular- and serpentine-style banquet tables.

To work with these risers you first set up the tables in your bar area. Once those go up, you’ll set up the riser and place it on top of the table. For complete coverage, you’ll want to add the tablecloth and the skirt to the banquet table before you top it with a riser. Finally, you cover the riser with a tablecloth and skirt for a uniform look. It’s really easy and requires no more effort than it takes to put up the tables. Plus it’s a whole lot lighter than having to haul a bar.

Your drink glasses and bottles can be stored on a side table and underneath both the table and under the bar top riser. That keeps them in easy reach.

Special Features

You’ve no doubt dealt with tables that have had vinyl edges that have started to come apart as you’ve used your tables over a number of months or years. The banquet table bar top sidesteps this issue. We have a specially designed metal edge for extra durability. This protects your equipment, especially during seasons of heavy use like the summer wedding season and the Christmas catering season.

Extra Dividends

Being in business is often a question of balance, meaning that you must weigh the cost of your investments (equipment like tables, chairs, computers, software, etc.) against the amount of money you make at each event. A portable bar can cost as much as $1,000 or more to purchase. Our risers cost between $60 and $70 plus some change.

Not only does this save you a substantial amount of money from the get go, it allows you to make more money over the long run. Here’s how. Let’s say you’ve decided to buy a mid-priced portable bar that cost around $500. That’s all your budget allowed for. Let’s also say that you have three different people inquiring about your services on the same night during the wedding season. All of them want to have a bar. With the portable bar option, you might have to turn away two of those potential clients, because you can’t accommodate them.

However, because the banquet table bar top only costs you about $70, you decide to buy seven of them. That’s $490, almost the price of your bar. However, you now can say, “Yes,” to all three of those potential clients, because you have the equipment to do so. Remember, the average event during a wedding season makes about $3,000 in alcohol sales. With your first option, you’ve turned down $6,000. With the riser option, you’ve made $9,000 total. Big difference.

Now you can see why a banquet table bar top pays dividends. For an estimate or for more information about how to use them, contact us today!