Do restaurants allow you to order two drinks for yourself as happy hour expires? —Scott C, St. Louis
To help mitigate the high cost of dining out, I’ve found myself frequenting an increasing number of happy hours. As such, more times than not, I find myself racing to arrive just before the cutoff time (which, in the majority of cases, is 6 p.m.) If I make it, there’s more than a mild temptation to take full advantage, which means ordering all the happy hour food and drink at once, which can equate to ordering two glasses of discounted wine (or cocktails or beers) at once.
But is this frowned upon? Are bartenders judging as the guest double fists as the clock strikes 6? And what if the person has already had a drink? Does (or should) that make a difference?
To find out, we asked a handful of restaurant owners who are hip to the happy hour hustle. Their responses might surprise you—and maybe make you feel a little less sneaky.
Tim Wiggins, On Point Hospitality: “Yes, this is common with folks who order a cocktail and beer at the same time. Our goal during happy hour is for it to be, well, happy. We welcome this energy! And we don’t change our protocol for folks who have already had a drink. Everything is so expensive these days. Get as many happy hour drinks as you can!”
Blaise Pastoret, Lodging Hospitality Management: “Unless the person appears intoxicated, I don’t think we would say no.”
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Adam Tilford, Session Taco: “We don’t have a policy in place for that, but typically we don’t get a lot of single tops at happy hour, so most groups will order happy hour-priced pitchers as happy hour ends.”
Dominic Weiss, Big Sky Cafe: “Although it is always hard to say ‘no’—and disappointing anyone is the last thing we want to do—as a general rule, we take orders for one drink per guest at a time. Responsible liquor service is one main reason. In fairness, when it comes to happy hour, it is a daily LTO [limited time offer]. Serving multiple drinks to a guest as the special expires defeats the purpose of setting time limits and encroaches on regular dinner service. It is not out of the realm to see someone watch the clock and put in a significant order (food and drink) at the last second of happy hour, then nurse those items for the duration of the service without ordering so much as a glass of water beyond that. Don’t get me wrong: We are happy to have them all night. If they’re comfortable and happy, we know we will see them again. It only becomes a problem when it prevents other guests from dining with us, because we don’t have any tables open.”
Sam Kacar, Pan D’Olive: “I believe that most restaurants have some form of restriction when it comes to happy hour. At our place, we don’t limit guests from ordering multiple happy hour specials, even toward the very end of the happy hour period. The only thing we kindly ask is that guests finish their happy hour items—including cocktails—before moving to the dining room for dinner. I should add that we’re always proactive with our team and regularly talk to them about responsible service. If any of our staff notices that a guest is too intoxicated to drive, we make sure to stop serving them and help arrange an Uber or other safe way home.”
Alexandra Rodriguez, Hacienda Mexican Restaurant: “The first thing to determine is how much the person has already consumed, so would a double-fist be responsible? I’m actually surprised we don’t see more of that, but it really hasn’t come up with us much. We don’t have a “rule” against it, so I think if it seems like a reasonable amount for the person to have then you have to allow it…. Part of our happy hour is buckets of beer so it’s not much different than ordering a bucket before HH expires. The #1 rule is making sure people are drinking responsibly.”
Mark Hinkle, OO Hospitality Group: “What the hell, it’s happy hour. If someone came to take advantage of a deal we chose to offer, let’s make sure we take the opportunity to show them a great time. I’d take a happy guest over a couple extra bucks for a full-priced drink any day.”
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