These Bars & Restaurants Are Finding Success with Late Night Menus

RJ Grunts, the first “Lettuce Entertain You” restaurant and a Chicago mainstay since 1971, began a new “late night” Happy Hour drinks menu in January 2024, available Thursday to Saturday from 8-10 pm. Although the family-friendly concept has contributed to its longevity, Beverage Director Kevin Beary says adding the late night happy hour provided a way to attract a younger/later dinner crowd while fulfilling an unrealized demand in the still-trendy Lincoln Park neighborhood for a post-work hangout.

“By extending the dining hours and adding the late night happy hour, it has added additional revenue not only for dine-in guests, but also for carryout orders,” details Beary, who adds that margaritas, negronis, and cosmopolitans are best-sellers along with burgers, patty melts, salads, and fried pickles. “We are seeing increased beverage sales during these periods, which generates a sales mix that performs at a higher margin.”

Beary credits increased traffic at R.J. Grunts to the influx of new customers introduced to the restaurant during late-night happy hour. “The buzz around our late-night happy hour attracts a young and vibrant crowd that keeps great energy in the bar dining room,” he says. “This bustling activity paired with great drinks and classic comfort food creates an electric vibe that pulls walk-in traffic into what was once a sleepy corner in the neighborhood after dark.”
 

Other places tweaking the formula include The Junto, a recently-opened luxury lifestyle hotel in Columbus, OH offers a late-night poutine window, and Delilah Miami, which opened in December 2023, and its festive “supper club tradition” established at its Los Angeles and Las Vegas locations.

“We found that offering late-night dining has been an incredible experience for the restaurants and for guests, especially in a city like Miami,” said Brian Toll, co-founder/co-president of parent company The h.wood Group. “Whether guests are coming from another dinner, a sporting event, or stopping by for a nightcap and realize they're still hungry, the (late night menu) has made a drastically positive impact on our overall bottom line.”

Although the busiest nights at Delilah locations are Fridays and Saturdays, Toll notes that management has always made upgrades to ensure its late-night menu of snacks, bites, and desserts are consistently interesting and customized to the locations and the tastes of customers. “In LA and Vegas, our signature dish has always been the ‘Chicken Tenders,’” he says. “When we opened in Miami, we wanted to pay homage to the vibrant Latin culture, adding our ‘Cubano Fritters’ to the late-night menu. They quickly became the most popular item, alongside our signature Delilah Burger. The tenders, meanwhile, remain a close third in Miami.”

Delilah offers its full beverage menu until close, but recently added its “Sweet Wine" to the late-night menu as it pairs perfectly with the signature “Kendall’s Slutty Brownie” or “Chocolate Profiteroles.” Given the overwhelmingly popular response to the existing late-night menu, management is always open to adding more options, according to Toll.

Nashville's Bad Idea Chef Colby Rasavong has had a late-night menu since its late 2023 opening, available seven days a week until 12:30 a.m. Dishes are designed to pair alongside owner/beverage director Alex Burch’s wine list. However, Rasavong says that what sets this menu apart is that its dishes and drinks available only during late night are completely different from the dinner menu. The two most popular items are “The Diana,” a fried bologna sandwich made with custom sausage from Chop Shop Butchery in Asheville, NC and the “Chicken Katsu Family Meal,” served with rice and a salad. There is also a vegan dish in the works.

“Sometimes [our late-night menu] provides a nice boost after a slow dinner service,” says Rasavong. “It’s most important value, however, is that it helps us connect with the hospitality community of Nashville as a lot of our clientele work in the service industry. That said, I think the most important part of our late-night program has been consistency in our service and food quality. Guests need to know they can come in until 12:30 a.m. every single night and know what they’re coming for, especially as one of our main goals is to serve something other than a burger.” 

While weekends tend to be slightly busier, Rasavong says the team never quite knows what it may be in for, from guests arriving straight from the airport after a late flight to those coming from shows or other events around town.

The bread and butter of Hellbender, a Mexican-American restaurant-bar located in Ridgewood, Queens, is its late-night happy hour. So much so that it was recently named one of Eater NY's “Best Late Night Food in New York City.”

“We opened with the goal of serving great food a bit later than most conventional restaurants to satisfy the demands of our restaurant industry-heavy community,” affirms Chef-Partner Yara Herrera, who believes the success of unconventional dining hours require a solid reputation and business model designed. “There are nights when we have an amazing influx of guests at 10:30-11 pm that keeps the cooks busy. There are other nights where we can host a few people after their shift, but the line cooks and staff may not be fully engaged.”

Although late-night dining is busiest on Friday and Saturdays, Herrera says that the restaurant gets a nice crowd on weeknights if there is a great concert or event at one of the music venues in the area like TV Eye or Nowadays. Big sellers include “The Fried Oaxacan Cheese,” “Crispy Tilefish Sandwich,” fajitas, carnitas tacos, and its “Hibiscus Sugar Churros” dessert. While vegetarian dishes have trended nationwide, Herrera says they have always offered creative plant-based dishes to keep the menu balanced.
 

The Stuff of Legend

At Denver’s Atomic Cowboy (encompassing Denver Biscuit Co. and Fat Sully’s New York Pizza), whose late-night menu runs until 2 a.m., Director of Marketing Hallman Ray says sticking to the formula dominated by pizza and smashburgers brought in new customers while bringing back customers in 2022 after the pandemic. Having consistent late-night hours are key to sustaining late-night business, as customers will be less likely to think of a venue next time they want late-night food if the doors are shuttered.

“We have always been about simple perfection,” affirms Ray. “We are not affected by trends and try to stick to what we do best. All of our locations have a ‘slice window’ for quick grab-and-go customers. Weekends are our busiest late nights, but sporting, music and other events will bring in a later crowd on other nights.”

“The taquero had his crew making fresh tortillas, el jardin (cilantro/cebolla/limon) freshly chopped, and la asada coming fresh off the grill and straight to my plate,” he says. “At Salud Taqueria, our produce/salsas will stay fresh and grills will stay on to keep consistent quality through the evening. Music will be playing, our team will be on top of guest satisfaction, and our bartenders will keep the cocktails flowing. Guests will no longer have to opt for greasy fast food or standing outside at food trucks.”

Salud’s late-night menu served until shortly before 11 p.m. on weekdays and at 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays are also positioned to strategically build the restaurant’s brand through social media while maintaining customer loyalty. “Once we open, we will target our downtown neighborhoods and service industry folks, develop trust and relationships, and stay consistently open as the brand grows,” Méndez explains. “We will let our hospitality and consistency do the work for us, the old-fashioned way.”

Whether a restaurant bar goes the old fashioned route or down a more modern path, it’s ultimately the quality of food and service that will keep the lights on.