Liquor sales up at stores but slower at bars

Honolulu likes to drink, but these days it's more likely to be in the backyard than at the neighborhood bar.
Liquor sales on Oahu topped $550 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, up nearly 3 percent from $535 million the previous year, according to the latest figures from the Honolulu Liquor Commission.
Total sales have steadily increased in the last four years, up 29 percent since 2003.
The biggest jump was in retail sales, up 6 percent from $212.8 million in 2006 to $225.6 million this year.
Restaurant liquor sales were up only a half-percent to $127 million. Bars with a general dispenser license were up 2 percent to $87.7 million.
Bars with a cabaret license enabling them to stay open until 4 a.m., typically hostess bars, saw sales slide 6 percent to $34 million, the lowest level in at least five years.
Hotel sales were up 2 percent, reflecting the softening of the tourism business. Tour and cruise vessel sales dipped 9 percent.
Most attribute the health of the liquor business to the strength of the local economy. Even as tourism has slowed, local jobs are plentiful and consumer spending appears to be unrestrained, especially at discount stores like Costco and Wal-Mart that offer expansive selections of beer, wine and liquor.
But even with more entertaining at home, most bar owners and restaurateurs say they are having a strong year with word of mouth bringing in more customers.
"Everything's up," said David Stewart, owner of Bar 35, Du Vin and Indigo Eurasian Cuisine in downtown Honolulu.
"The properties are just maturing, the consistent product is getting better known because we keep them current and people just seem to like coming."
Club owner Liz Watanabe of The O Lounge said Honolulu's nightlife and bar scene is drawing in more people.
Dozens of new bars and clubs have opened in neighborhoods across the city in recent years, including Chinatown, Kakaako and Kaimuki.
"The entertainment industry will always be strong here because there's really nothing else more to do and I really wish we could get a lot more cultural activities down here where people have more [options] as opposed to just going out and grabbing a drink," she said.
One challenge is that the scene now is very promoter-centric, meaning event producers and promoters have become increasingly important to drawing in crowds, Watanabe said.
"I've noticed that this industry is such a promoter-based industry where you have these little cliques that follow where the promoters go," she said.
"Before you could call a radio station, run a couple of ads, but it has gotten much more difficult because the crowd has thinned out and even restaurants are getting into the club thing now. It does make it tougher to stay on top, but sales haven't slumped."
Some bar owners eagerly awaited the sales results to establish a link between receipts and the impact of Hawaii's year-old smoking ban.
Some say the smoking ban has hurt business in neighborhood bars and especially in Waikiki, where some Japanese visitors are put off by the ban.
Sandra Miano, who owns Cabanas and Nashville Waikiki, said the smoking ban is responsible for a 30 percent decline in revenue at her bars in the past year.
"It started right after Nov. 16 [2006] and it was like someone dropped a curtain and all of sudden we're losing all this business when in the 13 years we've been in business, it has always increased," she said. "Obviously, it's very upsetting and it's devastating not just to us but the state's economy."
But Stewart said he hasn't seen a downturn related to the ban.
"It hasn't had any effect and people start policing through peer pressure," he said.
"The general consensus has been even more so that people don't want to be in a smelly place even if they have a smelly habit."