Owned and operated by Master Sommelier, Laura Maniec, Corkbuzz Union Square opened its doors in 2011. It is the flagship location in Laura’s series of wine-centric restaurants and focuses on serving an ever-evolving seasonal menu built to pair with wines from all over the world. The location has become a local hot spot for sommeliers, chefs, and casual wine lovers alike.
How BinWise Has Helped Corkbuzz Over The Years
As the Wine Director at their largest location, Ryan Totman needs a technology that does more than just inventory. In Ryan’s own words, “BinWise is exceptional and extremely helpful. I use it for everything — from inventory, reports and analytics, to purchasing as well.”
At Corkbuzz, the beverage program carries more than 3000 bottles and the inventory needs to be done once a week. It is really important for Ryan to get this process done quickly and accurately, especially since he is the only person that takes inventory most of the time. And that’s why Ryan trusts BinWise to do the job. “With BinWise, I can take the inventory in less than five hours and complete it with zero mistakes,” he shares.
In addition to that, it is crucial for a Wine Director like Ryan to always be in the know of every item’s variance, pour cost, inventory usage, cost of goods sold, etc. Keeping track of these numbers manually is too time-consuming and almost impossible for an inventory of more than 3000 bottles like Corkbuzz. With BinWise, the system automatically generates extensive reports that ultimately help him make smart business decisions.
For example, Ryan checks on historical information of every bottle regularly to watch out for pricing changes to avoid overspending and under-stocking. With Smartview and Variance Report, these numbers are always available at his fingertips. He always knows exactly what the restaurant has sold and for how much, or what he has on hand currently. This makes it easy for him to dial in his cost percentages and minimize shrinkage from spillage, breakage, and over pouring.
When talking about the partnership between Corkbuzz and BinWise, Laura Maniec, the founder and owner of Corkbuzz, notes why she fully trusts the system, "Sure there’s new technology out there, but BinWise was created by sommeliers who understand what it takes to manage a beverage program, and their support staff are wine professionals with industry experience."
As of today, BinWise has also been adopted by other locations of Corkbuzz, both in Chelsea Market and Charlotte, North Carolina.