A $12 Cocktail Has Become the Smartest Play in the Bar Business

When Gus’ Sip & Dip opened on New Year’s Eve in Chicago in 2024, it didn’t intend to spark a revolution. Instead, the team behind it — the city’s largest restaurant group, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc. — wanted a space offering good-quality cocktails that didn’t break the bank. So it created a 30-drink list featuring classics, each costing an affordable $12.

A $12 cocktail seems surprising at a swanky boite where bartenders don crisp white jackets and the restaurant serves $23 shrimp cocktails and $26 wagyu beef dip sandwiches. But when Gus’ Sip & Dip opened, lines stretched down the street and ...