MARKETING: 3 Steps to Making Wings a Centerpiece of Your Tailgating Menu
NCAA Bowl Season is here, and while we know you’re working hard to get fans into your sports bar, many will still watch from home. That doesn’t mean you can’t cash in on their viewing experience – like what they’re eating. Here are tips for making chicken wings a tailgating menu centerpiece.
DID YOU KNOWS…
The Money Forces Behind Star Wars Movies
Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens this week and it promises to bring in big cash (per usual) to theaters. Here’s what the Star Wars franchise has looked like in terms of Production Costs vs. Global Revenue. How will The Last Jedi stack up?
What It’s Like to Work at the Most Haunted Bar in America
Working for 13 years at Memphis bar Earnestine & Hazel's, Karen Brownlee has seen it all—from poltergeist jukeboxes to floating orbs to voices from the walls that know her by name.
How a Fake Restaurant Became London's Top Spot on TripAdvisor
The Shed at Dulwich was one of the most exclusive eateries in south London for about six months — available only by reservation, the "appointment-only restaurant" could be booked for weeks in advance. Except… it never actually existed. How did that happen!?
ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST [Song]
Why it matters to you: Now Mario Batali? Will our industry learn?
As 2017 nears an end, it feels like the conversation surrounding sexual harassment in our industry is just getting started. Today it was announced that Mario Batali is going the way of John Besh and stepping away from his restaurant and food empire after accusations of sexual harassment and assault. Like the other cases, Batali leveraged his status to make unwanted advances and touch without permission. This epidemic is being exposed and we need to acknowledge that our industry has a real problem.
Take this survey done in the UK. 40% of women in the service industry claim to have been harassed at work. That two of every five women who work in our business. Only a quarter of those women report the incidents. We all certainly know five women in the biz. The survey gives a list of the myriad ways a woman (and a man) can be harassed -- from unwelcomed jokes to promises of advancement based on sexual favors. It’s time we all stood up and said enough. What are you doing to make your restaurant a safe place for your vulnerable staff to work?
MAKING IT MOBILE
Why it matters to you: Mobile payments have exploded in 2017.
Most folks in our industry acknowledge that mobile payments will be relevant eventually in full-service restaurants, but they aren’t ready themselves to make the leap. Well, 2017 is likely the last year that ignoring mobile payment will be viable.
Take the fast-casual world for example. Multiple operators have reported huge increases in their adoption of mobile payment. Starbuck’s saw 30% of payments via mobile and McDonald’s will begin 2018 with mobile order and pay in 20k locations. This is a tide that won’t be held back.
The reason fast casual is leading is based on their operational format. Order and fulfillment happen in the same place. This makes rolling out mobile easier to access by guests at a register and more streamlined. For full-service, the issues surrounding mobile payment are a bit more complex. You will need to have a tableside device to accept the various payments. It’s also no coincidence that mobile payment is rising as the EMV chip takes hold in the United States. Eventually, guests will expect you to deliver them a faster & securer way to process their payment. As guests see more of it elsewhere, they will not be comfortable with you leaving the table to process their payment.
