Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Today's Specials:
WATCH: The History of Grog
Have you heard of grog? It's a warm rum-based cocktail that was born in the 17th century thanks to the British Navy. Curious? Find out more in under a minute.
Expert: The Future of POS is Here
The landscape of restaurant POS is rapidly transforming. See what industry expert Justin Guinn sees where POS systems are heading.
WINE IQ: Everything You Need to Know About Wine Season [Presented by Upserve]
We all love the end-result in a bottle of wine, but how exactly does this magic work that turns these grapes into the delicious wine you serve to your guests? The steps may vary and use different techniques and technology depending on the wine maker’s vision, the type of wine, or the terroir. Nearly every wine goes through these 5 basic steps in some way shape or form to get from the vine into wine.
DID YOU KNOWS…
What Does Cheetos & Kanye Pizza Have in Common?
They’re both orange(ish) and overpriced. To start, a Sacramento restaurant has named a pizza for Kanye. The “Yeezy” pizza is made of mortadella and mac ‘n’ cheese, and is described as “cheesy, full of baloney and overpriced… just like Kanye.”
Unrelated is a Cheetos-branded bronzer. It’s dubbed Colour de Cheetos and goes for $20,000. There’s even video of models getting their “Chester on” and catwalking in cheetah onesies.
INFOGRAPHIC: Black Friday? Most Holiday Shopping Happens in December
As soon as they finish digesting their Thanksgiving feasts, many Americans will head out for a mammoth shopping splurge. The National Retail Federation recently reported that an estimated 137.4 million people are considering getting a head start on their holiday shopping over the course of this year’s Thanksgiving weekend. According to Deloitte, however, the vast majority of holiday shopping still happens in December.
The Dow’s New Record
The Dow stock market broke the 19,000 plateau for the first time in 120 years. The market didn’t stay that high, however, but is still up nearly 20 points in the session (as of the time this was written).
GOOGLE TO THE HOLIDAY WAIT RESCUE
Why it matters to you: Place-based technology is continuing to evolve and it’s making Google even more relevant to restaurants
When Google added Popular Times to their search and maps programming last year, consumers could see when a restaurant, mall or other retailers, were traditionally at their busiest. For this holiday season they have added the enhancement of real time data on how long people are staying at the mall and how many of them are there. Think of it as Waze for the retail shopper. This marks the continued evolution of Google place based technologies. Think about it…you can now see how long it might take to get in and out of your favorite spots and when they are their busiest from the holiday rush. It will help with planning and insure you don’t needlessly wait when you can organize to avoid it. For restaurants this means, your guests may come earlier knowing that your place is busy. Another example of resources available to support the new on-demand consumer trends.
BAD NEWS FOR RESTAURANTS! FAKE OR NOT
Why it matters to you: Your profile is high in your community and therefore your exposure to fake news and the bad behavior of others is also high.
We, no doubt, are seeing a pivotal time in American history and culture. It also appears that restaurants are smack dab in the middle of it all. In separate stories, one true and one fake, operators are central to hateful behavior and accusations. For example, last Friday the openly white supremacist group, called the National Policy institute, dined Maggiano’s Little Italy in Chevy Chase Maryland. During that meal Tila Tequile, the reality/porn star, posted a pic of her and two men giving the Nazi salute with the caption “Seig Heil”. The post exploded on Twitter and the restaurant was challenged as to why they hosted this racist group. They claim they were not aware of who they were and have apologized. However the damage was done. To their credit they have donated the proceeds from that night’s revenue to an anti-discrimination group and distanced themselves from it.
Then there is the story of Comet Ping Pong, a DC restaurant, which was the victim of a fake news story accusing them of trafficking in children. What? Yes, in the wake of the most recent Wikileaks release an email from John Podesta to the restaurant owner James Alefantis about a Clinton fundraiser was extrapolated into a fake story about child trafficking ring out of the location. The owner noticed a spike in Instagram followers and then started to receive death threats among other consequences. It’s a horrible story that will convince you that not all PR is good PR. Let’s face it, we are targets in the public eye, easily identifiable and fairly anonymous. So, when someone misbehaves and we are involved(even unwittingly) we pay the price. There isn’t much you can do prevent it, but how you respond afterwards makes all the difference in the world.
HOW TO MAKE IT, MARKETING TIPS
Why it matters to you: You’re never too old to employ new tricks.
If you’re a new restaurant this article from entrepreneur might be just for you. There are tons of marketing tips and tricks, but the number one rule, word of mouth is the best advertisement. The full list includes promoting with social media, making sure you have a website and always looking out for the next promotional opportunity. Even if you aren’t a new restaurant, give the list a look for some interesting insights.
SCREWING UP THE SCHEDULE
Why it matters to you: Make sure your managers aren’t up to no good.
A Tucson, Arizona restaurant manager has been indicted for soliciting sex from female teenage employees for better shifts. The claims against the manager, named John Shirey, include covering his offices’ security camera with post-it notes, having sex in the restaurants booths and telling employees to lie to their parents in order to take part in overnight sexual interactions.
One of Shirey’s victims is now in counseling and has had to move and change schools because of the harassment. We are appalled at this story and know that stories like this aren’t that unusual. As an owner and operator it behooves you to make sure your restaurant or bar is a safe place for all employees. Make sure your employees aren’t using a position of power to take advantage of those who aren’t.