July 20, 2016
Today's Specials
QUIZ: ARE YOU AN OLYMPIC TRIVIA MEDALIST?
With a political crisis, the Zika virus, an epidemic of crime, and Olympic facilities still being built, the Rio Summer Olympics is going to be, well, a challenge. Challenge yourself to our Rio Quiz and see if you can get the GOLD.
THREE EMAIL HACKS
Why it’s important to you: Facebook’s new algorithm makes email THE alternative to social.
Last week we did our first Facebook Live presentation on how to replace Facebook with email as a marketing channel. Delicious irony we know, but more importantly, the three hacks we shared are important steps in better leveraging email to engage guests. The video is only a few minutes, but it will give you the first three steps in a process for insuring your emails get delivered, read and responded to by your guests. Tune in and learn what you missed.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Do You Eat Like a Democrat or a Republican?
Not sure who to vote for this November? Maybe get an inside peek into your political leanings… or your stomach’s political leanings, anyways. Time and Grubhub have teamed up to create a 10-question Internet quiz to tell you if you eat like a Democrat or a Republican. Why let your brain tell you how to vote when your stomach is easier to listen to?
* Sorry, Libertarian and Green Party voters. You’re once again left off the ballot.
Stats to Chew On
Limited-service chicken chains (like Chick fil A) saw sales grow 8.2% last year and is expected to grow another 8% in 2016. BBQ restaurants also saw a big boost last year, growing 5.5% and bringing in more than $3 billion. Full-service restaurants, however, had a tougher go than fast casuals and QSRs, growing just 4%.
SOMEONE GET THE COUNT
Why it’s important to you: Hillary Clinton’s campaign turns to Facebook Live to get their message out.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign hit Facebook Live yesterday afternoon for a four-hour live stream in which they tried naming all 5,500 lawsuits Donald Trump has been involved in (note: not necessarily as defendant or prosecutor). The stream averaged about 1.5K viewers at any given moment and was flooded by commenters on both sides of the aisle (spoiler: don’t read the comments; don’t ever read the comments). Props for the Tally Woman who absolutely killed it making check marks on the whiteboard. They don’t teach you that in college.
OLD MAN TAKE A LOOK AT MY LIFE [Song]
Why it’s important to you: Jacques Pepin is a voice of reason in a restaurant reality TV show wilderness.
Jacques Pepin isn't a fan of the "angry restaurant owner" reality trope.
Over a 60 year career you tend to learn a thing or two about the industry in which you work. Jacques Pepin took a moment to share those things in respect to how reality TV depicts our business and it couldn’t be more relevant or accurate. He was very direct in his complaints that reality TV unfairly depicts how a kitchen functions. Pepin goes so far as to call out the worst offenders as they, “insult and humiliate their crew, cursing and swearing, with every other word a bleeped expletive.”
He goes on to connect the creation of food to happiness and channels Julia Child belief that, “It is impossible to enjoy food when you're angry and tense.” Now, we understand that reality TV is anything but and totally for entertainment purposes only, but public perceptions are influenced by these misrepresentations. While none of us can fix the inaccurate understandings of how our kitchens work, at least we have Jacques Pepin to remind us we don’t have to be judged by them.
BOLDLY GO
Why it’s important to you: Is this the future?
If you are a Star Trek fan then you have always dreamed of having your own ‘replicator.’ It appears that one London eatery isn’t willing to wait until the 24th Century and are offering a unique meal experience with all elements provided via 3D printing. On July 25 the company Food Ink will open a pop-up location in Shoreditch, England where guests will dine on a nine course meal made completely by 3D printing. And they’re not stopping there. The cutlery and furniture will also be made with those devices to punctuate just the incredible flexibility of the technology.
At $330 per person, it’s clearly not for everyone, but if you want to be on the cutting edge, this will clearly be the opportunity. What it demonstrates to us in the restaurant industry is that the onslaught of new technology is anything but over. We have seen so many incredible advancements in how we manage our restaurants over the past 30 years, but that hasn’t translated into how we prepare the food. 3D printing for restaurants as a regular utility is hardly imminent, but it isn’t so far off that we shouldn’t pay attention to it.