September 13, 2016
Today's Specials:
FANDUEL’S ‘OUT OF THE BOX’ FANTASY PROMOTION AT NO COST
Why it’s important to you: Small Group and independent operators can leverage this promotion from a nationally recognized brand just like the big chains do…and win with fantasy sports
FanDuel and SportsTV Guide have teamed up to answer the question, “How do I make fantasy sports work for my business?”. FanDuel is offering an amazing season long promo surrounding Daily Fantasy that solves several problems at once. To start, FanDuel delivers an ‘out of the box’ promotion that is simple to implement and speaks directly to your core audience. Then, by engaging your guests where they are, you can encourage them to be more loyal, spend more money and support your business. Click here to register for this no cost promotion.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT MOBILE PAYMENT? [Rail Poll]
Did you catch the guy who held up a sign behind ESPN’s College Gameday beseeching his mom to send him beer money via Venmo? Wel,l it turns out 3000 folks have answered the call and made a mobile payment to support a college students beer habit. This story shows the ease with which mobile payments can be made. Why is that so few full-service restaurants have adopted a mobile payment system? We need your help to understand, please answer our quick poll. We promise we will reward you with a cool infographic explaining what the Citizens of The Rail think about mobile payments.
DID YOU KNOWS…
“Hi Mom! Send Beer Money!”
A college student just got 3,000 people to send him beer money via the mobile payment app Venmo after holding up this sign that says “HI MOM! SEND BEER MONEY!” along with his Venmo handle on ESPN’s College Gameday broadcast. Venmo wouldn’t say how much money the kid raised, but it’s gotta be at least $3,000. That’s a lot of beer money and shows the power of mobile payment.
Are your fans the drunkest?
Football fans love to boast about how much they drink, but which ones are truly the drunkest of them all? Find out in this amazing infographic from VinePair.
Dog-gone adorable
Puppies grow up fast. Real fast. To document it, Imgur user Bengemm uploaded a series of photos of his German Shepherd puppy sitting next to a Sriracha hot sauce bottle for size reference. Incidentally, we get an idea of just how much hot sauce this owner uses.
NOT SO SWEET SUGAR STUDY
Why it’s important to you: Looks like chicken wings aren’t so bad for you after all
You’ve heard plenty about ‘pay to play’ arrangements during this year’s presidential election cycle. You know, stories like the Clinton Foundations pay for meetings approach and the Florida Attorney General’s abandoning of a suit against Trump University after calling the man himself for a donation. Well, a researcher from the University of California, San Francisco has combed public archives and released a report indicating that the Sugar Industry made payments to Harvard nutritional professors to vilify fat over sugar.
In fact, studies at the time had found sugar to be more indicative of heart disease than fat. This prompted the Sugar industry to commission Project 226, a literature review written by researchers at the Harvard University School of Public Nutrition Department, which concluded there was “no doubt” that the only dietary intervention required to prevent coronary heart disease was to reduce dietary cholesterol and substitute polyunsaturated fat for saturated fat in the American diet. To say this is a scandal on a scale with Big Tobacco is an understatement. How many lives were directly affected by these bogus assertions? As this story grows, you can be assured it will impact the menu mix in our industry and shift people’s attitude about sweet versus rich. Keep your eyes open, this is gonna be a big deal.
NORTH ‘CAROLINA ON MY MIND’ [Song]
Why it’s important to you: When politics impedes your sales, it’s your business
Did you hear that? That’s the sound of the other shoe dropping, as yesterday the NCAA has announced the relocation of 7 future championships due to North Carolina’s anti-LGBT law, HB2. In a statement made late Monday, the NCAA pointed directly to the NC HB2 rule as the only state-wide ban on bathroom use by LGBT individuals. The NCAA went further by citing the additional provisions of HB2 that protect government officials that refuse services to the LGBT community (think Tennessee’s Kim Davis) and invalidating any local laws that provide discrimination protections.
As you may remember, the NBA already pulled the 2017 All-Star game from Charlotte…and with Michael Jordan’s blessing we will have you know. Also many other states have banned non-essential travel to North Carolina due to their opposition to the law. This really is a tragedy for the operators in our industry who had benefited from these events and plan their businesses to accommodate them.
NOSTALGIC FAVORITES ARE ON THE RISE
Why this matters to you: What can you learn from two success stories?
While many restaurant chains are scaling back and seeing sales plateau, a few nostalgic favorites are slowly growing. Benihana’s the Japanese open kitchen concept is expanding to a super-premium and enormous spot in Chicago on the first floor of the John Hancock Tower. Likewise, Friendly’s, is also expanding. Despite declaring bankruptcy five years ago, they’re adding a few new locations in New England and New York.
So what sets Benihana’s and Friendly’s apart? For one, a growing trend of wanting to know what food and ingredients are entering your meal fits well with the Benihana experience of having your food cooked in front of you. On the opposite end of the spectrum, comfort foods and American classics are trending right now, which is the mainstay of Friendly’s. In a way, these two chains are capitalizing on their already established brand, perhaps you can too.