September 9, 2016
Today's Specials:
If Only Every Bar Confrontation Was Like This [How Hollywood Sees Us]
Wouldn’t it be great if every confrontation we saw in our bars was between dueling intellects? If only the real world was as lucky as this 'Hahvahd Bah' from Good Will Hunting.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Primetime, Baby!
MLS is hitting the big time. The MLS Cup Final will be aired on Fox during primetime this year. The game will air on Saturday night on December 10th at 8pm ET on the main Fox broadcast network. The game will also be available on UniMas, TSN, and RDS.
Who’s #1?
Craft beer continues to grow in America, but a few states seem to be wearing the craft brew crown. Here’s a cool infographic map showing which states have the most craft breweries per capita.
Energize!
Be still our nerdy hearts. ThinkGeek has teamed up with Star Trek to create a Star Trek TNG Bluetooth ComBadge. Now Trekkers everywhere can make hands-free calling -- just like in the show. The ComBadge also controls play/pause of your music and can access Siri/Google Now. And, of course, it also makes the classic chirp noise. SHUTUP AND TAKE OUR MONEY!
BIGOTRY NOT WELCOME
Why it matters to you: Social media can be a platform for standing up to bullies.
Hell’s Kitchen Minneapolis wrote an open letter on Facebook in response to an unsavory review left on Google, which had nothing to do with their food or service. Eric, the reviewer wrote, “too many gay people.” To which the restaurant’s staff basically said, “Don’t come back.”
The Facebook post pointed out that the staff calls the establishment home and as such, they work to provide an environment that is safe and welcoming to everyone. After Hell’s Kitchen wrote their response, they learned from the media that the reviewer removed the comment and regretted his actions. If only all internet trolls could learn this lesson.
OH CHIPOTLE! DAD HUMOR?
Why it’s important to you: Chipotle’s recent tweet went the kind of viral that requires penicillin and not in a good way.
Fresh off a huge new investor coming on board, Chipotle decided to stir it up with an “edgy” tweet on Wednesday that certainly had people responding. When @ChipotleTweets posted the question “How many burritos?” with the graphic showing poll choices of only 69 or 420, one wonders what they thought would happen. Well, they found out pretty quickly as they got flamed on Twitter and mostly from their intended audience of millennial men. You can check out the tweet and some responses here.
This, of course, was immediately followed by activist investor Bill Ackman, of Pershing Square Capital Management, announcing a $1.2 billion buy for 9.9% of the company. Ackman is an active participant in the companies he chooses to invest and will likely see to changes at the struggling burrito chain. It’s unlikely an errant tweet will catch his attention, although it’s been shared over 1700 times. The lesson is, never say anything in public you wouldn’t want your mom (or a big investor) to hear andyou’ll probably be ok. However, if you were looking for attention and you are Chipotle, you’re just happy it wasn’t about food safety, insider trading, sexual harassment, wage stealing…..you get the picture.
‘MEAT’ THE NEW BOSS [Song]
Why it’s important to you: Lab-grown meat is only one of many food technologies that aren’t digital but are coming to a restaurant near you
Have you heard? Mad scientists have fairly perfected how to grow honest to goodness meat in a lab. That’s right, a burger that cooks like a burger, looks like a burger and tastes like a burger, but is made entirely from plant-based proteins is now being sold in grocery stores around the country. Beyond Meat and Memphis Meats are both producing variations on this theme. The problem is consumers are skeptical about anything grown in a lab. Of course, consumers don’t think about the chaos, pain and horrific conditions most food supply meat endures, but are totally creeped out by ‘lab grown’ meat.
In an effort to make it more palatable the Good Food Institute, a newly established non-profit, it spearheading an effort to rebrand lab grown meat as ‘clean’ meat. The argument is people are influenced by their expectations of what food will taste like by the name. “Why not call broccoli “broccoli bites” or carrots “X-ray vision carrots?”, is the question the Good Food Institute is asking. And a great question it is for operators to ponder. We know at The Rail if we name our email well, more of you open them. So, it stands to reason if you name your menu with flavor descriptors you will engage guests at their palate as well as their hunger.