Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Today's Specials:
MARKETING: Help Us Plan the Next 'Football Marketing Bootcamp.'
It's never too early for sports bars to plan for football season. Let us know what topics we should cover in this year's Football Marketing Bootcamp!
DID YOU KNOWs…
Restaurants Go Green
In honor of Earth Day last weekend, over 70 restaurants partnered with nonprofit ZeroFoodprint and committed to a day of carbon-neutral dining. Participating restaurants donated $1 from every cover to offset carbon emission created during food production.
“Where’s The Pizza?”
An Australian man discovered that Google Maps had mistakenly labeled his home as a pop-up pizza restaurant that occasionally operates near his area. He said to ABC Radio that he’d lost count of how many people continuously knocked on his door looking for pizza. #Pizzaprobs
Red-Rum
In case you were looking to channel your inner pirate, VinePair gave us 9 classic rum cocktails everyone should know how to make. On the list, you’ll find the rum essentials from a Dark N’ Stormy to Mule mashups. Is it too early to start drinking?
PREVENTING FOOD POISONING
Why it matters to you: here are the latest germs that could be a danger to your guests.
Working in restaurants, we’re always challenged by new dangers in food safety. The U.S. government has issued their latest update with foods that could potentially be dangerous. A germ called campylobacter has been linked to multiple food poisoning cases in the country and is most often found in eggs, raw milk, and sometimes in unwashed produce. The germ has been found to cause more food poisoning cases than salmonella. Other note-worthy germs that were prominent include Listeria, Shigella, and E. Coli. This year’s report used advanced technology used by the CDC (Center for Disease Control), which tests more than 20 types of bacteria and found campylobacter to be most common.
Fortunately for us, food poisoning cases overall are not getting any more common, but they aren’t decreasing. According to the CDC, around 3,000 people die every year from food poisoning cases across the country. With the previous outbreaks that top chains have seen within the decade including Chipotle and Taco Bell, it is extremely important to be aware of all potential dangerous in our food. As ways to prevent possible food contamination, weekly meetings with the head chef are crucial to ensure produce is washed thoroughly and that meat is cooked at the proper temperature. As restaurant operators, it is our job to keep our guests safe. Click here to learn more about preventing Campylobacter.
FAILING FAST CAUSAL
Why it matters to you: these chains have had challenges incorporating a fast casual concept.
The fast casual dining concept has been storming through the restaurant industry. We’ve mentioned before that customers are beginning to look for dining options that are “a step up” from fast food that offers fresher, healthier ingredients that are served quickly. As the top chains attempt to crack the code on how to be successful with switching to a new fast-casual approach, not all succeed their first try. The Motley Fool compared a range of food chains and their approach to the fast casual concept and where they succeeded and failed with regard to their sales. Although many customers are more driven toward fast casual, the switch requires strong customer loyalty however not all loyal customers may not like change.
Half of the top four fast casual chains are in the better burger segment, while the other half are in sandwiches. The main goal is to understand your audience, what has been even more difficult is anticipating where their priorities lie and catering to their needs. Many of the fast-casual diners prefer cheaper menu options whereas other are looking for quality and a short wait-time. At first incorporating all of the aspects will be overwhelming, therefore it makes sense to start small and track what is working with existing customers.
