Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Today's Specials:
SPONSORED: Game Day Over Everything College Football Promotion [Sponsored by Frank’s RedHot]
Help spice up food and beverage sales, and encourage higher-than-average check rings and profits by offering patrons a trip to the College Football Championship -- not to mention tons of other great prizes. To participate, sign up to become a Frank’s RedHot King of Wings.
MARKETING: 3 Tips to Building Sports Bar Promotions that Work
Where would you rather go — a sports bar with a lot of TVs and a decent atmosphere? Or a sports bar with a killer atmosphere, a lot of TVs, and a chance to win something? Here are key lessons on bar and restaurant promotions straight from real restaurants and bars.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Netflix Gets You High
Netflix has announced a promotional gig for its new show that will involve developing and selling strains of marijuana in a popup weed shop in West Hollywood. Netflix’s upcoming series Disjointed is about a woman opening a marijuana dispensary will be channeled in the popup available to those with a valid med card. Talk about Netflix and chill.
From Bullet Holes to Viral Meme
Last month we featured a story about a Brooklyn restaurant under fire for promoting a fake bullet hole ridden wall as decoration. Now, a town meeting photo has become a viral meme as it shows the owner explaining why she wants to keep the bullet hole wall, while people in the audience make priceless reactions to her speech. Take a look for yourself.
Signing for Coffee
As a collective effort to better support their deaf employees, Starbucks has introduced sign language aprons to help customers communicate with hearing-impaired staff. In a statement, Starbucks said their new ALS graphic aprons “serve as both a visual cue for customers and a point of Deaf cultural pride.”
TRAGEDY IN CHARLESTOWN
Why it matters to you: The tragedy in Charleston, SC has restaurants analyzing their existing operations.
Restaurants sometimes experience employee-employer hostility, but rarely does the situation turn violent. Last Thursday, a “disgruntled former employee” in Charleston restaurant called Virginia’s on King killed a former co-worker and held customers inside hostage for several hours before being shot by police. While the investigation is still ongoing, it was reported that the individual was a fired dishwasher who returned to the restaurant and shot a chef for revenge. The Charleston restaurant community has offered help and support in the wake of the tragedy. Many establishments within proximity shut down for the night and “stood in the streets in solidarity.”
According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics analysis of 2010 data, 15% of workplace homicides involving guns occur in the leisure-and-hospitality sector. It’s the third leading industry for fatal shootings, following the retail trade and government. This is important information for restaurant operators to keep in mind as we notice workplace hostility. It can be difficult to keep staff on the same page, however, multiple strategies are available to help in creating a healthy work environment. As the information about the tragedy in Charleston unfolds, restaurants have rallied behind the establishment and shown support in the wake of the tragedy.
Here are seven ways you can prevent gun violence in your bar and restaurants.
MAKING THE MINIMUM WAGE WORK FOR YOU
Why it matters to you: Sometimes doing the right things is good for business.
If you haven’t heard, St. Louis, MO passed a city-wide minimum wage increase from $7.70/hour to $10/hour, only to have the state legislature strike it down. At the same time, the governor of Illinois blocked a similar statewide initiative to increase the minimum wage. All this contention surrounding the minimum wage doesn’t really seem grounded in reality for most of the operators we support. How many of you can find the people you need to operate your business for under $10/hour? Sure, there are some positions you can fill like server, food runner or busser at that level, but in general, the minimum wage has lost relevance to full-service operators recruiting in a historically low unemployment era.
That’s why we suggest you follow the lead of these operators in St. Louis who are promoting their support for low wage workers. If your pay average is above $10/hour (provided you are allowed tip credit for servers & bartenders), then tell people. Mark your business as friendly to those workers that are at the low end of the economic ladder. This will tell potential employees and the community that your establishment is a respectful place to work at and that your values include supporting the vulnerable in our society. You are already paying for labor, so make it work for you in as many ways as possible.
Hero image courtesy of Twitter