Monday, September 18. 2017
Today's Specials:
MARKETING: How to Find the Perfect Name for Your Restaurant
Setting up a new restaurant business is exciting and daunting in equal measure – there’s just so much to think about! But before you do any of the above, you need to make one very important decision: what will your restaurant be called? Choosing the right restaurant name is important and here’s why.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Pasta Party
Olive Garden’s never-ending pasta pass sold out as soon as they went on sale… literally, in one second. A staggering 22,000 people got eight weeks of bottomless pasta bowl passes for $100 each for OG’s pasta promotion. There are no limits on how often pass holders can visit, order, or stay. Now, let us pray that all 22,000 pasta lovers tip their servers.
Blue Is the New Black Coffee
Nestle is thirsty for some coffee. The food company is spending more than $400 million on a majority stake in the high-end coffee brand Blue Bottle Coffee. The Financial Times reports that Nestle is paying up to $500 million at a valuation north of $700 million, all to set pace with brands like Starbucks.
Brutally Honest Reviews
Notoriously harsh restaurant critic Pete Wells from The New York Times has a reputation for being brutally honest and somewhat comical in his reviews. Buzzfeed put together 15 of his most savage restaurant reviews, and they’re are anything but nice. See for yourself.
MARKETING MADNESS
Why it matters to you: Creating successful digital marketing for restaurants.
Marketing strategies can be challenging to work into existing restaurant operations, most often because operators are so busy. Although marketing comes with obstacles, digital promotion strategies are critical to increasing your restaurant’s revenue. In a Forbes article, marketing professionals recommend successful digital marketing strategies specifically for restaurants. Everything from the business’s website, Google Maps listing, and social media techniques are key aspects to a successful marketing strategy. In addition to tips on boosting revenue, a restaurant professional recommends best tools used in the process.
Digital marketing for restaurants is getting more and more complex with all of the channels available, and all needing specific attention. Many of the areas where marketers run into difficulties include creating and managing content for marketing emails and social media. What businesses don’t want to do is to constantly push content whether it be emails or Facebook posts. Quality over quantity is the key theme of the article, and following these tasks may seem daunting at first, however, if you focus on your guests with a strong message, you can drastically boost your bottom line.
AU CRAP!
Why it matters to you: Famous restaurant sued for allegedly withholding tip money from employees.
The restaurant industry has seen various controversies that stem from tipping and whether employees are receiving their compensation fairly. This has led to scrutiny over payment practices including tip-pooling and surcharges. Most recently, actress turned restauranteur, Jessica Biel has been sued by previous employees for withholding tip money from servers. Au Fudge, an LA-based kid-friendly restaurant, reportedly makes the majority of its money by hosting private events where customers are automatically charged a 22%gratuity. Former employees claim the restaurant pocketed and didn’t pay to servers that worked those private events.
The former employees are suing Biel and her five other co-owners for withholding gratuity charges that should have been paid to servers. The employees are seeking $430,100 in tips from the various events, plus $31,459 in missed rest breaks and $1 million in punitive damages.
Restaurant operators need to be more carafe than ever with how management handles cash flow as well as staff compensation. Potential errors in payments can lead to much larger and more expensive problems, therefore, keeping payroll under control is extremely important. As for Biel’s restaurant, the establishment claims to have attributed the “glitch” to a fired manager. We need to be cautious of how management is operating and oversee the process carefully because similar cases have occurred in other restaurants.
