MENU: “If You’ve Got My Fave Fries, I’m There.”
We hear it from guests all the time. That’s because 41% of patrons go out of their way to find their favorite fry. How does your menu stack-up? To make your place a can’t miss fry destination talk to a fry expert at Lamb Weston.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Hot Sauce in Space
Space food has always been a bit of an adventure for astronauts. Not only is it hard to prep food for space flight and then eat it, apparently our taste perception also changes at higher altitudes. In fact, American astronauts crave spicy food the most while in space. Here’s an amazing clip of Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Anthony Bourdain talking space food.
Big Chicken Hits the High Seas
Carnival Cruise Line has inked a deal with basketball legend Shaquille O’Neil to bring his Big Chicken restaurant to the Carnival Radiance in 2020. Shaq is already linked to Carnival in ads where he’s dubbed the cruise’s “chief fun officer.” Shaq opened his first Big Chicken in Las Vegas this past October with plans to open additional locations in Atlanta and LA.
Buying Back YES
If you didn’t know, the NY Yankees actually don’t own YES Network (aka the Yankee Entertainment and Sports Network). It’s owned, of course, by Disney/Century Fox. However, the DoJ is making Disney sell off its regional sports networks and the Yankees are looking at buying it back – at fair market value, of course.
AVOID A NOT SO HAPPY NEW YEAR
Why it matters to you: Start planning now for the post-holiday sales slump.
The holidays are just over a week away. The boost you get from mid-November until New Year’s Eve is always a welcomed way to finish the year. Unfortunately, that run does end with the end of the year and then you are left with guests that are paying off credit card bills and tending to their New Year’s resolutions. That doesn’t mean you have to endure the sales drop without a fight. These eight strategies to help you combat the post-holiday decline are a great place to start. For example, this blog suggests that you push your post-holiday specials while you are busy during the holidays. This is exactly the strategy we have promoted for during football.
The holidays represent your last opportunity to drive traffic from your existing traffic. Other ideas in the post cover things like keeping your staff engaged and excited or offering a New Year’s Resolution dining menu. Take some healthy options and create a menu that gives those following their resolutions some great choices. It’s just plain good advice to get started now on how you will take on the consequences of the New Year sales slump. We suggest you also include your team, so they too can be a part of keeping things rolling all year long. They are your best marketers and enlisting them will give you the advantage you need to stay busy after January 1st.
[Source: FSRMagazine]
FRANCHISEE STATUS: IT’S COMPLICATED
Why it matters to you: The relationship between franchisee and franchisor is complicated to say the least.
Franchising has been a powerful business development tool in this country for the past 70+ years. The relationship between franchisee and franchisor can sometimes be contentious, as it perfectly illustrated by the fight happening at Papa John’s right now. The 1200+ franchisees of the Papa John’s concept have hired a lawyer to try to sort out whether the company is acting in good faith as they navigate the tumultuous exit of its founder, John Schnatter. You may remember Schnatter famously accused the NFL of killing their sales and later used a racial slur with the public relations company tasked with dealing with his first mistake.
The franchisees have a vested interest in the performance and success of the parent company. The typical franchise agreement requires the franchisor behave with respect to an accepted fiduciary responsibility when managing their business. This isn’t always the way these things happen and in the case of Papa John’s, the franchisees are concerned as they see continued steep sales declines (-9.8% this past quarter). They may prevail in a suit or they might just influence the franchisee’s behavior enough get them back on track. Either way, they are partners and the behavior of one can adversely or positively impact the other. For this reason, they both must be accountable to each other.
[Source: NRN]
