MARKETING: The Tabletop: Your Restaurant’s Most Effective Place to Mark
The table is one of the most versatile tools at a restaurant’s disposal. Of course, it serves as the hub for your guests’ dining experience, but if you are not also using it as a marketing device, you are severely underutilizing valuable real estate. Though space is limited, with a little care and ingenuity there is certainly enough room for your diners to eat & drink comfortably while simultaneously consuming your promotional efforts.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Life Expectancy Killer
Across the globe, the average person is losing 1.8 years of life expectancy due to particulate pollution exceeding the WHO's guideline and that's worse than first-hand cigarette smoke, alcohol, HIV/AIDS and conflict. Researchers add that if the current state of particulate pollution persists, the global population will lose a total of 12.8 billion years of life.
Amazon Bids for Fox RSNs
We’ve been keeping tabs on the Fox RSN sale as it’s required for Disney to consume the other Fox assets it’s purchasing. A bunch of different groups are vying for the RSNs, including Amazon. The mega-corp is reportedly specifically interested in the YES Network, which the Yankees organization is hoping to buyback from Fox.
Naked Apology
An Arizona man invaded a neighbor’s house butt naked, attacking a teenager and adult woman and smashing a “large section of drywall” before fleeing to his own residence. He was later apprehended by police. He later sent a fruit basket as an apology, breaking the injunction against harassment a judge issue him. Oops!
LETHALLY LEAFY
Why it matters to you: The CDC recommends you stop serving romaine…really? Nah, that won’t be a problem. ;-)
For any operator that doesn’t use lettuce on their menu, especially romaine, you can stop reading now… Hmm, seems everyone is still reading, so clearly this outbreak of E.Coli in the favorite leafy green is impacting everyone. It also feels like these outbreaks are coming faster and more furious these days. That’s why this well researched blog on the status of this outbreak and other food safety issues is a must read. Questions like, “why does it seem like foodborne illnesses are occurring more frequently?” and “which foodborne illnesses are Americans most at risk for?” are incredibly relevant right about now. The conclusions are alarming, but not unmanageable.
The number one foodborne illness remains our old friend the norovirus, but it’s got some competition in salmonella and campylobacter. The more you know, the better you can cope with these food safety killers. You need only look at the experience Chipotle has endured as a result of their struggles with foodborne illness, for some guidance on how not to manage it.
Start by reviewing your own handling of raw foods like produce and meats. Are they under refrigeration at all times before service? Are they being handled correctly by your vendors before you receive them? These questions and many others haunt operators, but that doesn’t mean you can make it better. It takes discipline and consistency, but with those you will mitigate and combat the scourge that is foodborne illness in our industry.
[Source: Eater]
MAKE YOUR BUSINESS EVENTFUL
Why it matters to you: Big events near you can drive your business or kill it.
If you are location is near a stadium, civic center, convention facility or other big event venue, then you know the joys and perils of big events. They can be amazing revenue generators, but they are also colossally disruptive to your regular operations. The key to succeeding is to be tuned to the venue’s schedule to ensure you aren’t surprised by events. In fact, most of these large venues value your proximity to them as much as you do theirs to you. Reach out to the venue or even operator and make yourself their friend. Anything you can do to connect to them will inure to you benefit. By being an insider, you get insider insights that will make you better prepared for their events and might even drive you some additional business.
A restaurant I previously operated was next to the New England States Fairgrounds. This 17-day event almost completely closed my business. As a way to mitigate it, we became connected with the fair operators via our local Chamber of Commerce. Eventually, we convinced them we should cater their executive events center. This meant we were incredibly busy during the fair, instead of having a heart attack as the fair bled our restaurant traffic dry.
[Source: RestaurantBusinessOnline]
