RESTAURANT MEMES: Culinary school in restaurant kitchens and 10 Things that require Zero Talent.
This week's restaurant memes: Window’s Recommendations, People who’ve Never Worked in Restaurants, Covering Shifts that you don’t want to, a hilarious new HR Policy, and more!
DID YOU KNOWS…
Lunar Cycle Wine?
The Gwyneth Paltrow effect is real. Americans are paying more attention than ever to organic and biodynamic products. Biodynamics, a moon-centric science whose adherents coordinate agricultural efforts with the lunar cycle, is now gaining popularity within the wine community. VinePair decided to put this “science” to the test and see if it’s legit. TL;DR: Nope.
Inside the Madness
Facebook Watch is added to its sports programming, including a new 10-part series called Inside the Madness which follow’s the University of Kentucky’s basketball team throughout the 2017-2018 season. The first episode will air on February 17 and will run through the end of March. This is a must show for any Kentucky bars.
Laptops Not Allowed
A UK café is saying no to laptops. Dough Lover has hung up a sign that says “This Is a Laptop Free Zone” with a dead-looking laptop. The café has also dropped WiFi from its offerings to guests (that’s like 50% of the draw to a café nowadays). The café owner is trying to “revive the art of hospitality” and get people paying attention to their surroundings again. Has she heard of this thing called smartphones, though?
BRINGING ‘EM IN FROM THE COLD
Why it matters to you: In the cold weather restaurants seek a way to bring diners in from the cold.
If you are living in a winter climate, the you know it’s a definite harsh reality. Freezing temperatures, snow piling up constantly, ice, it really is not a pleasant time to exist. Being based in New England we know this all too well, that’s why we wanted to discuss some ways to attempt to get people out of their warm and cozy houses and into your (hopefully) warm and cozy restaurants! A nostalgia play is an excellent choice in this season. Offering dishes that people remember their parents making them during the winter, when they were kids, is a very solid call. You can run them as a special or incorporate on your winter menu. Something like a slightly gussied up mac & cheese, grilled cheeses with tomato soup, meatloaf, maybe some sort of stew or pot roast. Anything that reminds people of warm home cooking is sure to entice cold passersby.
Another tactic that can relate to the nostalgic menu items would be to highlight soups. What is better when you come in from the freezing cold than a nice hearty bowl of piping hot soup? According to a survey by Technomic 75% of customers are more likely to buy it when it is cold outside and, considering winter can drag on for some time, having some options on the menu is a sure shot! Nostalgia is a very powerful emotion so if you take the right steps this winter you can succeed with ease.
SHAKE SHACK’S PLANS FOR EXPANSION AREN’T SHAKEY
Why it matters to you: Shake Shack is taking a slow and deliberate approach towards its’ future growth.
The fast food world moves at lightning speed, building new restaurants, closing less successful ones, and moving on. The good food fast world…not so much the same pace. Take In-N-Out for example, they will only expand within 300 miles of the company’s distribution facilities to ensure quality control (and because there are no freezers or microwaves in their restaurants). This method also ensures that their business has a certain exclusivity that their fans clearly appreciate. For as long as we can remember, In-N-Out was a part of any of our friends’ Los Angeles trips. They’d (formerly) rave about it and now it’s an almost guaranteed Instagram post to rub it in. Shake Shack is seemingly trying to follow a similar model with their growth.
The slow and thoughtful expansion is a much safer way to ensure success, no move could be considered hasty and their existing customers don’t pay for a lack of focus on existing Shake Shacks. They’ve also been testing delivery which, at this point, is a must for any fast food-type of restaurant. If you don’t deliver better believe someone similar does and the consumer will find them so best capitalize before someone else does!
