MARKETING: Offering a Secret Menu Can Be a Fun Way to Boost Sales & Create Buzz
Secret menus can be a great way to create buzz around your restaurant. Here are some tips for building your secret menu and how to market it to hungry & inquisitive diners.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Gaming Is for Everyone
We’ve previously written how sports bars can use video game nights & tournies as a way of supplementing their typical clientele on slower nights. A common misconception about video games is that they are for a young, predominantly male audience only. That is far from the truth, as the following chart illustrates. According to the ESA, playing video games is neither a pastime for the youth nor is it male-dominated. Quite the opposite in fact: 45% of all gamers in the United States are female and the average gamer is 34 years old.
Paying with Plastic
From 1988 to 2016, China imported 171 million metric tons plastic. With a total trade value of $81 billion, that's 72% of all imported plastic waste over this time period. Despite a big push recently from some governments to reduce consumption, the scale of the world's plastic waste is huge and will remain so for some time. Until this changes, a lot of countries will have to make new plans for their disposal or, alternatively, make plans to fill the massive void in the market that's been left by China.
Hawaii Five-1
58% of U.S. citizens don't have a passport. While this may baffle some, one only needs to look at the list of destinations within the country's borders to understand why having one may not actually be such a high priority for those planning a vacation. There sure are a lot of incredible things to see, and as this new poll from Morning Consult shows, of all of the domestic vacation destinations, Hawaii is of interest to the largest share of people. Making up the top three are the iconic Grand Canyon and the beautiful Yellowstone National Park. While you’re at it, here are seven tips for marketing your restaurant to tourists!
REDDIT RESTAURANT RED FLAGS
Why it matters to you: A recent Reddit thread asked chefs and restaurant owners to list their biggest red flags.
Everyone who has ever worked in a restaurant probably has a few deal-breaking red flags that they look for when dining out. A recent Reddit thread asked any chefs, cooks, and restaurant owners to shed light on their biggest red flagsthat diners should be aware of when going out to eat. They are as follows (edited slightly for length). You can read the whole list on the Reddit but some major ones:
- Massive menus
- Empty parking lots at peak times
- Fighting among the staff
- FoH not knowing the menu
We’re glad this list is making the rounds as it gives us all a few easy and definite no-noes to ensure we aren’t practicing in our establishments. A few are super easy and obvious but others may not be to everyone. Regardless they line up with an old article we did about some of our biggest red flags we look for in a restaurant. Between these two lists we should all be red flag-less in no time!
MASS-HOLES IN RESTAURANTS WON’T GET THE FULL $15
Why it matters to you: The battle for the minimum wage increase wages on.
This past Wednesday Massachusetts legislature pushed a “grand bargain” bill through both of its chambers in an effort to keep three questions off of the November ballot. In addition to the minimum wage hike, the bill includes provisions for paid family and medical leave, and for an annual sales tax holiday. The bill would increase wages for some of the workers in Mass from $11 an hour to $15 but doesn’t do a ton for tipped-minimum wage workers, increasing from $3.75 an hour to $6.75 an hour over the next five years. This is once again leaving tipped-minimum wage workers feeling slightly left behind.
Slowly but surely, minimum wages for tipped-employees are going up across the country. Owners, operators and manager should start planning for how they’ll deal with the inevitable increase in labor costs now so they’re not scrambling later. The most common solutions talked about are slashing hours, cutting staff, increasing menu prices, or adding a service surcharge to the bill. Each have their pros & cons, so it’s important for you all to figure out how each will affect your business and make the best business decision you can. Godspeed.
