MARKETING: 3 Hurdles for Sports Bars Marketing the NFL [Plus NFL TV Schedule Download]
It used to be that the NFL would market itself for sports bars, but that’s not always the case anymore. With the piling controversies and a shifting demographics, sports bars need to be a little more proactive in getting butts in their seats for kickoff. Here are three hurdles for operators and tips for getting over them cleanly.
The post also has a free download of the NFL TV’s schedule.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Vegans & Vegetarians: Young & Generally Not Wealthy
The poll found that fewer than 1 in 10 Americans adheres to one of those diets with 5% of people saying they are vegetarian and 3% saying they are vegan. The following infographic takes a closer look at the poll's findings to see just who the country's vegans and vegetarians are. Both diets are more common among younger eaters with 7% of people aged 18-29 saying they are vegetarian while 3% say they are vegan. In the 30-49 age-bracket, 8% are vegetarian while 4% are vegan. Those figures fall drastically to 3% and 2% respectively among over 65s.
U.S. Brewery Growth
Back in 1873, the US boasted 4,144 breweries, a number that fell drastically by the middle of the 20th century. After Prohibition, the brewery count grew extremely slowly and as recently as the 1970s, the country had fewer than 100 functional breweries. 1978 was particularly poor with the count falling to just 89. Amid the craft beer explosion, such a low number is unthinkable now. These days, the bitter taste in drinkers' mouths has become far milder with a near infinite number of beers to choose from. According to the Brewers Association, the brewery count has grown spectacularly over the past 10 years. In 2006, the U.S. had 1,460 of them and by 2016, the count had skyrocketed to 5,301. Broken down, 186 of those were regional craft breweries, 3,132 were microbreweries, 1,916 were brewpubs and 67 were non-craft.
States with the Most Wineries
Any idea how many wineries exist in your state? You might actually be surprised by the number. This map ranks & lists how many wineries can be found in each of the US’s 50 states. And yes, California is number one… sorry if that’s a spoiler for y’all.
NAZI PUNKS F**K OFF
Why it matters to you: A Washington D.C. restaurant has free popcorn, except if you are a Nazi.
We live in some truly divisive times in many ways; our highly controversial president, the far-right having a highly publicized (albeit small) resurgence, immigration speeches by a man eating at Mexican restaurants just prior (can’t make this stuff up), Sacha Baron Cohen exposing politicians left and right, and more (we all know we could keep going).
With all of that said we have seen some restaurants begin to take stands against certain issues. First The Red Hen and now Kingfisher in D.C. -- along with several other establishments --took a stand against the white supremacists ahead of their (now passed) “Unite the Right 2” rally. Restaurants put out signs that had some strong opinions of the Nazis and supremacists showing up at their door. In 2017 The Washingtonian reported that restaurants can turn away white nationalists and other “fringe ideological groups” legally and it seems that our brothers and sisters in D.C. are exercising their rights when it truly matters. We love it.
So, what do any of us do if faced with potential customers from a rally like this? The exact same thing D.C. restaurants did -- ban them. Fly the flag in support of your fellow people and ban these types before they can even come in. Sure, this should all go without saying but as a very diverse industry we have to support each other while standing against these jerks. Write it on your sidewalk sign, post on your social media, anything to make it crystal clear that we are not here for people like that.
[Source: Washington City Paper]
IT DOESN’T HAVE TO GET PHYSICAL…
Why it matters to you: We all know or have read about bad behavior in restaurants, but what hasn’t yet been properly addressed is, the more-prevalent, bad verbal behavior.
Harassment and bad behavior in the kitchen comes in many, many forms. From employees physically & sexually harassing or assaulting each other to people drinking or doing drugs on the job, to verbal harassment. We see it far too often to the point where it semi desensitized us as an industry -- until very recently when dozens of brave souls began to take a stand against this abhorrent behavior prevalent among several high profile chefs and restauranteurs. So, are we in the clear? Not even close. A more prevalent issue is the “locker room talk”, verbal abuse, and bullying that happens in restaurants daily.
We need to realize as an industry that, even though it has been the case for decades, the old way of doing things in the kitchen is extremely flawed and an industry that doesn’t evolve and progress will have lots of trouble surviving. If we continue letting the new kids be bullied or the line cooks loudly comment on the new servers’ ass in her uniform, or people be screamed at for minimal mistakes on the line then we are in for a long and troublesome road. Operators and managers need to begin to take steps and open up the conversation about bad verbal behavior.
[Source: Eater]
