ENTERTAINMENT: CHIVETV – Coachella Dogs are Chill & EXTREME Kayak
Frequently guests are less interested in traditional sports and looking towards new types of content to occupy them during their visit. CHIVETV delivers this via FREE digital signage program they offer. This week’s feature stuff is the most chill dog ever at Coachella and some insane-ass dude surfing his kayak down an incredibly dangerous looking waterfall…we dare you not to look. So, check out this week’s stuff and see why your peers are installing CHIVETV today.
DID YOU KNOWS…
WHAT ON EARTH IS BETTER THAN A BREADBOWL? OH… TWO BREADBOWLS
Panera Bread introduced a friggin’ double bread bowl and the internet is just as excited as we are. Are you ever at a Panera and having trouble choosing between mac n cheese, clam chowder, broccoli cheddar soup, and the rest? Well now you can pick a couple of them (two broccoli cheddars for us please) and speed up the process!
OUR FAVORITE HEALTH FOOD: CHEESE [CLIP]
A recent study shows that cheese isn’t quite as unhealthy as we once thought. The findings show that it does not increase the risk of heart disease or overall mortality in older adults. Score! Now who wants pizza and grilled cheeses?!
AMERICA’S FIRST COMEDY MUSEUM
Comedy may as well be America’s… like….. 3rdor 4th pastime so we were very excited to learn of our first ever comedy museum opening up in Jamestown, NY (where Lucille Ball was born). Comedy is having a bit of an identity crisis as of late so the opening of this museum is perfect, everyone can look back at its roots fondly and remember what we all love about these human’s contributions into our history as a country and our lives.
YES (GUEST) CHEF
Why it matters to you: Promoting a night with a special guest chef in your restaurant can bring a nice boost in sales.
We see it more and more these days; restaurants heavily promoting a night where a guest chef is leading the charge in a friend’s establishment. Not only can this be an opportunity to potentially give your chef a solid night off but it can also create a buzz around your spot for regulars and newcomers alike and get asses in seats. These nights typically consist of a prix fixe menu with a (semi) reasonable price and a slightly-to-drastically different type of cuisine from what the restaurant usually offers. The guest chef will typically do a bit of schmoozing or run the final course to tables and explain the dish even!
The most exciting version of these guest-chef nights happens when an out of town or big name chef takes the reins. If you are able to spread the word and educate your diners prior-to or on the night then it will all be exciting, fun, and delicious as you’d hope. Use this friendly partnership as a way to market your business to new customers, a social media campaign leading up to this night should do well to ensure the night is fully booked and people somewhat know what to expect. If you can, create a social media marketing calendar for the months/weeks leading up to the event will keep everyone on track and keep your promotion steady, consistent, and keep that buzz going all the way up to the night of. Fun stuff!
[Source: skift]
CHEESECAKE FACTORY AND OTHERS STRUGGLE WITH RISING LABOR COSTS
Why it matters to you: See above. If they’re struggling, we should all be aware.
With minimum wages rising throughout the country and the cost of living following suit it has been no surprise to any of us that labor costs would be an increasingly difficult thing for any owner or manager to handle/stay on top of. Well, the Cheesecake Factory is feeling this reality currently and it has hit them HARD. The increases in minimum wage recently have caused the chain’s shares to take a massive dive after it was revealed that labor costs are up to almost 36% of their revenue. That is an utterly massive chunk of their profits. An analyst from Wells-Fargo had this to say:
“We have limited confidence in a positive top-line or cash flow surprise on the horizon,” analyst Jon Tower said in a note to Cheesecake Factory clients on this past Wednesday.
The reason we bring this up is the fact that we are likely all struggling with the “well… what now?” reality of labor costs and drastically slimmer margins. Do we let go of some staff which will in turn lead to overworking our remaining employees? Raise menu prices and risk turning our regulars away? Keep it all the same and risk the impending reality of losing money if things keep going the way they are? With any luck we won’t have to turn into the no-server model that San Franciscan restaurants are currently forced to run on… Inevitably we will find a solution as an industry though, we always have. Stay strong everyone.
[Source: skift]
