MENU: “If You’ve Got My Fave Fries, I’m There.” [Sponsored by Lamb Weston]

We hear it from guests all the time. That’s because 41% of patrons go out of their way to find their favorite fry. How does your menu stack-up? To make your place a can’t miss fry destination talk to a fry expert at Lamb Weston.

DID YOU KNOWS…

It’s Not Just Indies

Independent restaurants aren’t the only ones getting hit by lower traffic numbers. Chains are also feeling the decline. According to the Technomic Chain Restaurant Index , industry sales fell 1.8% in November while traffic fell 5.4%. The slump went across all sectors, though casual/fine dining got hit the hardest.

St. Patrick’s Group Rethinks “Men-Only”

The Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in the City of New York (that’s a mouthful of a name) is inviting “the wives, daughters, sisters, mothers, aunts, nieces and female cousins, friends and colleagues” of its members to its annual dinner. It’s been men-only for the past 235 years and has withstood pressure as NYC has pushed for all-male private clubs to admit women. That seems to be slowly changing, according to a New York Times article.

Fast Food Worker Strike

Florida fast food workers are planning to strike in response to the violent attack of a McDonald’s employee by a guest. The original incident involves a viral video in which a guest reaches across the counter and violently grabs an employee by the shirt collar. Allegedly, the incident started over a straw. In response, Florida’s Fight for $15 campaign organizers have planned a coordinated strike, calling for McDonald’s to better train staff on dealing with violent guests and providing better “protection and a voice on the job for its predominantly Black and Latinx women workforce [sic].”

LOGO DREAMS

Why it matters to you: Is your logo ready for primetime?

Hey, did you hear about the new Mastercard logo that doesn’t have their name included on it? While you aren’t likely to ever have an announcement about your logo make national news, that doesn’t mean your logo isn’t important. In marketing, your brand is your asset and whenever you present that asset it likely includes your logo. And just because you might not get national recognition, that doesn’t mean it can’t be well recognized locally.

The world of logos has also changed dramatically since they became a thing in the 1950s. Originally only seen at the restaurant itself or in black & white print depictions, logos were flat and plain (see the original Coca Cola logo for example). However, in the digital age, much more can be conveyed with color, gradient, shading and other design elements.

Mastercard, for their part, has determined that their logo no longer benefits from their name being included. For another example: the biggest chain operator in the sports themed segment, Buffalo Wild Wings, employs exactly the same concept with their logo button (or bug as it’s known in the design world). The instruction here is that it might be time to review your logo and make sure it’s ready for primetime.

If you are serious, it’s best to employ a professional to not only create your logo, but also provide you with a full suite of image formats, sizes, colors and expressions. It then becomes your job to place those designs on your building, in your menu, included in your marketing, part of your social presence and on your website. It sounds like a big job, because it is; but if you do it well, you can go a long way to improving your brand recognition and mind share.

[Source: Forbes]

I HOPE THE BEER GETS HERE SOON

Why it matters to you: Adding beer to your delivery offerings might make all the difference.

There is no more iconic food combination than pizza and beer. Now, if you live in parts of Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina or Ohio, then your Pizza Hut (PHI) is ready to deliver you a six pack of beer to go along with your Meat Lover’s pizza. PHI announced that they will also expand beer delivery to 1,000 of their restaurants by the summer. Of course, PHI isn’t the only chain operator looking to enhance their delivery offerings by including beer. Taco Bell, Shake Shack and Chipotle have all tested including beer on their delivery menu.

This will be far less difficult if you aren’t using a third-party delivery service. In fact, it might be a way to shed those services and create your own direct delivery system. Let’s face it, delivery is a convenience choice made to avoid having to leave your home for great food that you don’t cook. By adding beer to your offering, you are simply completing the dining experience for many of your guests. PHI’s decision feels like an assertion that beer delivery is a very good supplement to your delivery menu and might even be the difference maker on a guest’s ordering choice. There is a lot you need to know before you can include beer for delivery, but if you can why wouldn’t you?

[Source: MSN]