All Blog Posts (4,658)

Reality Chef Programming:

I'll be the first to tell you I throw pillows at the flatscreen when young chef's banter with some of the most respected chefs in the country. "Alfred Portale just dosent understand my style of food" Jesus really? I need to throw bigger objects at my Television (my son is trying to put a parental lock on the food network, who's the parent I ask you ) Chef Portale was doing the most amazing cutting edge cuisine when most of these "Chefs" were in…

I recently published an article on mobile apps for restaurants that has generated a lot interest. In the last week my Twitter account added about 25 followers (most of which are web marketing companies) and I have been contacted by about a dozen providers of mobile apps. I am currently sorting through all of their offers and I need to confess that the overwhelming majority of them are very confusing. 

Restaurant owners that are considering mobile options have a ton of options and I…

There are two distinct, yet related, ideas in brand extensions which have been in the news recently.  I’m going to be following both with more than idle curiosity to see if they create added brand awareness, added traffic, or a negative backlash -- or all three.

First ... Friendly’s and Burger…

Non-stick pans are a gift that we all have been taking for granted. We all, myself included, have slowly been ruining our beloved non-stick pans. Yes, they are useful for almost everything, but it turns out, they aren’t as durable as you might think. Avoid the following and extend the life of your non-stick items!

1.    Let’s start with the heat you typically use with your pots and pans. Now I always thought that non-stick pans were the toughest of them all. This is not true. As it turns…

I guess it should be expected that as the world awaits the highly publicised Facebook IPO that Facebook-related articles would crop up like weeds.  Well, here's another one...

On the heels of my post the other day on the essential use of a social login for loyalty programs, due to consumer fatigue in having to complete yet another profile on a new site.  The study by…

The words “leader” and “leadership” used to be widely accepted definitions of person(s) at the very top. Now, they have been widely broadened to reflectively include those who contribute to the process of moving things forward at any level, in any business setting.

I like to think of it this way, leadership is like ice cream, and the specific business, industry or circumstances are the flavors. It is impossible to use chocolate chip and make it work when pistachio swirl is required,…

Consumers love you, love your place and love your food - but why are they going to share their contact information to join your loyalty program?  Statistics suggest that many of your customers would join a program, if it were available (50-80% in other industries) but online loyalty programs I think are…

Facebook recently rolled out some new metrics that are going to make your Restaurant's Fan Page Rock! The new insights are going to help you grow your fans and your fans interactions in ways you never imagined possible.

Obviously it's important to monitor your facebook statistics, but the new metrics make it even easier to monitor your Facebook Fan…

by Celeste Edman, Marketing Expert

Atmosphere has a huge impact on how we experience our meal when dining out. Many believe that there are certain colors that help us relax and encourage us to eat more and stay longer. There has been a significant amount of study done to determine if music and more precisely, certain tempos, will change how and what we buy. All these elements play a role in our overall dining experience. Yet, has our attention to them become so…

There are many differing opinions on whether sites developed in HTML5 can display content on mobile devices as eloquently as they do in the desktop and tablet world. Before we examine the pros and cons of each, here is a little background on the two technologies.

HTML5

HTML5 will be the new standard for Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), according to W3C. ("The World Wide Web Consortium is an international community where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the…

    As a soon to be college grad, I feel that I should pass my extensive knowledge about college kitchens and cooking onto all the incoming and future students. Let me preface this article by say that all college kitchens are small. Once again, ALL COLLEGE KITCHENS ARE SMALL. Do not think big and extravagant. Just because you are out of the dorms and have a kitchen does not mean that you should cram it full of gadgets or multiples of anything. You won’t have any space for the important…

(or, Sink Like a Stone)

You are a restaurant owner sitting in your office.  Every day it’s becoming more apparent that you will need to get deeper involved in more aspects of social media.  Those newspaper, radio and Yellow Pages ads just aren’t bringing in new faces anymore. 

You leave the office and are walking through the…

It’s been four years since we entered The Great Recession. Now, at long last, optimism about economic growth in Leisure & Hospitality and Food & Beverage is taking root.

For operators this means finding leaders who have the skills and proficiency to do the job will become harder and harder. Sourcing values and character matches will be a monumental challenge.  Operators will need to step up benefits and retention strategies, and salaries will begin to rise…

If you want to test a man’s character, give him power.

~Abraham…

On Jan. 18, several websites participated in a blackout to protest the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), also known as H.R. 3261. Wikipedia reported 162 million people viewing its blackout page, seven million people signed Google's petition and Twitter saw over four million SOPA related tweets.

Two days later, SOPA was officially ‘killed’ — for the year. SOPA’s Senate doppelganger, PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), has also been tabled for the time being. Will similar…

Just read about the social marketing snafu with McDonalds and the high-jacking of the #McDStories hashtag by an audience that was, well, less than flattering to the brand image.  Over at BusinessInsider.com, Gus Lubin reported on it and discussed the response from Rick Wion, their social media director - here's my take on it.…

Hands down the most common answer to “What is your favorite strange but delicious food combination” was potato chips on sandwiches. I wasn’t entirely surprised but in my experience, the chips break up into tiny daggers and stab the roof of my mouth (not enjoyable). I suppose this wouldn’t be my personal choice, but the crowd has spoken.



    A traditional dessert, apple pie, wouldn’t be complete without a slice of cheddar cheese. This is the original strange and delicious food…

What message does your restaurant convey to your fans and prospects that are socially engaged?

Restaurants can no longer choose to use "planned or scripted" messages such as "We're the place to be", or "The ONLY place to watch sports".  They also cannot choose to simply ignore social media all…

Here’s a story to keep in mind the next time you’re deciding how important it is to chase after a customer you think has stolen something from the bar.

Back in December the 62-year old owner of Lincoln Karaoke – “Chicago’s premiere Private-Room karaoke” (duh) –…