September 2011 Blog Posts (40)

The Perfect Mix

Yes, the restaurant looks great: it’s clean, it’s inviting, and it’s comfortable.  Lighting is just right and conversations can be had without whispering or screaming.  The parking lot has easy access from the street, the lot is well-lit, and parking spaces are well laid out.  The menu seems to be iron-clad: tried and tested.  Yet, the customers are staying away in droves.  Sales are…

1. “Shouting” specials at your followers

There is a tendency among businesses new to Twitter to simply use their account as a way to announce daily happy hour specials or menu changes without interacting with their fans.…

I spend much of my life with the investors, lenders, builders, and leasing companies who provide capital to this industry.  Let’s just acknowledge at the outset that, without them, the restaurant industry would not exist -- at least not in the grand scale, and immense variety, that we see it today.  Many thanks to them for making it all possible; after all (just to cite a few statistics which bear repeating) ... this…

Chicago's The Wagyu Wagon food truck raised funds through Kickstarter to equip their truck with state of the art equipment. Now they are bringing their gourmet meals indoors for a sit down dining experience. Their first pop up dinner will be on Oct 3 at Ipsento Coffee House. 

Guest will have three different dinning options:

A) Tempe Banh Mi - marinated tempe sauteed then drizzled with peanut sauce topped with do chua (pickled jicama, carrots, cucumber), fresh cilantro,…

So it’s been a week since we gathered in San Francisco for the first ever Foodservice Social Media Universe Conference and I am finally getting the chance to sit and really reflect on everything that went on in those short two days.  Wow.

Even as a person that is immersed in the…

There has been a lot of talk in the food industry about the snacking trend as well as the popularity of small plates. This trend, which started as a way to introduce new dishes to restaurant menus without the fear of loosing profits on an unpopular dish, has grown into a major…

This is a guest post from Cosmo Nicastro.  Cosmo is the founder and senior advisor of the Food Service Advisor.   Their services include management and financial consulting, training for front of house and training for back of house.  Their training modules are among the best in the industry and deal with all aspects of food service challenges.   …

The second post in our series poling the opinion of hospitality industry professionals (read the first post HERE) is again related to how management handles…

By Zac Bond, Content Manager for Waitrainer

Are restaurants using social media to their greatest advantage? In July of this year it seemed like the market was dominated by hip, nimble fast-casual joints like, say, Wow Bao (@baomouth)— who have successfully established a unique personality for their Twitter account, and use it to give away stacks of steamed buns and promote goodwill among all who interact with them. Or Jimmy John's…

1. Rewards

 

Foursquare provides an easy (and free) opportunity for you to reach out to current customers and give them incentives for continuing to give you their business.



Promotions such as a free drink for patrons after every five…

Facebook is rolling out a ton of new stuff and what it'll mean to you is pretty well lined out in a post by Jesse Stanchuk at SmartBriefs. (let me know if you need the link - FohBoh has told me that they do not allow posting links - how social is that?)

In the post Jesse says -

• This will happen again.
• This is an opportunity.
• This kind of user outrage happens every time.
• This will happen to you, too.

It's a good perspective that…

14 Crappy Reasons

It’s common knowledge in the…

It doesn’t take a nutrition analysis expert to discern that most barbecue fare is not traditionally seen as the picture of health.  Creamy coleslaw, buttery cornbread, cheesy macaroni, and fatty meats come to mind when most diners picture this beloved culinary treasure.

Don’t get me…

I believe that everyone should work as a waiter at one point in their life.

Not because the money is pretty darn good or because you get one shift drink that can turn into two or three if you are good chums with the bartender. Rather, they should become a waiter to learn the true value of great customer service and its rewards.

It worked for me and I can say, with no…

“Low-down -dirty- good for nuthin…”

I still remember the first time I heard my Grandfather

deliver his ultimate displeasure with another human being.  It was his considered opinion that you could

be “good at” something and still be “good for nothing.”  As he saw it there were people who were darn

fine farmers, welders, mechanics, truck drivers, hunters, and so on, but if

your positive-character flag wasn’t flying high, he’d keep his distance.

When it comes right…

Keep Them Coming

The previous two guest blogs were from folks who are pretty savvy when it comes to getting more “butts in seats.”  Getting guests in the first time and getting them to come back, again and again - that’s basically what the restaurant business is all about. 

Chain restaurants are very good at this, -getting them in, getting them back; the numbers would suggest that they are…

1. Your URL is not customized

We know there are those among you who pay little or no attention to that long horizontal box at the top of your web browser. For those people it may seems irrelevant that your bar’s Facebook page has random digits at the end of its…