Food Network-crazed media experts’ voracious appetite for the next best thing in food mimics the nightly trials of an addict looking for a fix.  In the case of 2011 and years past, the fix for the day was fat, glorious, glistening renderings of fat.  Remember last year’s pan-fried chicken revival, and 2010’s burger craze?  In addition to some of the most consequential, fat foraged eating habits relished in recent years was the elitist and extravagant molecular gastronomy movement, sating your appetite if only for a moment while leaving your checkbook fraught with $300.00 tasting menu price tags.  Forget all that.  If 2012 proves to break every promise uttered, rest assured it remembers just one concerning food trends; the dismissal of overindulgence.

Increasingly murky economic outlook for this year has yielded noticeable trends among consumers and the phrase of the day has become “perceived value.”  This consumer vernacular could translate the demise of once popular and posh steakhouses and Italian restaurants where pairing a $50 steak to a $100 barrolo is considered the norm.  Don’t look forward to many more chefs celebrating the grand, 16-course sit down that drain entire evenings along with your pocket book.  Contrarily, this year’s cuisine will focus more on easy to understand and affordable dishes which focus on one or two artisan ingredients signifying its relevance.  Hence the phrase, “perceived value.”

Along with wallet-conscious consumers comes the ever-increasing gravitation of those interested in healthy, locally sourced and organic cuisine.  Years in the making, the farm to fork movement has come to define the food world, lending consumers a place of origin to picture when considering their next dining experience.  Antibiotic-free, wild, free-range and local have become synonymous with health and environmentally conscious decision-making, easing the guilt of consumers regarding their carbon footprint and their diet.  With rising food costs coupled with enormous increases in energy cost and consumption, the local food movement might prove to be as rewarding as it is cost effective for restaurant chefs.  Look forward to restaurant/ farms and simple comfort dishes proudly proclaiming the origin of its ingredients.

This year might mark the return of humility to the food industry in terms of health and economic consciousness, but not in terms of value.

Whether or not our economy is picking up, it appears that Americans are still paying attention to their spending habits. According to a recent study conducted by foodservice consulting firm AlixPartners LLP, consumers plan to cut back on their restaurant visits by 3 percent and spend 5 percent less when dining out. The reasons include consumers’ desire for affordability without sacrificing quality, healthier food, and convenience.

What are some ways you can attract more restaurant visits?

–          Healthy menu options:  guests are diverse and accordingly, their preferences will be too. Many are seeking healthy menu items. Think of substitutes or additional healthy options that can fit your menu. For example, if you operate a burger restaurant, offer a turkey burger choice or even a vegetarian alternative. For traditional entrees, instead of French fries or coleslaw as a side dish, allow guests to substitute for steamed vegetables or baked sweet potato.

–          Coupons:  Run a promotion and advertise it via social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and yelp. Offer a deal like, “buy one entrée and get the second entrée half off.”

–          Online ordering and easy pickup:  How easy (or difficult) are you making it for customers to order your food? Don’t let this become a barrier to entry! On your restaurant’s website, always have your phone number easily visible on every page as well as your location. Many people love the convenience of ordering for their food online. Make a small investment in integrating online ordering for your website – there are many services who offer this for a low monthly fee.

Also, consider creating a checkout line dedicated just for phone/online order pickups. Your guests will appreciate the reduced wait times and you’ll notice the efficiency, too.

–          Entertainment:  Atmosphere plays a pivotal role in a restaurant’s success. Show your guests that there are more reasons to come back to your restaurant besides the great food. Choose a day of the week to showcase live musical entertainment. Throw events to celebrate holidays like St. Patrick’s Day, New Year’s, and Valentine’s Day. You can even allow businesses or groups to reserve part of your restaurant as a location for their special mixer or meeting.

Although a full economic recovery may be slow, there are still many methods you can use to gain more customers to your restaurant! If you’d like to investigate other ways you can improve your restaurant marketing, operations or menu, contact our restaurant consultants at Synergy.

On a recent eating trip to the UK and Dubai I had the opportunity to fly Virgin Atlantic “Upper Class” and visit their lounge in both countries.  I have always enjoyed flying Virgin Airlines because the check in is almost zen-like but more importantly is how they make me feel during different parts of the experience.

The Virgin lounge in the UK was like eating in a NYC Dean and Deluca with a very cool bar, shoe shine, pool tables, hair salon, showers and massage facilities.  The vibe was amazing and food and beverage amenities superb.

On board the aircraft the flight attendants could not have been more accommodating and personal when they were speaking with you.  While trying to take it all in I subliminally noticed how all flight attendants were extremely hospitable and when they communicated with you they leaned forward and spoke in a very caring voice, almost a whisper to create a personal relationship with the guest. Read more about the whisper coach.

I recently learned that Virgin Airlines, like Starbucks, hired a whispering coach for Upper Class service to help front line staff communicate more effectively and on a more personal basis with their valued guests.

When you think about creating that emotional connection with your guests your communication strategy has to play a vital role in the connection process.  In order to break through and out from the competition you need to have your message that connects.  With Virgin and Starbucks it’s the tone and caring attitude that stands out.   When guests are leaving your establishment what do you be believe they whispering about your restaurant?

Potatoes – we love them! Baked, fried, mashed, there’s nothing quite like them. While the classic French fry, made from the russet potato, is the beloved sidekick companion to many dishes, expanding your menu to include more variety is a great way to attract guests.

Try out these great potato menu options:

1) Sweet potato fries or chips: You can bake these or fry them. Naturally sweet, these go great with ketchup.

2) Potato croquettes: these golden fried goodies contain mashed potatoes mixed with your choice of ground meats, herbs, vegetables, and/or seafood. Their crispy crust is made of breadcrumbs and seasoning. See this great recipe for potato croquettes.

3) Latkes: these potato pancakes are delightfully crunchy and satisfying. They are made of potato, flour and egg and are usually seasoned with garlic or onion and can be served with savory or sweet toppings like sour cream or sugar. Check out this great recipe for latkes.

4) Scalloped potatoes: baked with milk, flour, butter and cheese, the classic scalloped potatoes dish is warm and hearty.

5) Potato soup: on a cold day, treat your patrons to a hot potato soup to warm them up. There are tons of potato soup varieties, such as loaded baked potato amped up with apple smoked bacon, cheddar cheese and chives, leek, cheese, country ham, Cajun and the list goes on.

There’s no shortage of ways on how you can get creative with your side dish offerings. You don’t necessarily have to keep a new item on your menu every day – try offering specials on different days of the week to keep your guests wondering. Also, take advantage of using ingredients that are in season as well, for best taste and better pricing.

If you need assistance developing or expanding your menu, contact our menu development team at Synergy.

Synergy Restaurant Consultants to work with Sonny’s Real Pit BBQ Restaurant

Maitland, Florida-based Sonny’s BBQ, with over 120 restaurants in 9 states, has named Synergy Restaurant Consultants as its “go-to, think-new” team. Synergy will be working on multiple strategies as it seeks to re-energize the Sonny’s BBQ brand through new menu items, operational efficiencies and equipment upgrades.

“We are delighted with this important new assignment,” commented Danny Bendas, Managing Partner of the nationally respected consultancy. “Once we finished our initial assessment of Sonny’s business from the aesthetics to the pragmatics, we have begun to enhance their selection of fresh cooked daily menu items supported by new protein and produce vendors. We are also assisting with the training of Sonny’s team members to support their newly upgraded guest experience.”

Synergy has also initiated a redesign of the menu graphics as well as all elements of the table presentation. “Our holistic approach to restaurant brand re-invigoration makes us uniquely qualified to satisfy Sonny’s comprehensive initiatives,” Bendas concluded.