“I don’t have time to market my business (or the money).”

When I speak with clients, 9 out of 10 times I hear the same thing. Small chains and start-ups don’t have the benefit of having a marketing department, and those that do, often wait for the “field marketing team” to step in and help build sales. After all, “Isn’t that what the marketing folks get paid for?” It’s a mindset that affects too many operators and brands.

With the business of simply running a restaurant, one can’t fault operators for not having the time to work on local store marketing efforts such as getting out in the community and driving business. Sometimes, there really isn’t much time. And when there is, how do you actually grow your business when the marketing tools in your “local store manual” are the same programs that everyone has seen for 20 years? I mean, does a corporate “Kids Eat Free” promotion really work if your restaurant is located near offices and industrial spaces?

To keep things simple and hopefully start a stronger marketing mindset, I’m going to be sharing simple tools and tactics to get you started with a better understanding of what is possible when time and money are an issue. Yes, you might have heard a few of things before but hopefully you will learn something new or better yet, make you think of something you can build on that is specific to your brand and situation.

At Synergy, we believe in creating strategic and efficient solutions to your problems. Marketing your restaurant should be easily understood, support your brand and effective without being cumbersome for you, your staff or your guests.

My hope is to share tips and answer your questions about the world of restaurant marketing.

Send any marketing and brand questions to randysynergyconsultants.com or @randylopez On Twitter and I’m looking forward to getting started on this conversation with you.

-Randy Lopez

Marketing and Branding
Synergy Restaurant Consultants

I had wonderful time this year at the International Pizza Expo. It was amazing to try pies from different pizza artists and speak with genuinely pizza-passionate restaurant owners. During my time at the expo, I had the pleasure of presenting to attendees during my session on, “Controlling Food and Labor Costs in a Pizzeria.” I spoke about five simple strategies to reduce food and labor costs to help the overall financial performance of your restaurant.

If you couldn’t make it to the expo or my session, you can still check out my presentation!  Sign up for our free useful restaurant industry emails AND get access to download my presentation slides. Just click here to subscribe. For any questions on improving your pizzeria, email us or call 888-861-9212.

–Dean Small

Some kitchen gadgets only serve one purpose—an avocado slicer, can opener, a coffee maker. Well, actually, the French press can do more than make great coffee. Instead of indulging some mimosas this Sunday during your brunch, you can try a hot toddy, à la your new multi-purpose French press.

At Moneygun in Chicago, mixologists are serving up signature hot toddies using French presses. If you’re unfamiliar, a hot toddy (hot Whiskey in Ireland) is a warm cocktail, typically made of liquor, hot water, honey, and spices. Utilizing the French press like a tea pot makes it easy to create your own unique hot toddy and can elevate your breakfast or brunch experience.

Get the Moneygun Hot Toddy recipe here.

There are just some foods that always stay at the top of our “comfort food” list. Yes, we’re talking about cheese–it can be warm, it can be cold, sweet or savory, yet always delicious in all forms. It is quite hard to find those who dislike this versatile, delicious ingredient.

While comfort dishes like mac’ and cheese, grilled cheese and pizza often come to mind when thinking of crave-worthy meals where cheese is prominent, we wanted to share the spotlight with others that may not be so well known. So cheese-lovers, without further ado, try out the cheesy and scrumptious dishes below:

1. Beer cheese- is this the next ultimate bar snack? If you haven’t heard of it, beer cheese does sound a bit peculiar (or extremely delicious?). Actually, there are two kinds—beer cheese dip and beer cheese spread. Right now we’re loving beer cheese dip. A dip that’s made of cheese, beer, mustard and your choice of seasonings. Pretzels, chips, bread—all fair game for dipping! Get the recipe.

2. Queso flameado- “flamed cheese” is the translation for this awesome dish (aka “queso fundido” and “choriqueso”). It’s cheese. It’s chorizo. It’s flambéed (or broiled). And it’s absolutely delightful! Get the recipe.

3. Korean corn cheese – simple but so tasty. Often found at Korean restaurants (think fried chicken, or BBQ joints), corn cheese is a side dish concocted of cheese (like mozzarella), corn kernels, mayonnaise, seasonings and herbs, baked to bubbly perfection. Get the recipe.

4. Paneer pasanda- This Indian dish consists of paneer (fresh cheese) slices in savory and smooth, aromatic tomato, onion and cashew paste curry gravy.  Get the recipe.

International flavors are what’s hot all across the country on every menu you see. African flavors are perhaps the most popular of them all, with Middle Eastern flavors following closely behind.

When surveyed, professional chefs stated that African, Latin American, Southeast Asian, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean flavors were the biggest influences for menus this year. It’s not just about fusing them with familiar cuisine either. Culinary experts are delving deep into the authenticity of each cuisine, using traditional methods to produce the true ethnic flavor. Both fusing cuisines together and creating authentic dishes from each culture are indeed hot food trends right now.

Most of these new international flavors all feature heat but it’s more of a flavorful and aromatic blend of spices and sauces than it is of intense heat. Adding a layer of ethnic flavor is what takes the cuisine to the next level.

A great example of this is the sweet yet spicy gochujang Korean barbecue sauce. It’s thick and is often used on meats. We’re also seeing kimchi, fermented cabbage, popping up everywhere, including on top of burgers. And of course, that’s not all. Warm Middle Eastern flavors with spice mixtures that include cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, allspice and ginger are on the rise.

Perhaps the spice to keep an eye on the most is turmeric. It’s been touted for its incredible healing ability. It’s often what is found in most curries, giving it that yellow hue. Everywhere you look, you’ll see turmeric in cocktails and in menu items like turmeric roasted chicken a variety of other dishes.

Because today’s consumer is concerned with health and wellness particularly in dining options, turmeric is definitely a spice that is driving the innovation behind the culinary creations that today’s chefs are dishing out. It adds an element of ethnicity while adding healthy benefits, which is a huge force driving this dining trend.

For the last decade, parents have begun to really demand a change in the kinds of meals available to their children. Where we once saw limited options that usually contained fries, a burger, soft drink and a cheap toy, we’re now seeing more options for healthful choices as well as items that are seen as gourmet.

Mac and cheese will likely always be a kids’ meal staple in most restaurants. However, it’s been getting a gourmet facelift by being crafted with artisan cheeses or having slightly familiar but more upscale ingredients being added to it. Instead of ham, you might see prosciutto or chunks of crab or lobster. And the kids are loving it.

Artisan breads made of healthy whole grains are taking over too. Where sandwiches were once served on sugary white bread, kids’ meals are now changing the bread and rolls. The children don’t even notice this gourmet move. Wraps are also popular for kids’ meals.

Many restaurants are embracing the gourmet trend on the kids’ menu, changing things up just enough to give it that gourmet touch without being too unusual so as to intimidate young diners. What this means is that instead of “ham and cheese” as a sandwich offering for children, we’re seeing organic, health-fully cultivated foods that take us back to our roots. So today’s “ham and cheese” is now wild-raised shaved ham with country-churned cheddar cheese or something equally as earthy and inviting.

What’s great about this food trend is that it’s been a long time coming that children should be steered away from over-processed foods that can hardly be considered food. It’s refreshing to see children embracing these items too, likely unaware of the difference and simply enjoying the simplified meals that gourmet ingredients afford them.

Watch for this shift in kids’ meals from fast food to fast casual to sit-down restaurants. It’s a positive shift that ties well into the health trend and keeps going on the upswing.

America’s love affair with ice cream continues to burn hotter than ever. It’s always been a popular treat for children and adults and is a relatively easy to please menu item to add to a dessert section. But in the ever-evolving culinary scene, offering simply chocolate or vanilla scoops of ice cream isn’t going to bring people back in for more.

Ice cream and gelato too should be creamy and rich. And while consumers will never tire of vanilla or chocolate ice cream, most will skip dessert if the offerings aren’t that exciting. After all, who wants to pay $5 for an ordinary scoop of sub-par ice cream?

Chefs are responding and really having fun with this trend by creating their own unique flavors of ice cream and gelato in-house. They take great care and pride to bring whimsical flavor ideas to life. Sometimes, these offerings are simply meant to accompany a slice of cake or pie, but every chef out there knows that serving it with vanilla or chocolate ice cream is totally out of style.

Think pecan pie with caramel cinnamon ice cream or dark-chocolate infused raspberry gelato served alongside a rich chocolate tart. Simply reading the names of these artisan flavors is enough to peak a consumer’s interest in ordering dessert. It encourages salivation and desire. Chefs that want to develop a loyal customer base keep this trend in mind, searching for ways to take other flavors into the creamy and dreamy world of ice cream.

Expect to see the ordinary flavors take a seat on the sidelines while restaurants everywhere hone in on this artisan-created ice cream trend. Combined with this, you’ll also see some savory options of America’s favorite dessert being offered. Don’t knock it until you try it!

Everyone has heard of heirloom tomatoes, but now heirloom everything is sprouting up in the mainstream. Chefs are loving these simple, earthy ingredients. Heirloom has such a nice ring to it, especially when you include it in the description of a dish with heirloom vegetables.

When a fruit or vegetable is called “heirloom,” it means that it’s from an old crop. These old plant breeds have been around since prior to the types of modern growing and breeding practices that we now have in America today. While the name “heirloom” might just sound fancy to most restaurant guests, true gourmands know that eating heirloom fruits and vegetables is a rare treat. It’s a chance to indulge in the distinctive flavors and genetic traits of these fruits and vegetables that have remained unchanged for ages.

So chefs everywhere are snatching up the chance to use heirloom fruits and vegetables. A ho-hum beetroot salad becomes much more exciting when topped with heirloom vegetables like atomic red carrots and Chiogga beets. In fact, many of the names of these heirloom plants sound much like hipster names, which makes them even more appealing when splashed onto a menu.

Grass-fed organic USDA prime cuts of beef couldn’t possibly go better with cowhorn potatoes and heirloom garlic. Predictably, heirloom varieties seem to have either cutesy or fancy names, but it all translates to bigger sales in the restaurants that serve them.

Not only do they look and sound fancier than regular produce, but heirloom produce happens to taste even better. The robust and hearty flavors that have been preserved over time are truly marvelous and something that should be embraced. Thankfully, consumers feel the same way and what’s happening is lots of high demand now for these once-rare varieties that are now making a major comeback. On menus and in supermarkets everywhere, get ready to see a boom of heirloom offerings.

Healthier food options have been trending in recent years and don’t seem to be standing still. This trend is steadily on the rise every year. What is remarkable now though is that children are becoming a part of this trend. We’re seeing kids’ meals getting healthy makeovers everywhere from McDonald’s to more upscale venues.

Parents are demanding healthier options for their children so it’s easy to see why this trend is becoming ingrained in our culinary creations. Of course, no one is completely ditching the sides of fries or sodas, but having available healthier options to choose from is truly the key for success with families.

So while certain items will never be off the menu, you’ll now start seeing healthier options alongside them. If there’s a chicken sandwich, you’ll see a grilled version. Sides of steamed vegetables, vegetable or fruit sticks. Salads, whole wheat bread, organic milk or juice instead of soda are other big changes you can expect to see on menus everywhere.

It makes sense that restaurants should start wooing children that dine out. Children are already going out to dinner with their families. One day, they will be grown up and will go out to eat on their own. As the frequent diners of tomorrow, the restaurant industry is keen to build a good rapport with these children now. Helping them establish positive eating habits with food that tastes good yet is nutritionally proper is essential for future success in the industry.

Getting in on this trend is a smart way to increase sales in the long run for almost every restaurant in existence. Cultivating the palates of children now helps set the foundation for a generation of adults who enjoy eating their food to taste it and appreciate it as opposed to mindlessly grazing on food that has little to no nutritional value.

First it was chipotle. Then sriracha. And now it seems one of the most popular flavors to shake up the culinary game is the smoky flavor. All over, we’re seeing the addition of smoky tastes in food and beverages alike.

While smoking may be out of style as a fad for people, smoking for food is the new big thing. More and more restaurants are investing in smokers for cured meats, fish, and even vegetables and cheeses. As every chef works hard to top the last groundbreaking offering, the biggest blast of smoky excitement is coming in the form of garnishes.

Scorched herbs are the newest hipster food fad, and this trend seems to be one that will stick around. This food trend can be pinned to the greater demand for farm-to-table cuisine with fresher, locally cultivated produce and meats being the center of focus. In an effort to keep to the earthy boldness that today’s menus are now brimming with, chefs have turned to slightly scorching herbs as a way to add another element to their creations.

The aroma created from adding a bit of char to a sprig of rosemary for example is astounding. It adds another layer of flavor to the dish that takes it to a whole new echelon. As a bonus, it also looks beautiful and add a natural, woodsy charm to the dish.

Thyme is another one that is becoming a popular scorched garnish. The deep and earthy scent that comes from charring herbs like these evokes warm images in the mind and spirit. It helps connect guests with their food more and gives it more of a flair without adding extra seasonings or calories.

To add scorch to herbs, you can simply toast them in your oven for a good seven minutes to dry them out. If you have a blow torch, this works more quickly to add that extra smoky flavor to your concoctions. Easy does it though because it’s one thing to have a smoldering garnish. It’s quite another to serve one that is completely aflame.

When you dine out next, you’re likely to see this scorching technique applied to many of the traditional dishes you’re used to. A rack of lamb with rosemary is always a top-selling dish. However, when you add that smoky scorched technique to the rosemary, it makes the dish more primal without turning it into a primitive meal. So while smoking cigarettes is decidedly uncool, smoking herbs to a light scorch is where it’s at in the culinary world today.