Whether you enjoyed it or not, the pop video phenomenon “Gangnam Style”  has made a huge impression on the world (a whopping 1.3 billion views as today!). The pulsing beats and funny dance styles featured in the video had people viewing, sharing and imitating like crazy. But move over PSY, there’s a new “dance” taking the world by storm and it’s a different version of the “Harlem Shake” that you might already be familiar with.

 

A dance song by artist Baauer called “Harlem Shake,” has allowed countless of people to create their own funny viral videos. All are about thirty seconds long and follow a similar template: in a public venue, one person begins to dance to the “Harlem Shake” song and about fifteen seconds in as soon as the beat drops, more people instantly appear in the shot dancing along, typically wildly and in costume.

 

Homes, classrooms, offices, businesses, news stations and yes, even restaurants have caught the Harlem Shake bug and countless numbers have uploaded their own version to the world wide web. Savvy restaurant owners are taking advantage of viral marketing and posting their Harlem Shake video. Check out these restaurants’ video, including one from our own client, Toppers Pizza.

 

Toppers Pizza

Brendan’s Pub

Siddhartha’s Kitchen

Nu Crepes

It’s almost here — February 3rd marks Super Bowl XLVII! Most Americans will undoubtedly be tuned into the game, watching in their fan-gear with friends at home or at their favorite eateries. As a bar, pub, or restaurant owner, game days like these can prove to be very profitable if you broadcast them to allow patrons to watch. But there are a few things you need to take note before you proceed to show NFL, NBA or any other sports games at your restaurant.

 

All sports leagues like NFL, NHL, or NBA have specific rules regarding copyrights and showing games to large crowds.   For example, Las Vegas showrooms are no longer allowed to play the Super Bowl on their huge screens unless they negotiate an arrangement with the NFL.

Here are some important things to take note if you are considering showing any sports games at your establishment:

 

• No screens are larger than 55″
• You are only showing the game on 4 screens or less
• The audio is coming from less than 6 speakers
• Consult with an expert before implementing

 

It is highly advised to contact an expert in the field such as a restaurant consultant professional before you take any action. Synergy Restaurant Consultants is an experienced restaurant and bar consulting firm and have experts across the nation to help.

 

Greetings!

To your success,

Dean and Danny

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Game Changers: Trends That Will be Shaping Our Industry in 2013

By Joan Lang

This past year was one of galvanic changes—and 2012’s got nothing on 2013. In the following paragraphs, we detail a few of the game-changing developments we’re following for the coming year.
Shareable Menus

In today’s foodservice market, it seems there’s no such thing as oversharing. Culinary adventuring and the desire to taste more launched the trend to sharing and sampling; the recession and the need to cut back on spending cemented it in place.

Now we are seeing menu after menu selection deliberately positioned for sharing and participating, including meat and cheese plates, appetizer combos, fondue, chips-and-dips, pizza and more. And like most menu items these days, the more customizable these shareable specialties are, the better.

Even as critics start to grouse about value, mainstream chains are getting on-board, like burger specialist Red Robin with its Garden Fresh Hummus Plate and mix-and-matchable Jump Starters; and Yard House with its extensive selection of snacks. (Not coincidentally, can you say “enhanced beverage sales”?)

Pan-ethnic “Taquerias”

You can thank Roy Choi and his iconic Kogi Korean-style tacos for the newest wave of cross-cultural tacos—itself the second salvo in a boomlet of authentic Mexican taquerias that took place half-a-dozen years ago.

Tacos are the perfect vehicle for fillings and flavors of all kinds, endlessly customizable and affordably priced, even when they’re filled with artisanal ingredients like heirloom pork belly and housemade pickles.

The new Salvation Taco in New York City, brainchild of the Spotted Pig’s April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman, is a case in point, with its housemade “tortillas” (including chickpea and naan) as a delivery system for such bi-cultural fillings as roasted cauliflower, sweetbreads and braised lamb breast.

The new Antique Taco, in Chicago, has the same M.O. with its “market Mexican fare,: including tacos filled with the upgraded likes of tempura fish and sriracha tartar sauce, plus baskets of snacks, masa flat bread and horchata milkshakes.
Classic American, with a Twist

Fried chicken, mac-and-cheese, burger-burgers-and-more-burgers. These favorite American comfort foods just keep getting more popular, especially in the hands of audacious young chefs who are putting their own twist on these classics.

Partly it’s due to younger diners, who are just learning about the pleasures of dining out. And partly it’s due—yet again—to the economy, which has put a high price on taking a risk. For an operator, putting your stamp on a familiar classic makes it that much easier to sell.

Boke Bowl, a hipster-friendly ramen restaurant in Portland, OR, is home to the incredibly popular Thursday-night Boke Bird, featuring brined, par-smoked and fried Korean-style chicken served family-style. Los Angeles is having a bit of a mac-and-cheese moment with options ranging for down-and-dirty bbq sides to the four cheese-roasted shallot-and-jalapeno version served at The Hudson.

And in the meantime, the burger trend just keeps on rolling, from Subway’s Angus Melts to the obligatory elevated burger (often made with custom-blend beef, lamb, pork or portabello mushrooms) on every chef-driven menu.

Super-Sandwiches

Speaking of familiar with a twist, here’s a category that will never be the same again. Chef-driven, sandwich-specializing concepts have elevated this once-prosaic lunch food to the stratosphere, with high-impact ingredients from the fillings to the breads, condiments and accompaniments.

Michael Voltaggio’s Ink.Sack brings sophisticated sandwiches like Spicy Tuna with Miso-Cured Albacore, sriracha, and mayo to the city of Los Angeles. Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi of Torrisi Italian Specialties and Carbone have opened a paean to the iconic club sandwich with the aptly named Lobster Club on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

Four-unit Bruxie Gourmet Waffle Sandwiches has put a neat twist on the sandwich by basing all of its selections on an authentic Belgium waffle instead of bread, from savory smoked salmon with dill cream cheese to sweet Nutella and bananas. As the fledgling chain claims, it’s “street food that’s perfect for breakfast, lunch, midday snack or dinner as well as a dessert or late night treat.”

Competition from All Sides

Anyone who thinks competition is only coming from their own sector isn’t looking at the big picture. To the retail industry in particular, foodservice looks like a high-margin, high-demand business. According to Technomic, for instance, the c-store segment has its eyes on the foodservice prize, which should give QSR operators plenty of pause. And quality-oriented supermarket players like Bristol Farms and Whole Foods have long provided restaurant-competitive ready-to-eat options to time-strained consumers.

A new 49,000-sq.-ft. Publix in Longboat Key, FL, offers an array of specialty and prepared foods, as well as indoor and outdoor dining areas, and serves as a prototype for future development and remodeling efforts for the grocery chain.

Wawa, a c-store chain based in the South, has gone heavily into fresh food, with a comprehensive selection offering both made-to-order and grab-and-go items, from breakfast burritos to a rotation of soups (including family-size). And regional player Sheetz has a menu that rivals that of any fast food restaurant’s.

Quick Casual Goes Ethnic

Call it the Chipotle Effect—many entrepreneurial hopefuls do, as they double down on fast-casual concepts that support global menu concepts and an all-American focus on freshness, convenience, and healthy customizable food options.

• Sataza bills itself as a “unique take on Indian” that features fresh, grilled-to-order bowls, wraps and plates that customers can build from a selection of different bases, proteins, chutneys and sides

• Foumami, in Boston, is a fast-casual Asian sandwich bar that features signature freshly baked Beijing-style “bing” bread with a variety of different fillings (braised brisket, seared-steamed chicken), salads and soups.

• San Francisco’s U-Sushi is all about making this iconic Japanese specialty more approachable with a “you design, we roll” concept that’s brought up to speed with sushi-making “robots”

• Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill is positioned as a fresh alternative to burgers and fries, with freshly made pita and build-your-own shwarma-style sandwiches, plates and salads

Chains Launch New Prototypes

With so many new competitors opening up, older well-established brands are placing their bets on dynamic new building prototypes—and sometimes on new concepts altogether, as in the case of Shoney’s On the Go, a fast-casual version of one of the country’s oldest family-style restaurant chain.

• Taco Cabana has unveiled a more contemporary version of its design, incorporating colorful pink walls, street-life photos, hanging metal lamps and outdoor patio seating

• California Pizza Kitchen’s new flagship in Sunrise, FL, emphasizes the 28-year-old chain’s casual California roots, with lots of earth tones, reclaimed wood and a firepit-equipped terrace

• Domino’s new “Pizza Theatre” proto puts pizza making front and center, allowing guests to watch dough being tossed and pizzas being assembled and cooked

• Mall standby Sbarro is moving upscale, with a new logo, cooking method and recipes, and a new prototype scheduled to be unveiled early this year

• White Castle’s new Laughing Noodle touts, of all things, a menu of multicultural noodles like Taco Mac & Cheese and a Spicy Thai-Style Chicken noodle bowl

 

 

 

Fried Food Flies Back onto Menus

Despite all the talk of healthy cooking techniques and more nutritious menu items—and certainly, those trends are here to stay—there’s a growing recognition that restaurants are particular good at one thing few home cooks will even attempt: deep-fat frying.

That’s part of the reason for the big fried-chicken boom that’s occurring, and for the growing popularity of fried potato specialties like housemade truffled tater tots and duck fat French fries. On the guest’s part, the thinking goes: “If I’m going to indulge I might as well indulge.”

Other signs that these are frying times:

• Donuts are the new cupcakes, as Krispy Kreme’s accelerating fortunes and the success of Federal Donuts in Philadelphia attest

• Bar menus are rife with thirst-inducing items like fried olives, pork nuggets, fried cheese curds, deep-fried deviled eggs, and even Southern fried bacon

• New-wave clam shacks are turning out old-fashioned standards like fried clams, hush puppies, fritters, onion rings and more

• Ethnic fried foods like arepas, empanadas, and croquettes are being given the star treatment

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Recipe for Success: Don’t Forget the Food

By Mark Ladisky, Senior Operations Associate

 

In 2012 I would estimate that Synergy spent time with more than 50 different clients in the restaurant business, performing a variety of tasks ranging from recipe development to planning and branding sessions and operations assessments for concepts both small and large. The one question that I am asked more than any other is simply some variation of “What is the secret to a successful operation?”

My answer to that question may seem simple, never forget the food. It’s the reason many brands ultimately decide that they need the services of a company like Synergy to help correct the situation—over time and without malice or intent, they have simply lost focus.

It may seem like a silly answer to such a critical question, but in today’s market of highly competitive and agile companies, attention can be drawn away from the whole core business of selling a good product. If you don’t believe that is possible then kudos to you, but it is a fact that there can sometimes be so much attention put on streamlining an operation or a sales metric that a company can unconsciously and in very small increments lose focus on providing a quality food and beverage experience with the necessary hospitality required for that exchange.

The process of forgetting the food is not uncommon by any means; we have identified it in many an assessment report this year alone. We as groups can become so fixated on penny profit improvements and millisecond ticket time changes that we can often forget there is a customer at the end of the process, and they really only care about whether the food and the service were to their expectations.

The cause is hard to identify, because it typically happens over time in a process one of our partners calls “death by a million cuts,” and it usually starts as a part of a cost-cutting measure or expansion effort. If you are currently with a company that has not introduced a new menu item in recent memory, or where there is no current food costing or no proven recipes, then you are potentially on that path.

If you have had discussions about how important it is to use Product X over Product Y in a recipe for streamlining the supply chain because it’s a penny cheaper although it of lesser quality, then you are at risk of losing your way. And it’s time to call a time-out if your company is evaluating the elimination of the culinary department to save on payroll with no plan for alternative development.

We recently had great success with clients who can identify that they have “jumped the shark” in this area of the business, and when they contact us it is often because they don’t realize how far they have evolved from the original standard set however long ago. Making one food change often has a string of attached consequences that may not have been originally anticipated but impact the business in more than one way.

For example, we worked with a barbecue restaurant that for consistency purposes decided to have some of the barbecue produced offsite in a plant. The initial intent of the change was actually to improve and standardize the product, but the unanticipated fallout was that the units no longer had the smell of barbecue because they weren’t producing it onsite when guests were on the premises. Customers noticed—it often came up in reports that the food was “not as good as it used to be.”

Rewinding the clock to the point that the particular decision was made was the solution, and instead of going offsite with the product we suggested they improve store-level training and prepare everything onsite. Initial testing brought food scores up a measurable degree, and the company saved money in the process by buying a raw product rather than a fully cooked one. This also served to lower the carbon footprint of the finished items.

In today’s restaurant landscape it is rarely the case that a restaurant in the casual segment needs a full-time executive chef onsite, and if outsourcing a product is the right solution it is definitely something we will recommend. It’s important, however, to always keep an internal standard for quality and to keep working on an item until it meets those standards. Synergy can help to clearly define those standards and find solutions to overcome any challenges that may present themselves as part of that effort.

One of the best pieces of advice I can offer clients who ask about simple, quick solutions is to suggest an internal quality panel made up of a few key players from objective departments who develop a set of parameters for quality and quality alone, with the ability to send a product or menu item back down the line for reworking if needed.

It’s a lot easier and far less expensive in the long run to keep your standards clearly in sight than it is to come back years or decades later trying to find out where things may have gone wrong and try to correct the situation. Saving money is what we all want to do, and shortening ticket times is a definite benefit to any concept. But if you can keep chanting “don’t forget the food” during the process, you and your guests will be happier in the end.

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Instagram Gratification

The business world had barely heard of Instagram prior to April 2012, when Facebook shelled out a billion dollars to acquire the cult-favorite photo-sharing site; now it’s one of the fastest-growing social media applications in the world. Instagram is viral, it’s visual, it’s inclusive and interactive, it’s food porn: What’s not to like?

We mentioned Instagram briefly last year in the article “New Tools for Your Social Media Arsenal,” but if you haven’t climbed on board yet, this may be the time. QSR Web recently gave a shout-out to visual content as the top marketing trend for 2013, and Instagram represents one of the easiest and most engaging ways to get visual with your brand. And, of course, food and beverages are one of the top subjects for Instagramming—about 60% of them, according to one source.

Now the company has rolled out a Web browser-based interface to complement its mobile platforms, making it easier to leverage the possibilities. Not surprisingly, especially given the Facebook connection, there is also a growing roster of available services and ancillary resources to support the app, including Statigram, Venueseen, and Simply Measured. (For more information on how to use such resources, click here.)

Starbucks is an early-to-the-party example of how to put the Instagram platform to work in a sophisticated, integrated fashion. Here are some other ways that Instagram is being used in the restaurant world:

• Dude-food website foodrepublic.com has let several high-profile chefs, like Tom Colicchio and Marc Vetri, take over its Instagram, allowing them to spend some time snapping and commenting away in and out of their restaurants. The site also publishes its favorite photos from readers. How about that for “great exposure”?

• Comodo, a Latin American restaurant in New York City, may be the first restaurant with an Instagram menu. Owners Felipe Felipe Donnelly and Tamy Rofe couldn’t help noticing that patrons were snapping away in their new restaurant anyway, so they asked them to upload the photos to Instagram, using the hashtag #comodomenu. A virtual “menu” of pictures is created, and customers are able to easily search the app for a quick glance of the restaurant’s offerings. And anyone who contributed a photo gets instant buy-in, as in “Hey, I took that photo!”

• Report your company news via Instagram by using it as a public relations tool to announce the news visually, including daily specials, profiles of staff members or regular customers, recaps of events, or to take your customers behind-the-scenes into the kitchen. Spy House Coffee, in Minneapolis, uses the app to showcase its baristas, events and contests.

• Reward your Instagrammers. Host preview menus or other special events for loyal Instagram followers, or treat them to a free drink, dessert or appetizer. You can also use Instagram to run a contest, promoted via other social media accounts. For instance, you can encourage patrons to share images from their meal, including a #hashtag so that you can track entries.

• Or do what Ben & Jerry’s did, using Instagram as the platform for a multilayered campaign that asks fans to “Capture Euphoria.” Users snap pictures of what joy looks like; tagged photos are posted to the gallery, and 20 of them will be selected for use in local advertising around the world. The genius of this campaign, created by Silver + Partners, is that it simultaneously engages and rewards ice cream lovers.

• Use multiple hashtags to help your business get found. Instagram lets you tag your photos with hashtags (i.e., #1234, #abcd) so that each photo will automatically be added to a search base. For example, if you post a picture of your popular Cobb Salad and label it with your restaurant’s Instagram hashtag as well as #CobbSalad, people who are in the mood for a salad or even looking for a recipe at home are more likely to find you.

If you’re new to Instagram and want to boost your own photo-taking skills, this article from The Boston Globe is a great starting point.

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Tip of the Month

Food Republic is one of our favorite new(ish) sites. Ostensibly designed for a male audience, the site and its associated weekly newsletter are loaded with recipes, drink information, chef interviews, food trends, culinary-travel information, kitchen product information and more—ideal for the restaurant professional of any gender

As restaurant consultants, our goal is to help you make your restaurant as
successful as possible. Sometimes, our clients aren’t sure exactly where
they need help or what needs to be done. Regardless of your specific
situation, it’s all about maximizing your restaurant’s efficiencies.

We help owners elevate their restaurants, from independently-owned, to
national franchises and chains, to the next level:

• operations
• menu development
• nutritional analysis
• supply chain management
• restaurant start-up help
• restaurant management
• marketing
• branding
• restaurant design
• quick service, fine dining, and chain

Synergy Restaurant Consultants: 25 years of restaurant success. Contact us
for more information on how we can help take your restaurant to the next
level of success in 2013.

The new age of the Internet has provided massive marketing opportunities for all businesses particularly through the use of social media. We all know and love websites like Facebook and Twitter for restaurant promotions, branding and customer engagement but if you haven’t joined Pinterest yet, you may be losing out on valuable exposure.

 

One of the latest social media sites to take storm, Pinterest has garnered immense popularity with over 20 million users and recent data analysis performed by  Shareaholic show that Pinterest is now beating out Bing, Twitter and Google (Google referral) for referral traffic. So what exactly is so unique about Pinterest that it’s competing with the Web’s behemoths?

 

Pinterest is a social media site that allows people to organize, post and share things they love online by “pinning” websites and photos onto virtual “boards.” Much like Twitter, people can follow others’ activity and share things they like by “repinning” (just like “retweeting) someone’s pins; but unlike Twitter, Pinterest is visually captivating due to the primary use of photos in the layout.

 

Imagine the viral possibilities you have when you use Pinterest for your resaturant as a part of your social media engagement.

 

Example of Pinterest Boards

Pinterest for Restaurants: Simple Tips

• Take beautiful high resolution photos of your dishes, restaurant (interior, exterior), and guests
• Create different boards such as “Greek cuisine,” “noodle dishes,” “delectable desserts,” “cocktails” or “healthy food” and pin photos accordingly
• Write blog posts about your restaurant and pin those and any other web pages from your main website
• When pinning a photo of a dish, write a good description along with the name of your restaurant.
• Use hash tags in descriptions, just as you would on Twitter
• Pin special dishes like the soup of the day
• Pin special events that take place at your restaurant
• Be an active Pinterest member and engage with other users; follow others, repin and like other pins

 

Following these simple tips can help you get you started with one of the most popular social media websites in the world today.

Did you know that in the quick serve segment, Moms and Millennials are the two most important demographic groups?

 

In the case of Millennials (18 to 34 year olds), this group is known to visit restaurants more than any other generation. A recent study conducted by foodservice research group, Technomic, delved further into the expectations of Millennials (beyond their palate preferences) by examining the restaurants they considered more socially responsible (think sustainable, green, local, hormone free and organic food, and community involvement).

 

So who made the list? Technomic’s study revealed that In-N-Out Burger, McAlister’s Deli, Logan’s Roadhouse, and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store were named among the top restaurants that Millennials viewed as socially responsible.

 

Let’s take a quick look at a couple of restaurants that we feel are doing a notable job of creating an emotional connection with their customers. LYFE Kitchen is a fine example of a brand who exemplifies their mission of “Eat good, feel good, do good” through all aspects of the restaurant, from food sourcing best practices (sustainable, local and organic whenever possible) to healthy menu, décor, and participating in community-driven charity partnerships.

 

Five Guys Burgers and Fries, similar to In-N-Out in menu and fan-following, commits to only freshness and quality when it comes to the food. For example, Five Guys only uses fresh, never frozen ground beef (they don’t even have freezers in their locations, only coolers) and allows guests to add unlimited free fresh toppings (free!). Locations also have signs mounted on the wall that proudly display where “today’s potatoes are from.”

 

How do your customers view your restaurant’s brand? It’s often an easily overlooked aspect but significant, nevertheless. There is the element of emotional connection that your brand can share with your patrons, as this study demonstrates.  Are there any values or philosophies that you implement at your restaurant? Do you only use certain ingredients such as grass-fed only beef or free range chicken? Does your restaurant support a particular charity or organization? When someone comes across your restaurant name, what do they think of? What do people associate your brand with? If you need assistance with restaurant branding, contact Synergy today for a free initial consultation.

 

For more restaurant industry and related news articles like this, sign up for our free newsletter!

 

Business-sized cards and a custom rubber stamp – just 2 ingredients to help you gain repeat customers! Loyalty cards are a simple and inexpensive method of producing regular guests to your restaurant.

 

We recently visited for the first time, Boiling Point, a Tawainese Hot Pot restaurant (hot pot is similar to Japanese Shabu Shabu) at their Irvine location. A delicious ancient dish with a culinary history of over 1,000 years in China, the Boiling Point hot pot concept was truly a hot pick for dinner on a chilly, overcast California night. They serve 10 hot pot soups on their menu, including beef, Thai, Korean kimchi, curry fishball, lamb, house special, stinky tofu, seafood and tofu, and tomato and veggie hot soups. Choose from mild to very spicy and pick a side dish of steamed white jasmine rice or thin rice vermicelli noodles. The soups come to you boiling hot, served in a small wok kept piping hot from a lit sterno candle placed underneath. My beef hot pot hit the spot – thin beef slices, imitation crab, enoki mushrooms, napa cabbage, tomato, corn, fishball and tofu in a boiling sweet and savory broth.

 

After receiving the check, a few of the people in our group pulled out their “point cards.” These business-sized loyalty cards reward guests a free hot soup after collecting 10 stamps: “Get one free hot soup for next purchase, when 10 stamps were collected.” They even provided a loyalty card just for their popular tea drinks and slushes.

 

The loyalty card concept is classic and traditional, but can still be very effective. If you think about it, new technologies like FourSquare have pretty much “modernized” this frequent guest loyalty/rewards method. Consider offering both loyalty options to your guests to maximize your reach. If you need assistance with your customer loyalty program, contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants.

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.

In a new article appearing in the September 26 issue, Nation’s Restaurant News shares a number of great industry ideas for “10 ways to build business inside your restaurant’s four walls”—all of them “touch points” for the consumer’s dining out experience.

We’d like to add a few ideas of our own.

One: Make an Online Connection

• Be sure to post a current menu online, on both the website and Facebook, including prices
• Investigate a means for taking reservations as well as comments and criticism online
• Put your address and phone number on every page of your website

Two: Dress Up Your Outdoor Décor

• Ensure the safety of arriving guests with such basics as level pavement, minimal steps (if possible) or at least ones that are clearly marked, and adequate lighting so there are no darkened areas or blind spots
• Smooth the transition from indoors outdoors to in. If you operate in a cold climate, for instance, provide a heated “airlock”-type double entrance, or at least a heavy curtain with a clear way through to the dining or indoor entrance area
• If possible, display your menu somewhere that’s accessible and well-it, so passers-by can have a look before they decide

Three: Make Your Greeting Count

• In addition to friendliness and a warm welcome, there are nuts-and-bolts issues that should be addressed in the entryway or lobby as well, such as a place to put down packages or purses while removing coats (not to mention a place or a means to store coats), and/or a bench that’s enough out of traffic for a guest to wait for a car or another guest without having to go to the bar

Four: Tap Your Sales Keg

• Make sure there are nonalcoholic options for those who are not imbibing, for whatever reason. If they’re special enough—flavorful, signature items with appropriate glassware and garnish—you can even charge a premium for them.
• Make sure the bartender acknowledges a waiting guest even if he or she can’t take the order immediately

Five: Get a Rave Review

• Consider such tableside service touches as pouring a sauce onto an entrée, splitting up or providing additional plates for a dessert that customers say they will share, or tossing a salad tableside

Six: Fine Tune Your Food

• Try to respond to guests’ concerns about food allergies or intolerances, portion sizes, substitutions and “custom orders” by establishing clear policies and procedures with employees, and empowering both service and kitchen staff to follow through
• Make sure the menu is easy to read and understand from the point of view of such elements as typeface/size and layout, and the way the categories or organized, as well as table lighting

Seven: Show off Your Chef

• Consider including the name of your chef and other important kitchen personnel, such as the sous chef, on the menu
• Likewise, you may want to include a bio of your chef on the website, or even a blog, recipes and other, more personalized messaging from the kitchen. Chains such as Oceanaire Seafood Room are doing this to great effect

Eight: Rev Up Sales at the Drive-Thru

• At the risk of sounding xenophobic or un-PC, make sure the person taking order speaks clearly and without an accent that may be hard for the customer to understand
• Be cognizant of the fact that cars come in many sizes, from low-to-the-ground sports cars to big SUVs, when determining the height of speakers, window exchange areas, and the like

Nine: Make Guests Feel at Home

• Be aware and take steps to correct issues such as drafts and hot or cold spots, speaker “shadows” and the like
• Lighting, lighting, lighting (appropriate for your target customer, adequate without being too bright, and adapted to the function of the location—e.g., reading the menu at the table, the entrance to the restroom areas)
• On the subject of restrooms, if possible their entrance and layout should afford every possible privacy. They should not open directly into the dining room; if yours is a small restaurant with minimal room for a corridor, at least provide some sort of screen. And designate a staff member to check them regularly for cleanliness, availability of supplies, and so on

Ten: Leave a Lasting Impression

• Presenting loyalty cards, coupons and other materials to departing guests is all well and good, but make sure to do it with subtlety—consider leaving these on the table with the check or place them near the door where customers can grab them, if they want to

For more ideas on how to build your business, contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants

Now more than ever, it’s important to promote your restaurant. And a promo that’s about to debut at New York City’s Smith & Wollensky steakhouse illustrates why it pays to think out of the box when it comes to developing an event or program.

In a city with more than 150 steakhouses, each with its own cadre of diehard devotees (Sparks, Ben Benson’s, Peter Luger, The Palm—not to mention outposts of chains like Ruth’s Chris and Morton’s), S&W parent Fourth Wall Restaurants is asking customers to “pledge allegiance” to the 34-year-old bastion of beef in exchange for having the restaurant renamed after them … for a day. From October 3 through the end of the month, a different pledgee will be chosen daily at random and their last name will replace the “Smith,” on everything from the signs and awnings to the matchbooks and cocktail napkins.

The beauty part of this promotion is that it’s aimed straight at creating ownership and brand superiority. The pledge includes such credos as “Smith & Wollensky is MY steakhouse. I will have no other,” and “If I am taken to another steakhouse, I will politely direct the table conversation to the inferiority of the steakhouse to Smith & Wollensky”: 10 Wollensky-centric promises in all.

Facebook fans have furthered the message in kind ( “I pledge allegiance to S&W of midtown NYC and to the midtown for which it is in, one NY strip, medium well, uncut, with creamed spinach and fries for all!”)

The brilliant catch? You have to make a reservation in order to enter, which means—as the website points out—means you’ve already won.