Business Sherpa: "Hey check this out bar owners - this is a great article on using Facebook to increase traffic and revenue to your bar!"
VIBE Newsletter
www.nightclub.com
October 17, 2011
By: Dave Dronkers
According to Facebook, more than 1 billion pieces of content are shared on the social networking sites each day! This presents a huge challenge in trying to get Facebook visitors to engage with your brand and your beverage program.
How have some restaurant companies figured out how to move from "broadcast" mode into "engagement"? How have they engaged people so well that their fans invite others along for the viral ride? You and your team may or may not be directly involved in social media marketing, however, it's important to understand how to execute it properly so it reaps the greatest rewards - traffic and sales - for your drink program.
To learn more, read the entire article... click here.
Showing posts with label full-service restaurants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label full-service restaurants. Show all posts
Monday, November 14, 2011
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Check out... Specialized brewery finds home in Fountain Square
Specialized brewery finds home in Fountain Square
By Sarah Richcreek / Star correspondent
IndyStar.com
As consumers look for more hand-crafted goods and a back-to-basics approach, one very specialized brewery has found a home in Fountain Square.
New Day Meadery is the only meadery in Indiana, and one of only 60 in the nation. Husband-and-wife team Brett Canaday and Tia Agnew began production in Elwood in 2001. In June, they opened a Fountain Square shop with a tasting room at 1102 Prospect St.
Mead, in essence, is honey wine. Because mead contains no grapes, which are naturally high in sugar, the fruit in mead needs the added sugar of the honey to increase the alcohol content.
Canaday and Agnew offer eight varieties, from dry to sweet. (Bottles range from $12 to $25.) Their tasting room is open to walk-ins, who can experience a single taste up to a full flight for a fee.
Canaday and Agnew plan to collaborate with local restaurants to provide food for larger tastings and parties, and they hope to host private cooking demonstrations.
By Sarah Richcreek / Star correspondent
IndyStar.com
As consumers look for more hand-crafted goods and a back-to-basics approach, one very specialized brewery has found a home in Fountain Square.
New Day Meadery is the only meadery in Indiana, and one of only 60 in the nation. Husband-and-wife team Brett Canaday and Tia Agnew began production in Elwood in 2001. In June, they opened a Fountain Square shop with a tasting room at 1102 Prospect St.
Mead, in essence, is honey wine. Because mead contains no grapes, which are naturally high in sugar, the fruit in mead needs the added sugar of the honey to increase the alcohol content.
Canaday and Agnew offer eight varieties, from dry to sweet. (Bottles range from $12 to $25.) Their tasting room is open to walk-ins, who can experience a single taste up to a full flight for a fee.
Canaday and Agnew plan to collaborate with local restaurants to provide food for larger tastings and parties, and they hope to host private cooking demonstrations.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
INSIDE DISH: Real estate deals central to success for Santorini
By: Mason King
IBJ.com, Inside Dish
Santorini Greek Kitchen, the realized dream of restaurateur Taki Sawi and one of the flagship eateries in the rebounding Fountain Square neighborhood. Growing up in Greece, Sawi developed a love for restaurants and worked his way up from dishwasher to chef. He met his future wife, Jeanette, in 1996 while she was traveling through Greece. One of his first questions to her: "How would you feel about marrying a restaurateur?"
They made their home in Indiana and opened the first version of Santorini Greek Kitchen in 2001 at 1112 Shelby St. in Fountain Square. The small eatery in a leased space was an instant success, but the experience with the $150,000 startup filled Taki with a certain dread. "Never ever put all your eggs in one basket," he says now, recalling putting both his and his mother-in-law's house up as collateral for loans.Sawi was convinced that with only 40-some seats he was leaving money on the table. In 2003, community development corporation Southeast Neighborhood Development secured an $850,000 loan to purchase and renovate a former bar and restaurant space at 1417 E. Prospect St., and signed Sawi to a lease-to-purchase agreement. He since has acquired the much larger space.
The importance of controlling his location is not lost on Taki.
To read more and view a video of Taki explaining how controlling the real estate around him was key to his Santorini's successs ... click here.
IBJ.com, Inside Dish
Santorini Greek Kitchen, the realized dream of restaurateur Taki Sawi and one of the flagship eateries in the rebounding Fountain Square neighborhood. Growing up in Greece, Sawi developed a love for restaurants and worked his way up from dishwasher to chef. He met his future wife, Jeanette, in 1996 while she was traveling through Greece. One of his first questions to her: "How would you feel about marrying a restaurateur?"
They made their home in Indiana and opened the first version of Santorini Greek Kitchen in 2001 at 1112 Shelby St. in Fountain Square. The small eatery in a leased space was an instant success, but the experience with the $150,000 startup filled Taki with a certain dread. "Never ever put all your eggs in one basket," he says now, recalling putting both his and his mother-in-law's house up as collateral for loans.Sawi was convinced that with only 40-some seats he was leaving money on the table. In 2003, community development corporation Southeast Neighborhood Development secured an $850,000 loan to purchase and renovate a former bar and restaurant space at 1417 E. Prospect St., and signed Sawi to a lease-to-purchase agreement. He since has acquired the much larger space.
The importance of controlling his location is not lost on Taki.
To read more and view a video of Taki explaining how controlling the real estate around him was key to his Santorini's successs ... click here.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Congrats Taki Sawi of Santorini Greek Kitchen!!!!
2010 Faces of Diversity American Dream Award winner: Taki Sawi
Business Sherpa says...
"One of Indy's best restauranteurs, congratulations Taki!!!!! If you haven't been to his restaurant--check it out for a real treat."
To view video go to... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZjvwbCY2PU&feature=player_embedded
Business Sherpa says...
"One of Indy's best restauranteurs, congratulations Taki!!!!! If you haven't been to his restaurant--check it out for a real treat."
To view video go to... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZjvwbCY2PU&feature=player_embedded
Friday, April 16, 2010
How I Did It: Jerry Murrell, Five Guys Burgers and Fries
Along with his sons, Jerry Murrell of Five Guys Burgers and Fries built a 570-store chain that enjoys a cult following.
Business Sherpa says... "Interesting read for anyone in the food business."
As Told to Liz Welch
Apr 1, 2010
Sell a really good, juicy burger on a fresh bun. Make perfect French fries. Don't cut corners. That's been the business plan since Jerry Murrell and his sons opened their first burger joint in 1986. When they began selling franchises in 2002, the family had just five stores in northern Virginia. Today, there are 570 stores across the U.S. and Canada, with 2009 sales of $483 million. Overseeing the opening of about four new restaurants a week, the Murrells are proof that flipping burgers doesn't have to be a dead-end job.
Read more to find out how they did it… click here.
Business Sherpa says... "Interesting read for anyone in the food business."
As Told to Liz Welch
Apr 1, 2010
Sell a really good, juicy burger on a fresh bun. Make perfect French fries. Don't cut corners. That's been the business plan since Jerry Murrell and his sons opened their first burger joint in 1986. When they began selling franchises in 2002, the family had just five stores in northern Virginia. Today, there are 570 stores across the U.S. and Canada, with 2009 sales of $483 million. Overseeing the opening of about four new restaurants a week, the Murrells are proof that flipping burgers doesn't have to be a dead-end job.
Read more to find out how they did it… click here.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Nation's Restaurant News Article
8 ways to build full-service sales
By Ron Ruggless
WASHINGTON (Jan. 22, 2010) While full-service restaurant sales aren't expected to rebound as quickly as in other industry segments, the National Restaurant Association offers eight ways that table-service operators can weigh the odds of recovery in their favor and build much-needed sales.
In its "2010 Restaurant Industry Forecast" the NRA expects full-service restaurant sales in 2010 to grow at a lesser pace than the industry as a whole, like it has for years as the segment takes big hits from consumers trading down and quick-service competitors increasing quality offerings.
Full-service sales are expected to total $184.2 billion in 2010, a 1.2 percent increase from 2009, while industry sales are expected to total $580.1 billion, a 2.5 percent jump. Even worse, after accounting for inflation, real full-service segment sales are expected to decline 1.5 percent in 2010. That follows on the heels of a 2009 decline of 6.2 percent.
“One of the primary differences in this past recessionary period compared to historical recessionary periods is that the higher-income households — the prime table-service market — reported substantial decreases in net worth as well as confidence,” said Hudson Riehle, the NRA’s senior vice president of research and knowledge.
Indeed, full-service operators, from lower-priced casual-dining chains to high-end independent operators have bore the brunt of this latest recession. Casual-dining chains have posted the largest same-store sales declines throughout the industry, and high-end independent operations have posted the largest numbers of closures.
Here are eight ways the NRA suggests full-service restaurants can build their business in a flat segment of the industry:
1. Offer value. NRA surveys found operators expected a third of fine-dining customers, 46 percent of family-dining patrons and 40 percent of casual-dining guests to be more value conscious in 2010 vs. 2009. Frequent-dining or loyalty programs are likely to be more popular.
2. Use social media. Among operators not using Facebook, an NRA survey found four of every 10 plan to create a presence in 2010. About a fifth of full-service operators planned to use YouTube or similar video-sharing sites. Users of social sites such as Yelp and Twitter are expected to increase this year.
3. Market via e-mail. Already seven of every 10 fine-dining establishments keep in touch with customers via e-mail, but only half of casual-dining operators and a third of family-dining operations do so. An NRA survey found 41 percent of customers say they try a new restaurant because of e-mailed promotions, and 54 percent learn about restaurants on the Internet.
4. Create events. Restaurants can offer private tastings or events. The NRA found 64 percent of adults surveyed would attend chef’s table dinners and private tastings.
5. Boost off-premise offerings. Nearly three in every 10 adults surveyed by the NRA said take-out food is essential to the way they live, so to-go and catering has sales-growth potential.
6. Market green initiatives. About four in 10 consumers said they were likely to pick a restaurant based on its conservation practices, and about seven in 10 were more likely to choose a restaurant if it featured locally produced ingredients.
7. Tap technology. Online ordering offers room for growth and less than 2 percent of full-service restaurants provide a tableside ordering or payment option.
8. Emphasize health. Half of adults surveyed said table-service restaurants provide easy ways for them to choose portion sizes.
By Ron Ruggless
WASHINGTON (Jan. 22, 2010) While full-service restaurant sales aren't expected to rebound as quickly as in other industry segments, the National Restaurant Association offers eight ways that table-service operators can weigh the odds of recovery in their favor and build much-needed sales.
In its "2010 Restaurant Industry Forecast" the NRA expects full-service restaurant sales in 2010 to grow at a lesser pace than the industry as a whole, like it has for years as the segment takes big hits from consumers trading down and quick-service competitors increasing quality offerings.
Full-service sales are expected to total $184.2 billion in 2010, a 1.2 percent increase from 2009, while industry sales are expected to total $580.1 billion, a 2.5 percent jump. Even worse, after accounting for inflation, real full-service segment sales are expected to decline 1.5 percent in 2010. That follows on the heels of a 2009 decline of 6.2 percent.
“One of the primary differences in this past recessionary period compared to historical recessionary periods is that the higher-income households — the prime table-service market — reported substantial decreases in net worth as well as confidence,” said Hudson Riehle, the NRA’s senior vice president of research and knowledge.
Indeed, full-service operators, from lower-priced casual-dining chains to high-end independent operators have bore the brunt of this latest recession. Casual-dining chains have posted the largest same-store sales declines throughout the industry, and high-end independent operations have posted the largest numbers of closures.
Here are eight ways the NRA suggests full-service restaurants can build their business in a flat segment of the industry:
1. Offer value. NRA surveys found operators expected a third of fine-dining customers, 46 percent of family-dining patrons and 40 percent of casual-dining guests to be more value conscious in 2010 vs. 2009. Frequent-dining or loyalty programs are likely to be more popular.
2. Use social media. Among operators not using Facebook, an NRA survey found four of every 10 plan to create a presence in 2010. About a fifth of full-service operators planned to use YouTube or similar video-sharing sites. Users of social sites such as Yelp and Twitter are expected to increase this year.
3. Market via e-mail. Already seven of every 10 fine-dining establishments keep in touch with customers via e-mail, but only half of casual-dining operators and a third of family-dining operations do so. An NRA survey found 41 percent of customers say they try a new restaurant because of e-mailed promotions, and 54 percent learn about restaurants on the Internet.
4. Create events. Restaurants can offer private tastings or events. The NRA found 64 percent of adults surveyed would attend chef’s table dinners and private tastings.
5. Boost off-premise offerings. Nearly three in every 10 adults surveyed by the NRA said take-out food is essential to the way they live, so to-go and catering has sales-growth potential.
6. Market green initiatives. About four in 10 consumers said they were likely to pick a restaurant based on its conservation practices, and about seven in 10 were more likely to choose a restaurant if it featured locally produced ingredients.
7. Tap technology. Online ordering offers room for growth and less than 2 percent of full-service restaurants provide a tableside ordering or payment option.
8. Emphasize health. Half of adults surveyed said table-service restaurants provide easy ways for them to choose portion sizes.
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