Are We Turning Restaurants Into Department Stores?

Its 7:00am when you first smell that fresh coffee brewing.  Half asleep and groggy eyed, you quietly pour the first cup of piping hot goodness.  As the mug warms your hands, you give a long morning stretch, and lazily open your laptop.  The calm peacefulness of early morning is soothing like crawling in fresh sheets after a hot shower.  Quiet, serene, the morning is yours.  Now it’s time to wake up, sleepyheads!

Like most Americans, your first morning task is to check email, delete spam, and cipher what really matters.  Without fail, there is a coupon in your inbox offering 53% off at your favorite local restaurant.

Hook, line, and sinker you’re sold.  Is this really a good thing?  Are we turning restaurants into department stores?

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Top 5 Reasons Why Fast Eddies Bon Air Sells

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Across from St. Louis, in the small river town of Alton, IL resides a legendary bar called Fast Eddies Bon Air.  Some gather for the drinks, most come for the food.  The scene resembles “The Double Deuce” from the movie Roadhouse, hosting everything from bikers to attorneys.  The only difference is Patrick Swayze isn’t ripping out throats, and Fast Eddies clientele is MUCH friendlier.

The dark interior of Fast Eddies is lit up with neon beer signs, old memorabilia, and glowing flat screens covering the days sporting events.  At first glance, it’s not a place to take your mother.  Only to find out, your mom loves Fast Eddies!

So why does Fast Eddies draw such a crowd?  I’ve seen Sundays where they ring 500+ food orders by 2pm.  That’s just warm up!  What is their secret?  How do they do it?  Here are the 5 reasons why Fast Eddie’s Bon Air sells:

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Why Mister Rodgers Would Make an Excellent Restaurateur (and so can you!)

Won’t you be, my neighbor?  This was the theme song to a long airing PBS show called Mister Rodgers Neighborhood.  The lovable character, Mister Rodgers, asked this of American children for close to 33 years.  He believed in community and crossing the fence to meet your neighbors.  You know what?  Fred Rodgers would have made an excellent restaurateur!

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5 Things Your Restaurant Can Learn From Man vs Food

We have all seen Man vs Food on the Travel Channel.  A heavyweight eater by the name of Adam Richman tours the country battling the mightiest of food challenges.  Season 1 aired in St. Louis at the World Famous Crown Candy Kitchen:

The Challenge:  Dominate 5-24oz Milkshakes in 30 minutes.

The thought of slurping down 5 ice cold malt milkshakes is enough to make any man shudder.  Many brave warriors have battled, and only around 30 people have tasted sweet victory since 1913 (according to wiki).  That’s a food legacy!  Let’s just say food won this battle of Man vs Food.

So what gives?  Are we such an obese country that we get off watching a guy devour 8000 calories?  My first reaction is to say “hells yes!”  But that’s half of it…The other side is watching what food challenges restaurants dream up.  Is your restaurant a legacy?

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Quick Reasons Why Prix Fixe Menus Rock

While they are nothing new, Prix Fixe Menus are a hot trend right now.  At least in St. Louis, they are cropping up everywhere!  In a downward economy people still want to eat out, but are looking to save cash.  Prix Fixe Menus bring in business and help your customers out.  Here are some quick reasons why:

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Top 5 Non-Tech Ways to Hustle Street Traffic for Your Restaurant

Location is EVERYTHING, right?  Of course it is!  Will you always be slammed?  Not necessarily.  The Field of Dreams idea “if you build it they will come” doesn’t really pertain to real life.  Mondays, cold rain, lack of exposure, and poor marketing are all factors that can kill a business.  Therefore “location is everything” doesn’t always hold true.

Let’s say you’re in a relatively high traffic area and you normally do well.  Today just happens to be one of those days, and you’re abnormally slow.  How can you increase street business?  Google Favorite Places may be one way, but I am a bit skeptical.  Let’s ditch advanced technology for a second, and get back to our roots.  Below are 5 tips for hustling street traffic:

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4 Quick Tips to Double Your Lunch Crowd

Office buildings are freaking hilarious (at least mine is).  It’s not uncommon for the question “What’s for lunch” to spring up around 8am.  That sounds ridiculous, but if you forget lunch at home then you’re eating out.  It’s a great idea to get that ball rolling early.

If you work in a restaurant, you might not understand the politics behind a lunch break.  It’s the highlight of the day!  Everyone has to eat, and you’ve got one hour to do it.  The power is that offices order food in groups.  Do most restaurants understand this culture?  It amazes me that local restaurants never stop by our office to offer incentives.  They could be killing it!  Here are 4 quick office promo tips:

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Why Field of Dreams is the Worst Movie Ever


Remember the movie “Field of Dreams?”  It’s about a middle-aged guy named Ray Kinsella living with his family among the vast cornfields of Iowa.  While farming the yellow fields one day…Ray hears a voice.  The voice softly whispers “If you build it, he will come.”  Taken by surprise, he continues laboring and tending his precious crops to feed his family.  As time passes, the voice starts booming louder and louder – “If you build it, he will come” – “If you build it, he will come.”  This sparks relentless ambition into Ray as he realizes what the voice is telling him:  Build a baseball diamond.  Thus starting the worst movie ever made…

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Top 5 Ways Social Media is Like Fishing

The majority of my life I grew up fishing private ponds, streams, and rivers in Missouri.  There is nothing like the serene stillness and peace of a bright summer day on the crystal water.  This is my element, at least as a kid it was.  I remember tying neon green and construction orange lures in hopes of landing that monster 8lb large mouth bass.  Constant casting and reeling while my lure danced across clear water taught me a great deal of patience.  In a way, fishing is like social media.  Are your customers biting your lures?

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Are Restaurants Spamming Facebook?

Its official, we are full blown Vayniacs at UrbanBacon.  Can you blame us?  The guy is flat out awesome!  Yesterday Gary Vaynerchuk posted a video calling out spammers on Facebook. You can watch the video here. One particular winery directly posted blatant spam on Wine Library TV’s Facebook Page.  They even had the audacity to link emails and offer a discount to customers.  Gary was not impressed by this marketing  fail…

According to Vaynerchuk, this is happening more on Facebook.  As his example proves, the food and hospitality industry are also among the spammers.  Which brings up a logical argument.  Are restaurants more likely to spam?  A unique battle restaurants have is the constant need to get the word out about daily specials.  Typically, unless people are actively looking for specials, they consider pushing them spammy.  Just like Gary implies, it’s time to stop spamming your customers.

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