20 Reasons Why UrbanBacon Works

Have you ever poured your heart into something?  Got lost in the process?  Forgot you’re actually working?  To me, that’s UrbanBacon.  I love restaurants.  I love going out.  I love friends.  It makes my world go around…

Today, the most unbelievable thing happened.  I was slogging through a mundane day, barely holding my eyes open.  Then I received a phone call.  It was Nicolas Carretero from Guido’s Pizzeria and Tapas who we recently interviewed (Check out the interview here).

I picked up the phone “This is Phil.”  Nicolas responded “Hey Phil, how ya doing?”  I thought to myself…well, I could tell him how incredibly slow my day has been.  How much I despise training and the corporate world (my day job).  But I went with a standard “Great, what’s up?”

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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

photo credit

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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Meet Nicolas Carretero from Guido’s Pizzeria and Tapas – “A Classic on The St. Louis Hill”

As you may know, The UB Blog loves doing interviews from all walks of life within the restaurant industry.  From food bloggers, owners, and even software programmers.  If they are involved within the industry, we want to meet them.

Today we get to interview an individual who is aspiring as the next generation taking over his family restaurant.  Over this past month, I have had the privilege of working with Nicolas Carretero from Guido’s Pizzeria and Tapas located on The St. Louis Hill.  Before I start yapping away, let’s get to the interview!

1.  First off, welcome to The UB Blog!  Whenever I get the privilege to interview a local restaurant, I want to know the background.  Can you tell me the story behind Guido’s Pizzeria & Tapas?

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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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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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