The week in ideas, February 13, 2012

The NRA pulls out some new Valentine's Day research. We learn how to pick restaurants based on astrology. And some workers show a robber some pre-Valentine's Day love in the form of a can of oven cleaner.

Idea #1: State the obvious. In a recent press release, the National Restaurant Association stated: "While dining out remains a popular choice for Americans to celebrate Valentine's Day, new National Restaurant Association research shows that nearly one-third would also like to receive a restaurant gift card on February 14."

Idea #2: Complain offline. Sure, all the cool kids go online to unload on companies that have wronged them. A New York City restaurant went old school, putting it right up on the window.

Idea #3: Use astrology to pick a restaurant. Aries likes steakhouses. Cancer likes comfort foods. Etc.

Idea #4: Your new anti-theft weapon—oven cleaner. A guy pulls a gun on some workers at a Utah Mexican restaurant. One of the workers sprays the robber in the face with oven cleaner and he hits the floor.

 

 

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Operations

Hitting resistance elsewhere, ghost kitchens and virtual concepts find a happy home in family dining

Reality Check: Old-guard chains are finding the alternative operations to be persistently effective side hustles.

Financing

The Tijuana Flats bankruptcy highlights the dangers of menu miscues

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual chain’s problems following new menu debuts in 2021 and 2022 show that adding new items isn’t always the right idea.

Financing

For Papa Johns, the CEO departure came at the wrong time

The Bottom Line: The pizza chain worked to convince franchisees to buy into a massive marketing shift. And then the brand’s CEO left.

Trending

More from our partners