OPINIONMarketing

How restaurants used to yell their identities from the rooftop

Restaurant Rewind: Once upon a time, marketing started literally at the top, with a distinctive color and configuration to a concept's roof. Here's how that practice poses a challenge today.

Social media may be the marketing channel of choice for restaurants today, but many chains once opted for loftier means. Like their roofs.

This week’s edition of Restaurant Rewind, Restaurant Business’ retro-focused podcast, looks back at restaurants' once-routine use of a particular color on the tops of their buildings as a marketing tool. Pizza Hut’s point of instant recognition was a red roof. Howard Johnson’s opted for orange. IHOP relied on light blue.

Podcast host and RB Editor At Large Peter Romeo takes listeners on a trip back to those days for a look at what was once a cookbook way of calling attention to a young concept. The quick report examines why the practice fell out of favor and how some brands are grappling with what those arresting roofs still say to the public about the concept they cap.

Download this and every episode from wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Financing

Despite their complaints, customers keep flocking to Chipotle

The Bottom Line: The chain continued to be a juggernaut last quarter, with strong sales and traffic growth, despite frequent social media complaints about shrinkflation or other challenges.

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.

Trending

More from our partners