50 Great Ideas
6. High-tech service bell
Diners at Del’s Hideout in San Diego receive call buttons upon ordering at the counter. The push-button technology features a GPS device that quickly notifies servers via a smartwatch if a guest requires attention. Del’s three-button system allows guests to easily order another round of food and beverages, request the bill and more without the hassle of waiting in line or having to flag down a server.
50 Great Ideas
41. Menu to amuse parents
In a clever way to market to parents who come in with fussy kids, hotel restaurant Fager’s Island Restaurant & Bar in Ocean City, Md., calls its kids menu “Kid Friendlies,” with items named for kids’ moods. The “I don’t care” is a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich, the “I don’t want that” is code for french fries, and the “What?” is a cheese quesadilla, among other offerings. As an added perk, when a child tells a parent they aren’t hungry, the adult can say there’s something on the menu for that.
At University of Wisconsin-Superior, Sous Chef Sandy Thompson makes use of excess food with dog treats. She puts leftovers such as sweet potatoes, oatmeal, turkey bacon and peas in the freezer and whips up a batch of treats when she has 16 quarts’ worth, adding just egg and flour. The operation donates most of the treats to the humane society.
“Social media needs to be personal. I’ve seen voices that don’t match the brand,” said Donnie Madia, partner of One Off Hospitality in Chicago, at the National Restaurant Association Show. The in-house social media experts for the multiconcept operator develop feeds for each individual concept, following the three C’s: consistency, content and community.
Inspire Brands, the parent company of Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic Drive-In and Arby’s, fired up a new website that details the chains’ economic and social impact on each state where they operate. The site shows how much its brands donated to philanthropic causes state by state and nationally, as well as how many jobs are provided and recently created in each state by its restaurants, how much economic activity is generated, how many franchisees are located in the market and how many restaurants have been built.
Third-party delivery drivers are the in-person representation of a restaurant brand, even though they don’t work for that concept. So restaurants should think about winning those drivers over: Make them feel welcome and treat them as guests, said Skip Kimpel, VP of IT for Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza, at the Restaurant Innovation Summit.
Upscale-casual chain Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants rewards general managers and executive kitchen managers with free BMW leases for three years based on their ability to develop staffers. At a time when good labor—especially at the management level—is hard to come by, the program encourages managers to develop and mentor quality employees and build new leaders, even as they work on the day-to-day business.
To build business during its slower dinners hours, fast-casual chain Fresh & Co. in New York City is testing Fresh & Co. After Dark, an exclusive delivery dinner menu that customers can’t get in stores. The curated, scaled-down menu includes composed salads prepped for delivery as well as entrees, a few desserts and small plates.
Around Valentine’s Day, Corner Bakery Cafe created shareable cards highlighting certain menu items. The cards, with messages such as “I Ham Yours” and “Avacadon’t Ever Leave Me,” were shared across multiple social media platforms. “We really drove guest engagement via social during this time,” said CMO Donna Josephson during the National Restaurant Association Show.