50 Great Ideas 2020

50 Great Ideas 2020

DQ camp-in

Dairy Queen’s Box of Happy promotion offered families activities based on summer fun such as camping and going to the beach.

50 Great Ideas 2020

Everyone is a ghost kitchen

NRD Capital, owner of Ruby Tuesday, has created Franklin Junction, a company that allows any restaurant to become a potential “ghost kitchen.” It connects restaurants that want to expand into new markets with other restaurants that want to act as host concepts.

Koval Distillery in Chicago, Short Path Distillery in Boston and others shifted their operations to begin producing hand sanitizer to address the nationwide shortage during the pandemic.

Focus Brands, parent of McAlister’s Deli, Jamba and others, launched a webinar series to educate developers and prospective franchisees on its post-pandemic growth plans.

Commander’s Palace in New Orleans offered weekly themed wine and cheese collections for delivery. Purchasers then get a guided tasting from the restaurant’s sommelier via Zoom.

Korean-inspired bar Miki’s Park in Chicago sold kits of all the materials needed to play Titanic, a drinking game in which participants pour soju into a shot glass floating in a glass of beer.

Lucy’s Burgers in White Bear Lake, Minn., introduced carhop service and drive-in movies with an inflatable movie screen on Saturday nights.

Every Thursday, Cowboy Chicken posted favorite recipes for dishes that were taken off the menu, such as tacos and campfire veggies. Home cooks sheltering in place could make each of the dishes in less than an hour with pantry staples.

Erik Bruner-Yang, founder of Foreign National restaurant group in Washington, D.C., launched a crowd-funding initiative based on a mathematical model that works to hire displaced workers and feed communities.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit sought contenders for “Mom’s best advice” via social media through the month of May. The person who submitted the best bit of wisdom received free barbecue for a year.

  • Page 2