The week in ideas, December 10, 2012

Yelp reviews in the bathroom. Resourceful employees. A super-sustainable Applebee’s. And no more rare burgers in London. A well-done Week In Ideas awaits.

Idea #1: Yelp reviews as bathroom music. Despite its Michelin award and four-stars on Yelp, San Diego’s Craft & Commerce has to deal with negative reviews from online critics like everybody else. As a bit of its own commentary on those often overblown negative reviews, the restaurant started playing them on their bathroom sound system.

Idea #2: Cross-train employees. Two Huddle House workers in North Carolina delivered a baby in the restaurant’s parking lot. No word if the baby girl will be named French Toast Platter in honor of the chain.

Idea #3: A living wall. That a whole bunch of other sustainable features were included in the new Applebee’s in Manhattan, the city and the chain’s first LEED-certified restaurant.

Idea #4: Ban rare meat. London’s City Council just did it, along with banning medium-rare, too. "If you follow the guidelines to the letter then you’re going to destroy the burger industry," one London chef bemoaned.

 

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