I do! I love the feeling you get when you walk through the door. I love the smell as you walk in — the smile of the host or hostess, the variety of conversations as you walk by the tables, the feel of the menu after you’ve been seated. For me, this goes back a long time.
My First Time
I remember the first time I went to a restaurant without being accompanied by an adult. I must have been all of nine years old. I really wanted to experience a restaurant in that way so I grabbed my younger brother and dragged him to a cafe inside a bowling alley. Being nine, I ordered the best meal they had — pancakes! I was hooked. I guess I love being waited on more than anything else, although, if you’ve ever seen me, you’d say it was the food!
Restaurants Are Still a Passion
It wasn’t that much of a stretch, therefore, to focus on restaurants in my business. If you’ve read my “About Me” section, you would know that I have a graphic design and marketing business (go to my website and get the big picture). I toyed around with the idea of going after certain niches over the past several months and sat down one day to explore that. Restaurants kept coming up number one so I developed a marketing package for restaurants.
How Can I Help
The owners of restaurants are the busiest people you’d ever meet. In my career I’ve dealt with all types of managers and owners of businesses big and small and I’ve never seen anyone work as hard as someone who owns a restaurant. With that in mind, I felt there was something I could offer.
What Does a Restaurant Need?
- Website
- Menus
- E-mail Promotion
- Professional Photography
- Copywriting/Press Releases
- Registration with restaurant review websites
- Gift Certificates/Gift Cards
- Promotional Items (T-shirts, caps, coasters, mugs, etc.)
- Postcards for Direct Mail
- Newspaper/Magazine Ads
- Menus – in-house or downloadable
There are more things we could add to the list but I believe the most important item is service. What good is a website if you can’t get your webmaster to make changes in a timely manner? What good are menus if they have misspellings or wrong prices? What good is a promotional t-shirt if it doesn’t have the right message or generate the right buzz?
Commitment to Your Business
It’s service and experience that counts. You’ve got to have someone who is by your side, who treats your business like it’s their business. You’ve got to have someone who’s been around the block and understands people and systems. So I put together a comprehensive package for restaurant owners. Whether you are starting a new restaurant or upgrading an existing one, I can help.
Any Stories to Share?
So restaurant owners, I would love to talk to you about the feeling a customer gets when they walk through your door. The smell, the sounds, the people. Do you have any restaurant success stories? Horror stories? Is your restaurant a source of pride or do you dread going to work? I want to hear those stories! I’ll add a few of my own in the near future. In the meantime, go to one of your favorite restaurants tonight (maybe it’s yours!) and savor the experience. Life is good!
