The cost of everything seems to be going up these days. From the fresh veggies that we put into our dishes to the takeout boxes, we use to box up the food for our patrons. It seems like everybody is raising prices. Ours is an industry with already painfully thin margins: it’s simply not possible…
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As the pandemic nears its end and restaurants reopen, many Portland restaurants are struggling to reel in old customers and gain new ones. Instagram influencers offer an opportunity for Portland restaurant owners to reach the legions of Portlanders who venture out to new restaurants based on influencer recommendations. We have compiled some of the most…
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A mobile app for restaurants on Main Street (not Wall Street) When you think about the phrase mobile app for restaurants, do you think about Doordash or Grubhub or UberEats? Every restaurant owner knows these apps. And just about all hate them with a fiery passion. That’s because so many of these apps exploit restaurants…
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Portland has a bunch of unicorn ordering apps that dominate the market. Is it essential for Portland’s restaurateurs to have another alternative? We’ve been asked this question a few times, and it’s true. The “Big Four” do dominate the landscape—and maybe from a consumer perspective, another app isn’t necessary. Something better is desperately needed for…
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A marketing lesson from Barclay Prime When restaurateur Stephen Starr opened his new steakhouse Barclay Prime in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse neighborhood he knew he needed to find a way to differentiate it. In Philly, a city known for its food, his restaurant was in a crowded market. Philly has many steakhouses. What was he going to…
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In his landmark marketing book Contagious, researcher Jonah Berger highlights the importance of scarcity to successfully encouraging word of mouth. He uses the McRib at McDonald’s as an example. Several decades ago, McDonald’s introduced the McRib. Due to a series of supply-chain issues, they couldn’t keep the item in stock, which led to the item…
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