Snowbound Restaurants Need to Quickly Develop the Blizzard Buffet
It's time to get creative and put your marketing skills to work. Develop a barrage of blizzard specials, or create a buffet menu. Tweet your customers, Facebook your friends and reconnect with your regulars to move that food.
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Snow has blanketed the East Coast.
And, for the second time in as many weeks shovels have become a tool of frequent implementation. This is not something ay restaurant owner wants or needs. Both of the last two major blizzards blanketing the Eastern seaboard have fallen at week's end. This ruins weekend business.
Orders have already been placed, produce has been delivered and many a case of chicken, beef and ribs have already been broken down, prepped and are in the walk-in box waiting for a call to action on the stove.
Nothing is more painful to a chef, an owner or an accounting department than to watch food perish. And, nothing is more exciting to customers than a spontaneous party hosted by their neighborhood restaurant.
And, all the ingredients are readily available: An abundance of food, and empty dining room, and a group of neighbors who need a diversion to boost their spirits.
It almost sounds like the perfect opportunity to build a clientele and please those people so important to your business.
It's definitely a Warren Hinckle moment, you know, Lemons to Lemonade
It may be time to team up with Twitter, Facebook or whatever other form of social media you use and quickly announce the Blizzard Buffet or the special blizzard menu.
It makes little or no sense to watch food rot. And, once the week begins, traffic counts will remain slow and business may be non existent until the weather breaks and the streets clear. Plus, after a full weekend of shoveling, people will choose to stay home and recuperate.
It's time to get creative and put your marketing skills to work. Develop a barrage of blizzard specials, or create a buffet menu. Tweet your customers, Facebook your friends and reconnect with your regulars to move that food.
Develop the menu with a community service spirit in mind. Lower the prices to full the house. Create a special blizzard drink. Turn on the stove, make the hot buttered rum. Turn the blizzard into a party. It's a tremendous way to move the food, keep the customers happy and shake off the cabin fever.
