A Restaurant Brand Creator on How to Keep People Coming Back

“Sue Chan is the founder and chief executive officer of Care of Chan, a two-year-old brand management agency that has worked with a hit list of restaurants including Alta, Cosme, Una Pizza Napoletana, and Wildair to create that all-important but so-hard-to-capture great restaurant experience. Chan was previously the brand director at Momofuku for seven years.

At her own company, Chan focuses in on everything that makes a memorable restaurant experience the type of place that customers want to keep returning to again and again. While there’s no set formula for creating that unforgettable experience, once it’s in place it can drive sales and longterm customer loyalty like no quick-hitting press coverage can. “It doesn’t matter if you’re on Bon Appetit’s top ten, you could close in a year or two,” Chan explained. “That is a real thing that happens a lot. It’s more about just caring about the actual customers who come in every single day, and focusing on that community and building that community.”

See full interview here.

 

Chinese Noodles From a Chile-Haunted Region

“The rise of Sichuan food in New York has made the past decade or two a glorious era for prowlers of Chinese restaurants. Chongqing chicken and mung-bean jelly proliferated as skilled chefs flocked to the city. But while the miles of dan dan noodles and mountains of Sichuan peppercorns have been exhilarating, they have tended to overshadow the cuisine of another great chile-haunted region, Hunan.”

“When people in Hunan get hungry for a bowl of noodles, what they have in mind are mifen: long, white strands made from pounded rice, so smooth they may slither right out of the chopsticks of inexperienced slurpers. Chances for New Yorkers to practice their antiskid chopstick techniques have been limited, generally speaking, to the rice noodles of other parts of Asia. When you could find Hunanese noodles around town, they tended to be tucked away on larger menus with so many other Hunanese opportunities that they were rarely given a chance to slither.”

Read more here.

Restaurants Offering Halloween Promotions

For the first time ever, Krispy Kreme has released the Trick-or-Treat Doughnut—a scary good mashup of candies and doughnuts. This new creation features an Original Glazed Doughnut dipped and drizzled in salted caramel and topped with pieces of some of your favorite chocolate Halloween candies.

The Trick-or-Treat Doughnut joins another new creation, the all-new Monster Batter Doughnut, featuring a classic cake batter filling, dipped in slime green icing and topped with monster eyes and festive confetti. These two new doughnuts join Krispy Kreme Halloween fan favorites the Jack-O-Lantern Doughnut, and the Chocolate Iced Doughnut with Halloween Sprinkles.

“Our newest collection brings the fun-filled spirit and delicious flavors of Halloween, creating an unexpected treat option for celebrations all month long,” says Alison Holder, Vice President of U.S. Marketing for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. “No matter what your Halloween plans or cravings are, Krispy Kreme has the perfect spooky treat.”

To complete the season of fun, Krispy Kreme is also hosting the ultimate costume party. Wear your costume on October 31 to get a free doughnut of choice at participating U.S. Krispy Kreme shops.”

To view more restaurants offering Halloween promotions click here.

NYC’s New Restaurant Openings

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Oath Pizza
Oath is a pizza place on the UWS that grows some of its own produce in an on-site hydroponic garden. You can get 11-inch pizzas for $11, or half pies for $7. Come for a casual group hang with all your houseplants.

See more Restaurant openings here.

Smorgasburg Brings Its Market Indoors For the Winter

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“Smorgasburg will soon be year-round. The popular food market has taken over a massive weekend space in Fort Greene, as well as teamed up with Vice Media for a Friday night market to run in November and December.”

“For the weekend market, Smorgasburg has taken over 25,000 square feet of space in the Atlantic Center mall across the street from Barclays Center at 625 Atlantic Ave., between South Portland Avenue and Fort Greene Place. About 25 food vendors will appear here, including fan favorites such as salteñas from Bolivian Llama Party and the ramen burger, as well as newcomers like Izakaya’s katsu sando and Mutz, which offers a Sicilian pizza stuffed with meatballs and mozzarella. There will also be a full bar, coffee bar, and bocce court from Bocce USQ (…).”

It starts on Saturday, November 3 and will be on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. through March, when the outdoor locations will reopen.

View more here.

Request for Bids (“RFB”) for the Sale of Food from Mobile Food Units at Various Parks Citywide

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View more here.

Restaurants at New York’s Hudson Yards Have a Big Plan to Feed Office Workers

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“More details are emerging about the dining roster at the $25 billion Hudson Yards project, and as a food editor who also happens to be a native New Yorker, I can say that it’s time to get very excited. By mid-March the megaproject’s 25 restaurants and food concepts, from José Andrés’s Mercado Little Spain food hall to the fish temple Estiatorio Milos, should be open.

Hudson Yards anticipates more than 40,000 employees arriving to work daily—a new epicenter of Manhattan supporting companies from Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management to Tapestry, VaynerMedia, and Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs.

The question of feeding all those workers, as well as the thousands of residents and tourists who will be flowing through the 1-million-square-foot space, has obsessed Kevin Stuessi, vice president at Related Companies LP, the real estate company developing the project. He’s determined that most of the restaurants will have continuous service, starting at about 11:30 a.m., with late-night menus planned.

Following an exclusive hard hat tour in early September, Stuessi and Related Urban CEO Kenneth Himmel shared some of the most exciting details of the project’s signature concepts.”

Read more here.

The Continued Evolution of Coca-Cola’s Portfolio

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“(…) The products, which debuted at the 2018 NACS Show in Las Vegas, tap into trending categories and insights, said JC Harvey, director of retail channel strategy and commercialization at Atlanta-based Coca-Cola.”

“Far Coast is the company’s foray into the explosive cold-brew coffee segment. Slated to launch in January, the products are packaged in resealable aluminum bottles and feature single-origin coffee beans. Varieties include Single Source Ethiopian, Signature Blend Latin American and Café con Leche, which includes milk.

In the premium water category, Coca-Cola’s smartwater brand is expanding with two varieties: smartwater alkaline and smartwater antioxidant. Like the original product, both are vapor-distilled with added electrolytes for taste. The antioxidant water is infused with selenium. Alkaline water is ionized and has a higher pH level than regular drinking water.”

Read more here.

Rare Wine Auctions Show No Signs of Slowing

While Burgundy continues to reign at rare wine auctions, top Bordeauxs like Pétrus are seeing higher prices.

“In the third quarter of 2018, global sales of fine and rare wine at auction totaled $70.4 million, up a whopping 31 percent over 2017’s third-quarter total of $53.7 million. U.S. sales totaled $36.1 million, up 19.1 percent. Hong Kong sales rose 49 percent, to $26.3 million, and London sales increased by 40 percent to $8 million. As in the previous two quarters, pristine single-owner cellars and winery-direct consignments generated much of the heated bidding.”

“Acker Merrall & Condit’s first September sale, held in New York, brought in $7.2 million against a presale high estimate of $7.3 million. It was 96 percent sold. “Burgundy didn’t take a vacation this summer,” quipped Acker Merrall and Condit CEO John Kapon, in a statement. All 25 of his sale’s top lots hailed from the French region.”

View more here.

At Zauo, Diners Can Catch Their Own Dinners

“It’s catch-and-relish, not catch-and-release, at this new Japanese import. Customers can opt for baited hooks to snag rainbow trout, salmon trout, fluke, shrimp, flounder, farmed striped bass, rockfish, lobster or abalone swimming in the pools. Or a staff member can lend a hand. (Prices are $16 to $125 if they do the fishing, and $12 to $110 if you fish.) The chefs then prepare the seafood to order, salt-grilled, simmered in soy sauce, sashimi or tempura. Whimsically instructive menu cards provide guidance. The restaurant, which has 13 locations in Japan, was introduced there in 1993 by a company called Harbor House: The New York restaurant is its first branch outside that country. Takuya Takahashi, whose father was the founder, is president of the New York branch. A narrow but soaring space, the restaurant has a fish tank opposite the bar on the ground floor, and two more tanks on a loftlike second floor. The hull of an immense, hand-built polished wooden boat hangs from the ceiling. In addition to the freshly caught seafood, the menu offers a vast array of Japanese standbys, mostly seafood, including salads, sushi, hand rolls and rice and noodle dishes”.

View more here.