Bar at The Ludlow Soft Opening

July 1, 2014 by Leave a Comment

A new French restaurant is set to open in the brand new Ludlow hotel on Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side. Rich Torrisi, Jeff Zalaznick and Mario Carbone, known as the Torrisi Team of Major Food Group, are working together to put the last touches on the restaurant, Dirty French. In the meantime, so as not to keep us waiting too long, the Ludlow Lobby Bar will have a soft opening tonight!

The bar space is still having some minor work done, however the bar and outside seating area will be open tonight for anyone who wants to check it out and get a drink. David Waugh from Major Food Group’s ZZ Clam bar has been working with infamous drink-maker Dan Nicolaescu to create an exciting cocktail list. To check out the original cocktail menu and read more about the soft opening click here

Filed Under: Local Market Buzz, Openings Tagged With:

Independence Day Oyster Bar by Pier 25

June 27, 2014 by Leave a Comment

The Sherman Zwicker, the largest wooden vessel boat in New York City (142ft), will be docked all summer at Pier 25 in Tribeca starting on July 3rd. They will be hosting an Independence Day party to kick off the season. Tickets for the 4th of July event are $250 dollars and include amazing views of the Statue of Liberty and the fireworks. The event starts at 6PM and goes on to 10:30PM where guests can enjoy some oysters, wine, champagne, beer and special selections from the kitchen. The bar on the boat, Grand Banks, was devised by former Marlow & Sons and Diner partner Mark Firth and Double Happiness restaurateur Adrien Gallo. The bar serves nautically inspires cocktails, ingredient driven seasonal small plates and always sustainably sourced oysters.

In collaboration with the non-profit Maritime Foundation, maritime history exhibitions and lecture series on aquatic sustainability and seafaring culture will also be presented over the course of the summer.

To read more about the Sherman Zwicker click here

 

Filed Under: Events, Local Market Buzz

New Dining Hall in Grand Central Terminal

June 26, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central terminal has hosted many pop up shops, private events and temporary displays in the past. Now it is on its way to installing a permanent dining hall. It would also become home to a fine-dining restaurant headed up by Claus Meyer, founder of Noma in Copenhagen.  The Metropolitan Transportation Authority revealed the food hall plans last Friday which has been endorsed by a committee in charge of managing the proposals for the space. The Metro-North Railroad committee will hold a preliminary vote with the committees financial advisors and then the board will meet to make a final decision.

This project would add more casual dining choices in addition to the food court at the terminal’s lower level as well as other retail shops and cafes. There will also be  large 100-person Nordic Brasserie and a grab-and-go in the space that is currently a Hot & Crusty stand. The idea of the project is to generate more traffic for existing tenants and to have enough new variety and choices to engage all price points. The project is set to be completed in the next two years.

To read more about the future plans for Vanderbilt Hall click here

Filed Under: Local Market Buzz, Openings Tagged With: ,

Creating a Culture of Hospitality

June 25, 2014 by Leave a Comment

This past weekend as part of the 25th anniversary of the American Express Trade Program at the Aspen Food & Wine classic, industry experts discussed a very important topic: customer loyalty. Chef Tom Colicchio (Craft, Colicchio & Sons), Sean Brock (Husk, Charleston), Stephanie Izard (Girl and the Goat, Chicago) and Mitzi Gaskins (Marriott) led a seminar discussion on how chefs and operators can create a culture of hospitality and loyalty.

Colicchio stated that it all comes down to the servers; they have two main jobs: 1) make the customers happy, and 2) create regulars. The goal for the servers is to really become friends with the diners and get to know them so that it really becomes a personal experience. It is important to have the servers make those little extra steps that go beyond the eat-then-pay transaction. The chefs mentioned that they use computer programs (such as OpenTable) to track their guest information. Servers can make notes of the guests’ personal preferences (sparkling water vs regular, etc.) and input it into the computer at the end of service. They then analyze this collection of data to connect more with the customer. Recognition is absolutely key in fostering customer loyalty; as a diner it is the best feeling to enter an establishment and have the staff remember your name and dining preferences.

Gaskins also stressed upon the importance of attracting the right talent. The recruiting process should never be taken lightly. It is important that the staff you keep truly fits the profile created by your brand. It is then equally important have appropriate training systems and provide the staff with the tools necessary to make the guests happy. Colicchio makes an excellent point which is that in order to create brand loyalty among your customers, your staff has to be loyal to your brand; it all begins in-house. Both Colicchio and Gaskins spoke about how a little positive reinforcement can go a long way, and how stories of hospitality successes will spread amongst the staff.

Social media is also a relatively new and important way to connect with fans and customers. Operators should research what works for them and what doesn’t. It is important to keep the customer engaged and incentivize them to come back to your restaurant without flooding their twitter feed or email inboxes. For instance, Izard mentions that perhaps it is smart to run quarterly specials vs running specials every few days. Izard also spoke of the importance of building relationships with customers in the community. She recommends engaging with the community through charitable events and choosing organizations that you are proud to be a part of.

To watch the seminar on the evolution of customer loyalty click here

 

Filed Under: Events, Global Market Buzz, Local Market Buzz, Operations Tagged With: ,

New Starbucks Beverage Option

June 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Last year Starbucks tested Fizzio sodas in a few of their shops and are now expanding to the southern half of the U.S and Hawaii. By the end of this coming year Starbucks is hoping to have expanded the made-to-order sodas nationally. Starbucks has promoted the benefits of the Fizzio machine as it can add carbonation to already flavored drinks and not just water; the amount of fizz is also adjustable on the machine. During the rollout Starbucks will be charging fifty cents to add fizz to a beverage and will be implementing location-specific flavors.

Starbucks is aiming to attract more customers for lunch by adding the Fizzio machine to their shops. The chain is also introducing new Teavana iced teas and new sandwiches for the same purpose of driving more lunch time traffic into their shops. For the moment Starbucks is not working on creating their own branded soda machine, however some well-known companies such as Keurig Green Mountain and Bevyz are partnering with Pepsi and Coca-Cola to design their own at-home soda streams. It probably won’t be long until the chain also has a go at it.

To read more about Starbucks’ new beverage option click here

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Languedoc-Roussillon in New York City!

June 23, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Sud de France Développement, a semi public company working for the region of Languedoc-Roussillon in the south of France, has been hosting a festival in New York City since June 9th and will be ending next week on June 30th. The goal of Sud de France Développment is to support regional businesses in terms of export whilst promoting the Sud de France brand. By strengthening sales and promotional approaches they will be able to develop activities both on national and international markets.

The festival has brought New Yorkers the opportunity to experience the culture of Languedoc-Rousillon through participating in different events such as dinners, wine tastings, cruises, and concerts. One of the events that took place in the past couple weeks was a wine crawl atop a double decker bus! The bus had live music and drove around making stops at different French brasseries and bars in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

To read about the past events and sign up for future ones click here

 

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Customer Service is of Utmost Importance

June 20, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Customer service should always be a top priority for any business, but especially for the service industry. It is simply bad business not to ensure that you have efficient customer service systems in place. You want to be that business that is known for setting high customer service standards. Put simply, a lack of strong client services will lead to a lack of business. Here are a few suggestions to strengthen your customer relations:

ONLINE:

  • Make the business able to be easily located and accessed online
  • Build a professional website
  • Index the website on the most popular web search engines
  • Make the website easy to navigate from desktops, tablets and smart phones
  • List your business on popular directories such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, etc.
  • Establish your business through social platforms such as LinkedIn or Facebook

PHONE:

  • Make sure customers rarely get a busy signal when trying to reach your business by phone
  • If you can’t hire a full time receptionist, consider hiring an answering service
  • Install a hosted phone system such as VirtualPBX or Grasshopper so you can receive alerts when a call is received
  • Have a system in place to record when calls are received (a simple Excel spreadsheet would work just fine)
  • Always return phone calls

The most important aspect is to always be available and accessible. Keeping in touch with your past customers will most likely lead to continued service and loyalty. This will make your customers want to write good reviews online, refer you to a friend, and generally create a positive buzz about your services.

To read more about the importance of smart customer service, click here

Filed Under: Global Market Buzz, Local Market Buzz, Operations Tagged With: ,

Great Coffee in New York City

June 19, 2014 by Leave a Comment

More and more serious coffee shops have  been popping up throughout New York City over the past couple of years. Guests are becoming more knowledgeable in the coffee arena and expecting a little extra value out of their cup of joe. There is really so much to learn about coffee and the logistics that are involved from seed to cup. As guests become more appreciative of the process so too will their taste buds. There is a much larger nuance of a customer’s coffee preferences from the aroma, flavor, body, fragrance, etc. than there has been in the past. Customers are realizing that the options for ordering a cup of coffee keep extending further and further.

Experienced coffee drinkers will most likely going to stay true to their favorite shops, but for those who are willing to explore, the New York Times has created an online map of New York City that generates great coffee that surround an address you input. So if you would like to find a great cup of coffee in your vicinity, you can try out the coffee map of New York City here!

 

 

 

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Halal Guys to become Middle Eastern Chipotle

June 17, 2014 by Leave a Comment

The street vendor Halal Guys, whose original location can be found on 53rd and 6th Avenue in Midtown, will soon be turning its cart into a restaurant chain. Halal Guys just signed a deal with the franchise consulting firm Fransmart. The firm hopes to have outposts in Canada, Los Angeles, along the East Coast and in the Middle East within a year’s time. In the next five years it also hopes to include more US locations as well as some in Europe. Fransmart is the firm responsible for the franchising of Five Guys Burgers and Fries and Qdoba. The chief executive officer of Fransmart, Dan Rowe, has stated that he believes this deal could turn Halal Guys into “the Chipotle of Middle Eastern food.”

Two other locations within New York City were already in the works before this deal was finalized; one in the Lower East Side and one near Columbia University. These locations will operate independently of Fransmart. The other five carts around the city will also continue to stay open for business.

To read more about the franchising of Halal Guys click here

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Top North Fork and Hamptons Bakeshops

June 16, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Hapmtons.com compiled a list of the top ten bakeshops to visit this year in the Hamptons and North Fork. From breads and pastries  to cookies and cakes, here are a few bakeries to visit in the area:

Ye Olde Bakeshop: This bakery is mostly known for their giant linzer tart cookies, but the cinnamon buns, cinnamon cookies and cherry turnovers are also worth the trip.

Simon’s Beach Bakery Cafe: This bakery has been around for nearly 25 years and recently underwent a renovation. They acquired a liquor license, have a larger selection of baked goods and are also serving kosher breakfast and lunch foods.

Levain Bakery: Levain Bakery’s famous chocolate chip cookie can now be found in Wainscott. Aside from their amazing six-ounce cookies they also offer an assortment of rustic breads. As a nice touch, the products that are not sold during the day are donated to the needy.

 

To see the full top ten list of bakeshops click here 

Filed Under: Local Market Buzz, Openings Tagged With: ,
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