Bombay Sandwich Co. Opening First Store

November 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Serious Eats reports the popular vegetarian Indian sandwich stand, a favorite at Smorgasburg, will open their first store on November 18th. Husband-wife owners Shiv Puri and Shikha Jain are in the final stages of revamping their Chelsea outpost on 48 west 27th Street.

Admirably, the first-time restaurant owners considered the opening process seamless, and they managed to stay within their budget.

In regards to the experience, Puri claims, “I’m thankful that it has, mostly, been really positive and empowering. Part of this is because I spent a lot of time making sure that I hired the right team.” Ten to fifteen architects and contractors presented Puri and wife Jain with widely varying proposals and budgets. He stressed the importance of presenting your best work at every stage of the opening process; at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.

Puri brings up a valid point; hiring the right team doesn’t end at kitchen and front of house staff in creating your “ideal” restaurant. Opening a restaurant is a two-way street; whether it’s your first time or twentieth, doing your homework in advance and coming prepared will bring your dreams one step closer to fruition.

Filed Under: Openings Tagged With: ,

Four Ways to Optimize Online Presence

November 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment

FastCasual compiled a list of four ways to maximize your business’ online presence. These concepts are straightforward and include goals that every business, no matter how small, should aspire to. Gone are the days when the only visible online platform for a business was a company website. Aggregating information has never been faster or easier with the aid of online review guides and search engines. For this reason, it’s especially important to ensure your business’ information is accurate, prevalent and caters to your target market. These are the four ways to achieve an ideal online presence:

1) Be everywhere. Don’t just market yourself through your company website and social media platforms. Having a strong presence on third-party sites like Yelp will give your concept a sense of legitimacy and draw more businesses.

2) Centralize business listing updates. Services like Locu, recently acquired by GoDaddy, provide a simple solution to consolidating your business’ information, promoting consistency and accuracy, and sending this information to third-sites.

3) Improve your presence on third-party sites. Don’t just advertise the basics like hours of operation and location; it’s crucial to also feature menus, photos and promotions, to name a few. Branch out to social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

4) Search for your business online. A first priority is to make sure information is up-to-date and accurate. Accuracy and consistency leads to earning your customers’ trust.

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Consumers Plan to Dine Out Less in 2014 for Health Reasons

November 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment

New-York based consulting firm AlixPartners found that consumers will eat out less frequently in 2014 due to an increased concern in maintaining good health, not because of budget constraints, as had been the case since the recession. The North American Restaurant Consumer Sentiment Review by AlixPartners, a bi-annual survey, based their findings off of more than eighty restaurants and foodservice companies. The survey discovered that 60% of consumers claimed they want to eat more healthfully in the next year, a 10% increase from the first quarter. More than half of consumers ranked the availability of of healthy menu options as important when choosing where to eat.

A rise in health-conscious attitudes may be the top reason consumers plan to dine out less; however, their primary concern is food quality, then price and value. Restaurant owners will want to consider adding healthful options to their menus if they have not already done so.

Filed Under: Global Market Buzz, Trending Now Tagged With:

Pinkberry’s App Success

November 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment

The launch of Pinkberry’s mobile loyalty app last month, the prime feature of Pinkberry’s Pinkcard loyalty program, has been a huge success. A third of all in-store transactions are completed via the iPhone app, and soon-to-be Android app. Scan-to-pay technology increases efficiency and speed while conforming to forward-thinking technology. The app also serves as an interactive device for users with a point system incentive. Customers receive a free yogurt upon earning ten points. Special occasions like birthdays and earning double points for select purchases are other incentives the Pinkcard system features.

Fast casual restaurants in particular should think about implementing mobile app incentive programs for their customers; it’s one of the easiest ways to increase sales.

Filed Under: Global Market Buzz, Trending Now Tagged With: , ,

1 Knickerbocker Coming to Bushwick

November 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment

1 Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick will welcome an eponymous bar and restaurant in mid-November. In the past, the building housed a dance hall, brothel and speakeasy. Owner Jesse Levitt and manager Aimee Arciuolo are working towards restoring 1 Knickerbocker’s interior to its “original decor.” Levitt and Arciuolo plan to serve American food and classic cocktails at the newest rendition of this Bushwick venue. According to PropertyShark, the building sold from one LLC to another in 2012 for $1,625,000. Brownstoner dubbed 1 Knickerbocker the “House of the Day” at one point.

Eater announced the restaurant is currently hiring all Front of House positions as of last week.

Filed Under: Heard on The Street, Openings Tagged With:

Broadway Bites: Midtown Food Fair

November 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment

On Monday, Urbanspace NYC opened Broadway Bites, a new street fair in Herald Square. Passersby can select from an array of goods from twenty-five vendors including Roberta’s pizza and Red Hook Lobster Pound’s lobster rolls. Even those with gluten-free and vegetarian needs can find something to quench their cravings.

People who work in the area now have the chance to lunch somewhere out of the ordinary, and Urbanspace press rep Rachel Van Dolsen claims it will be a great opportunity to “activate the space a little more.” Urbanspace also embraced the concept as a means of showcasing New York’s artisan food scene, especially considering the number of chains in Midtown.

When: 11am-9pm daily through 11/24/13

Where: 6th ave & 34th st

Filed Under: Events, Openings Tagged With:

Gourmet Menus Leads to Increased Sales

November 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment

In the fast casual world, the pressure to keep up with the competition is increasing with the introduction of high-end options. A basic ham-and-cheese sandwich is no longer enough to satisfy the masses; customers now prefer gourmet options.

Fortunately, the gourmet trend in fast-casual restaurants doesn’t have to break the bank. A little goes a long way in this case, and product branding has more of an impact than the quantity of the product actually used.

Flatburger, for example, recently introduced the Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard Mushroom Swiss Flatburger. The key ingredients: mayonnaise, Grey Poupon and sautéed mushrooms, are not expensive. In fact, Kraft produces the Grey Poupon mustard that Flatburger uses. However, branding the sandwich with “Grey Poupon” in the title leaves the customer with the impression that they are investing in a “gourmet” product, which is ultimately what they prefer.

Small steps like rebranding products to include “gourmet” names may lead to increased sales.

Filed Under: Global Market Buzz, Trending Now Tagged With: , , ,

Global Brand Simplicity

November 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Less is more.

New York-based global branding firm, Siegel + Gale, concluded the seemingly obvious, according to their 2013 Global Brand Simplicity Index. The firm found that when consumers perceive a business as simple, they’re more likely to return or spend money there.

Noteworthy findings:

  • 30% of people are willing to pay more for simplified experiences.
  • Restaurant customers in the U.S. would pay up to 4% more if the dining-out experience was simpler
  • 75% of consumers are more likely to recommend a brand that provides simpler experiences and communications.

Currently, McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut are among the frontrunners for most-simplified restaurant experiences as perceived by consumers.

Filed Under: Global Market Buzz, Trending Now Tagged With: , ,

24/7 Biscuits in the East Village

November 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Empire Biscuit, the newest niche-food outpost, opened its doors to the East Village this week. As of today at 8am, the Southern biscuit restaurant will be open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The neighborhood’s most-anticipated munchie-food joint offers twelve butters and spreads and twelve jams, jellies and marmalades to complement this comfort snack food. Biscuit sandwiches and biscuits & gravy are ideal options for meals.

More complex biscuits, including biscuit sandwiches, cost $6-8.50 and custom biscuits with one of the aforementioned spreads cost $4.50. Empire Biscuit also serves the popular, cold-pressed Blue Bottle coffee. The wide range of options allows customers to keep it simple with a plain biscuit and butter or to opt for a more adventurous meal, such as the spiced fried chicken, pickled carrots and sauce à l’orange biscuit sandwich. Some of the more gourmet accouterments include the oxtail & brown sugar jelly, pear & vinho verde butter and the bacon & cracklin’ butter.

Empire Biscuit’s slogan says it all: “Breakfast Lunch Dinner Drunk”.

Filed Under: Local Market Buzz, Openings, Trending Now

Verve: Brooklyn Coffee Pop-Up

November 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Verve coffee is scheduled to open a three-month pop-up shop this week at 33 Grand Street in Williamsburg.  Expect to find a full coffee bar, full espresso machine and Chemex pour-over coffeemakers. Menu items like the One-and-One, a single macchiato and single espresso artfully situated adjacent to one another on a saucer, will be available. If all goes well, the successful Santa-Cruz based company will consider making its next home in New York. On par with competitors Stumptown, Intelligentsia and Ritual, Verve should have no problem settling into the Brooklyn coffee scene.

Filed Under: Heard on The Street, Openings Tagged With: ,
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