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.

 

Mount Mozzarella: The US Cheese Surplus Piles Up

CHEESEThere are 1.3 billion pounds of cheese in storage this year.  That’s a lot.  That’s the record, in fact, and it’s a global phenomenon that we’re struggling to deal with.  Two years ago, dairy farmers responded to a spike in demand by massively increasing production, but that demand has trailed off, and our supply is now bulging like a ball of mozzarella.

Fortunately, the USDA is making a conscientious move to help those in need: by purchasing $20 million of the surplus to give to food banks across the country.  This is great for food banks, which don’t usually get much of the good stuff.  However, it’s only a small shred in the pile–less than 1% of the 1.3 billion pounds in storage.

Additionally, it won’t do much for the falling milk price, which is hurting groceries across the country.  In fact, “The Chicago Mercantile Exchange spot prices for cheddar cheese were down following the announcement,” said Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

To read more, click here.