The Greatest Show on Earth
Posted by estiator at 8 November, at 06 : 53 AM Print
MANAGING FOR SUCCESS By CONSTANTINE N.KOLITSAS Business Coach
The famous circus showman and business icon P.T. Barnum gave us the Greatest Show on Earth and, along with it, a bevy of great business quotes. While “There’s a sucker born every minute” is perhaps his most famous quote (and many scholars debate whether or not he actually uttered the phrase), the ones that I tend to look to with a nod are “No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else” and “Nothing draws a crowd quite like a crowd.”
The notion that restaurants intrinsically provide entertainment is nothing new, although COVID has certainly reinforced the notion. For decades, people have looked to restaurants as a brief getaway. But specifically, over the past decade, there has been a nexus of trends that have made this truer than ever. Among them: the rise of celebrity chefs, food-based television networks, busy workloads in need of regular interludes of respite, and the desire to experience new things that might otherwise only be available through magazine photos and television images. Oh, and, of course, Instagram, the social media platform that has made food critics of anyone with a camera and a following.
And so, dear reader, this month’s message is to put on a great show with your plate as your stage.
If you’re thinking, “Well, I own a diner, and putting on a show is for the upscale restaurants,” think again. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a hot dog stand or a high-profile place in midtown Manhattan, all customers everywhere want a wow experience from their eating places. And it’s not just about the food, it’s every detail that adds to the experience.
Let me paint you a picture by breaking down just a few of the elements that go into making a show with some examples…
Food presentation. My favorite pastrami sandwich in the world is made in a deli/diner concept based in Florida called Two Jays. The pastrami is shaved very thinly and then rolled into a mammoth log that is sandwiched between slices of thick rye bread. I honestly can’t remember how it tasted, but the visual will always best any other pastrami sandwich I’ve ever had.
Food plating. When I opened up my first Greca Mediterranean Kitchen + Bar in Litchfield County (pre-COVID), we plated our grilled meat platter on a huge wooden board. Lambchops, sausage, pork skewers, and gyro carvings were mounded with the condiments (diced tomatoes, onions, tzatziki, and pita triangles) placed at the corners. The sight of those boards moving through the space made jaws drop. (Since COVID I’ve been reticent to serve on wood but hope to return to it very soon.)
It doesn’t matter if you’ve
got a hot dog stand
or a high-profile place in
midtown Manhattan,
all customers everywhere
want a wow experience
from their eating places
Food selection. I’m a big fan of offering a handful of things that you can’t get anywhere else. My family and I love to go to a local pancake chain that has really interesting fillings. My favorite is butterscotch chips and fresh bananas; my wife loves the macadamia nuts, pecans, and fresh strawberries; Nicole goes for the gluten-free pancakes with white chocolate chips and shredded coconut; and Marina likes straight buttermilk pancakes with lots of real maple syrup.
Instagrammable food. You’ve seen the images on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok. Milkshakes with gingerbread houses floating on top. Tortilla wraps filled with whole chickens, a slab of bacon and oozing a river of jalapeno cheese sauce. Okay, these are exaggerated. But so is the much of the food that many of the busiest spots are serving for real!
Dress the part. Your server uniforms should not be ordinary. In fact, nothing about your restaurant or the experience you are offering should be ordinary. You don’t have to be over-the-top, but you should put thought into how your servers look, as they represent your brand. At Committee Ouzeri + Bar on Boston’s waterfront, the servers wear an apron that looks as if it were made from burlap. Tied around the front with a thick rope for a belt, the apron, custom-made and imported from Hungary, is a beautiful statement.
When you provide an experience that is different and special (without being cheap and flash-in-the-pan), people talk (and post photos, and comment, and tag, and repost). And that “talk” brings customers. And the more customers that come, the more customers you attract. To circle back to that last quote from the Greatest Showman, “Nothing draws a crowd quite like a crowd.”
Constantine Kolitsas is the president of CNK Consulting, a restaurant consultant and coaching business. He can be reached at 203-947-6234 or at ckolitsas@gmail.com.
