loveablelion: @jeffreyabramson Go to Wells Fargo Center or California/Water Court Plaza, they have many casual restaurants inside. Both south on Grand.
about 25 minutes ago
LaurenLegato: Mac's "Lipsglass" line has the best colors but its mad stickyy....no good for restaurants or dates lol
about 29 minutes ago
jmarkhagan: Hitman hired to kill restaurant owner?: He owns or co-owns six other Indian restaurants in Greater Cincinnati a.. link
about 34 minutes ago
popdivas: delta_goodrem: @Christian0386 Theres amazing Restaurants there!! Make B take you! OR go in and out burger! yum!.. link
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Average isn't good enough -- a restaurant has to have to have a hook, and has to be the place that when people are driving around going, what should we eat? |
 | By Amy L. Schubert  Food Writer E-mail author | Author bio More articles by Amy L. Schubert |
| Published April 26, 2009 at 9:31 a.m. |
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I've been involved in a lot of discussions lately about whose responsibility it is to keep Milwaukee restaurants in business. And it is true that if people don't patronize their favorite restaurants, they may end up having to close. So, please, Milwaukeeans, make sure you're holding up your end.
But perhaps what's more important is that it is the restaurant's responsibility to make itself the patrons' favorite. As a restaurant, you have to make yourself the favorite of enough patrons that even if some of them forget about you and don't come in, you'll still be fine.
It's kind of like "American Idol." In a highly competitive market, it's not good enough to simply be a good talent. You have to put your own unique spin to things, or rise so high above the competition that people want to proactively call in and vote for you. Or in this case, patronize you.
Case in point: We often times make the drive out to McBob's for brunch. It's in a challenging location for parking. Sometimes there's a wait. It's a haul for us and there are other closer places to go.
But the food is always spot on, the service is spot on, the drinks are spot on. Nothing ever smells fishy or icky or has to be sent back. We've never had a server with a snotty attitude or a bad meal, and I've been going there for 10 years consistently. Once they even made us a full breakfast for six people when the power was out -- I'm still not sure how they managed that. The owners work their tails off, give back to the community, and always come over to share a drink or say hello.
They worked to make themselves one of our favorites. As a result, we go back. Often. And there are many, many other people out there for whom they've done the same. The hospitality business, chain or locally owned, is a loyalty game, a numbers game, and you have to set yourself apart and you have to be consistent. That's why people like chains -- they always know that no matter what city they're in, they know exactly what they're going to get at that particular restaurant. Good, talented individual restaurateurs get that, and they take it to the next level.
Average isn't good enough -- a restaurant has to have to have a hook, and has to be the place that when people are driving around going, hmm, what should we eat? They remember you, they think of you, and they decide on you. And once you get to that point, your patrons will proactively seek you out, no matter where they may be.
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4 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review. |
Recent Talkbacks ...
Posted by repoman on April 27, 2009 at 11:36 a.m. (report)
As much as it pains me to say it, Milwaukee still is a meat and potatoes lovin place. These brew pubs/pub fare places know that people love big burgers, steaks, and fish fries.
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Posted by alba on April 27, 2009 at 11:10 a.m. (report)
I like brew pubs and I don't think there's enough of them in Milwaukee. The Chicago area has at least 20.
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Posted by Crash on April 27, 2009 at 8:55 a.m. (report)
Milwaukeans only want brew pubs. Or, so it would seem. The number and variety of restaurants in Milwaukee has always been one of it's strong points to me. I percieve, however, that over the last year or so, the restaurants and their menus are becoming more homogeneous and converging on the brew pub formula. Nothing wrong with brew pubs, but do we have so many of them because that's a financially winning formula based on what Milwaukeans want? There are still plenty of gems out there, thankfully.
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Posted by Observer on April 26, 2009 at 11:21 a.m. (report)
Excellent article. There are so many choices out there for your dining dollar that many never get a second chance if they miss-step. Joe and Jane Restaurantowner have a great idea for a restaurant and convince a bank and/or family or investors to allow them to fulfill their dream. They open the doors and await the masses they know will just love their place. Only Jim and Judy Diner come in, take a seat and are ignored while the service staff have more important things to do than give service. When they leave they tell twenty friends and co-workers about their shaby experience who in turn repeat the story when their friends say "What about that 'Restaurantowner' place; should we try it?" and chose somewhere else. Location never hurts but customer service brings dining loyalty. Our family and friends will drive past many closer choices for a place they know always delivers or bends over backwards to make things right when they falter as every place may on occasion. Here's a cut 'n paste posting from the national www.roadfood.com. How many people read this? I'll leave the name out so this gets posted as it really doesn't matter here. ~We stopped in, got seated, got our drinks, and waited 20 minutes without having our order taken. So, we left. On the way out, I paid for the drinks, and told the cashier/hostess what happened... "Aw, I'm sorry!" No offer to even comp the soda and iced tea. We went down to Kings, half a mile down the road, and had a great meal; appetizers, salads, a chicken tortellini soup I would kill to have the recipe for, sausages, peppers, chicken, etc etc etc. Never again. There are 8 Italian restaurants in a 3 mile stretch of Rt 309 in Mountain Top; Sharon's Sub's, Januzzi's, III Guys, Whistle Stop, Tony's, King's, Luigi's, and Napoli. It's tough times in the business, and there are other restaurants where the people are happy to serve us.
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Recent blogs/briefs by Amy L. Schubert
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Reinventing leftovers Oct. 09, 2009 In our house, we often struggle with eating leftovers. Point blank, no matter how well-intentioned ... |
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Cheap meal of the week: Creamed chipped beef Oct. 06, 2009 For OnMilwaukee.com's dining month, I thought some quick and inexpensive meals might be ... |
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We didn't leave a tip Oct. 04, 2009 For the first time in as long as I can remember, we didn't leave a tip last night. We ... |
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Show me the love Oct. 01, 2009 For those of you who show people you love them by cooking for them, like I do, my husband ... |
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The joy of the Cuisinart Sept. 29, 2009 Scott decided to spoil me with the recent gift of a Cuisinart Elite Collection 16-cup ... |
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