From the Angry Chef (AKA Atlanta Chef Ron Eyester) taking to Twitter to share his fiery opinions on guest complaints to South Park episode You’re Not Yelping, which mocks Yelpers for their self-importance, it’s fair to say that the Yelp reviewer backlash is nowhere near its end. In fact, more recently, Mark Nery, owner and chef of Denver restaurant Onefold, got some attention for his snarky response to Yelp reviews.
So with the fire obviously still burning hot, DiningOut.com decided to ask their Chef Panel how they respond to Yelp reviews. Here’s a look at they said.
“At Vesta, we like to take a proactive approach to both good and bad reviews. With different online forums, we have different abilities to respond, depending on if they leave contact information or not. Any time there is something great or poor, we try to take the time to respond directly to the guests. Especially when we feel that someone has truly had an unpleasant time, was disappointed with something, or even just not thrilled with the entire experience, we reach out to address the concerns specifically”
“I prefer the sport of trying to turn them around. It doesn’t always work, but it’s more enjoyable than getting all fired up and hitting them back. I look at that as dropping to their level of emotional IQ, and why dumb yourself down on purpose?”
“Edible Beats has a simple philosophy: all Yelp reviews (or any online reviews for that matter) should be responded to—good, bad, and indifferent. To be able to connect with Yelpers … allows us to communicate hospitality after the guest has left the restaurant. Even if we messed up their experience when they were at one of the restaurants, we’re hungry to win them back and exceed their expectations—sometimes a simple email to a Yelp reviewer does just that.”
“You should respond to a bad Yelp review with class. They already showed their hand by talking on Yelp. Therefore, there is no need to be defensive or lash out with backhanded compliments and gratitude.”
“It would be better and more productive if customers voiced their displeasure at the time of service and not waited to get home and send ranting emails filled with bad grammar at two in the morning. We have empowered our staff to deal with issues as they come up.”
Check out what the rest of the DO Chef Panel has to say about responding to Yelpers on DiningOut.com→
If you didn’t already know, Colorado is the birthplace of more than just a few food and beverage-related businesses. From Coors to countless craft breweries to casual restaurant chains like Chipotle and Noodles & Company. Let’s not forget the higher end restaurants like The Kitchen, Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar, and Sushi Den. Not to mention too many food brands to count.
After some research on the subject, DiningOut featured 10 food products started in Colorado that are now national (and even international) hits; here’s a taste of their list:
1. Noosa Yoghurt (Fort Collins)
When Colorado resident Koel Thomae was visiting home in Queensland, Australia in 2005, she happened upon a little yoghurt shop that was like nothing she’d ever taste.
“That first taste was revolutionary and from that point forward, I was obsessed.”
A couple years later, she stumbled upon a flyer in a coffee shop for a family-owned dairy farm. She cold-called farmer Rob Graves and convinced him to be her business partner. Noosa, which is known for its ultra-creamy texture and inventive flavors (the newest: Blackberry Serrano), landed in Whole Foods immediately, and also gained a local following at farmers’ markets. Soon after, a deal with King Soopers and a big break with Target unleashed Noosa nationally.
2. Hammond’s Candies (Denver)
Did you know that Colorado’s dry climate is prime for candy-making? That’s in part what Hammond’s Candies credits for its success. In 1920, Carl Hammond’s mother told him he could leave school if he started a trade. So he found a gig apprenticing for a candy maker and then opened his own shop.
It wasn’t until some 70 years later when Williams-Sonoma asked to sell Hammond’s toffee that it morphed from a candy corner shop to a manufacturing operation.
In 2007, Andrew Schuman bought the business and scaled up even more into a 93-percent wholesale operation. Today, Hammond’s, which still sources many ingredients locally, is the largest handmade manufacturer of confections in the U.S. You can go see Hammond’s make candy the same way Carl did back in 1920 with a free tour.
3. EVOL (Boulder)
Climbers, car campers, and other recreationists all know the importance of a big, fat burrito to sate the hunger worked up by a long day playing outdoors. Simple to prepare, super hearty, and nutritious, burritos began as a mere hobby for Phil Anson.
But soon, he realized his burritos were good enough to sell.
His earliest outlets were gas station markets and coffee shops. But demand skyrocketed and soon he had one of the fastest growing companies in the natural foods industry under his belt. Now, EVOL has gone beyond burritos to offer bowls, cups, and other frozen entrées, but there’s still nothing quite like a classic EVOL bean and cheese to banish a case of hangry.
4. Boulder Organic Ice Cream (Boulder)
Guess who makes the only pints of organic gelato in the country? Boulder Organic Ice Cream, that’s who! While the brand got its start as a small-time scoop shop on Pearl Street, it now sells its organic ice cream pints regionally (Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, and Nebraska) and its figo! Organic Gelato across the country.
Soon after Whole Foods began carrying the pints, the scoop shop transitioned to a 100-percent manufacturing operation to sell its pints to other ice cream shops and in stores.
If you want it fresh in a cone, you can still find it locally at Larkburger, Eats and Sweets and many other local restaurants and scoop shops. Don’t miss signature flavors like Green Tea, Famous Sweet Cream, and Coconut Crunch!
5. L. R. Rice Honey (Greeley)
Not many companies lay claim to five generations of family ownership. Since L.R. Rice started his honey company in 1924, the sweet stuff has been managed by either himself or his descendants.
While the company stopped raising its own bees to accommodate expansion, it’s now resuming the management of some hives.
Another cool fact, because this family-owned company sells its product as far as South Korea and Japan, the White House invited L. R. Rice rep Ronna Rice to attend the State of the Union as an honored guest this year!
6. Bhakti Chai (Boulder)
It’s safe to say that in this millennium, Americans have fallen hard for two Eastern practices: yoga and drinking chai. And Colorado has its fair share of responsibility for the popularization of both.
In fact, Bhakti—one of the biggest brands in chai—was founded by a Boulderite.
It all started when Brook Eddy took a trip to India and discovered the amazing ritual of drinking chai tea. To recreate the experience at home, she began brewing her own chai back in Boulder, to the delight of friends and family. A single mother of twins, Eddy decided to quit her job to launch Bhakti with a commitment to social and environmental change.
And that’s just a few. Check out the rest at DiningOut.com →
DiningOut, along with excited foodies from the Denver/Boulder area, has been eagerly tracking Via Perla’s path to opening for months and they just got their hands on a key piece of the puzzle: Via Perla’s menu.
Now open, the third concept from The Walnut Restaurant Group, famous for Brasserie Ten Ten and The Mediterranean, you can ogle the descriptions of dishes in advance. In addition to a weekly-changing family-style dinner served on Sundays, here are some dishes from the opening menu of Via Perla.
Antipasti
Olive Fritte
Fried, anchovy-stuffed green olives
Ricotta
Housemade ricotta with lemon zest, thyme, Paniole 2015, and grilled ciabatta
Crudo
Hamachi, pickled radishes, red grapefruit, Calabrian chiles, and pink peppercorns
Polpette
Pork-veal meatballs, tomato sugo, basil pesto, currants, and pinoli
Carciofi alla Giudia
Roman-style fried artichokes, garlic, fonduta, and anchovy-focaccia crumbs
Zuppa e Insalata
Cacciucco
Tuscan seafood stew with seasonal fish, clams, and green olive tapenade, served with grilled ciabatta
Cavolo alla Griglia
Grilled Savoy cabbage, toasted hazelnuts, piave, garlic fonduta, brown butter, and balsamico
For the Primi and Secondi dishes that Via Perla will be offering, see the full article on DiningOut→
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During the past few weeks, Sirvo has gained a lot of momentum: winning ‘Best New Startup‘ at Denver Beta, interviewed on 7News Denver, and spotlighted on The Beta List. And we couldn’t be more excited.
“Sirvo is one of the few apps that I’m going to go along with saying could be a game changer.” – Keith Liles, Author
Not only were we thrilled about the (surprise) acknowledgement but stoked that the concept behind Sirvo was understood and the need recognized.
In the article, Keith talks about the staffing conundrum from his own experience working in the service industry before becoming a journalist:
“Traditional advertising of positions, waiting for people to reply to classifieds, conducting interviews… what a joke. There’s no time for that. The show must go on night after night. There’s simply no time to spare.
With so much migrating and flux in the workforce, Sirvo could really make lives better for everyone by streamlining the hiring process.”
Meet the new app that beat out Techstars darlings to win it all.
DENVER, Colorado (Thursday, July 23rd, 2015) – Sirvo, a new hiring app is the latest in tech startups to win the title of ‘Best New Startup’ at the Denver Beta Inaugural Event last Thursday, July 16th, 2015 held at the new Galvanize Platte Street campus.
The event, sponsored by Galvanize (@galvanize), Rocky Mountain Patent (@rmpatent), Parkifi (@parkifi), The Quandary Group (@quandarygroup), FullContact (@fullcontactapp), Built In Colorado (@builtincolorado), Lyft(@lyft), and Softlayer (@softlayer), showcased 10 Colorado startups. Attendees were asked to check out live demos and speak with each showcasing team, then vote for their three favorite companies.
“[Denver Beta] was our first demo event. We received great feedback and are incredibly thrilled with the results. At one point, there were so many people at our table that I had to stand on top of a chair to make sure everyone could hear what Sirvo was all about. It was awesome.”– Sirvo’s founder, Stephanie Maxwell said on Thursday.
Sirvo is a new hiring app aimed at helping companies in the service, hospitality and retail sector, who experience up to 70% turnover rate per year, manage their hiring workflow and talent acquisition. Many of these establishments still use Craigslist, open calls and walk-ins as their only resources to hire.
More About Sirvo
Sirvo is a new professional network and recruitment platform for the service, hospitality, and retail industries.
Sirvo combines professional networking, jobs, and applicant tracking to streamline the hiring process from start to finish. In doing so, Sirvo is hoping to create a community for service industry professionals of all levels and leapfrog the industry into the modern age of connectivity. With just a click you can: apply to jobs, organize candidates, message members and more.
“Sirvo is where you go to connect with your service industry peers, because whether you’re working, searching, hiring, or influencing within the industry, we’re all part of this dynamic community that is in need of a home base.” – Stephanie Maxwell, CEO & Founder
Sirvo is currently in beta and is free for all users for the time being. For more information and to sign up, visit gosirvo.com or email us at [email protected].
