Linger Eataury, the latest Denver dining establishment to be nationally recognized for its awesomeness, was named 2015 Restaurant Bar of the Year by Nightclub & Bar Media Group earlier this month, and rightly so!
The annual Nightclub & Bar Awards, established to honor “well deserving bars, nightclubs and lounges for excellence in the industry,” announced the 2015 winners in early March following a lengthy two-month selection period. Entries submitted by industry professionals on behalf of venues across the country were reviewed by a panel of recognized experts, who then determined the finalists and winners.
According to Jon Taffer, president of Nightclub & Bar and host/executive producer of Spike TV’s Bar Rescue, “the winners are visionaries who are instrumental in setting trends and forging the way for other hospitality venues,” and Linger most definitely fits the bill.
Situated in the former Olinger Mortuary garage – thus the name, which chef/owner Justin Cucci came up with by dropping the O and substituting Mor with Eat – this wildly popular restaurant/bar is the total package, from victuals to libations to aesthetics; the kitchen serves up a salute to the street food of the world, the mortuary theme is touched on without getting too kitschy (Linger tissues available for weepers, a “Harold and Maude” photo mural hangs over the open kitchen, funeral fans hang from a wall), and last but not least, the views overlooking downtown Denver are absolutely breathtaking.
Yup, it’s pretty obvious why locals and visitors alike haven’t stopped rushing the doors since they opened in summer 2011.
And now it’s official: Linger is the 2015 Restaurant Bar of the Year. Congratulations, it’s well deserved!
Americans may not have the most pristine reputation when it comes to eating healthily, but that may soon change as consumers are increasingly basing what to eat on healthfulness. As the demand for healthy food rises in and out of the home, the restaurant industry must adapt to fit the times.
Healthy Habits on the Rise
According to the 2014 Food & Health Survey published by the International Food Information Council (IFIC), healthfullness is the third leading driver of food and beverage selection, influencing 71 percent of consumers. And this shift towards better nutrition is not passive at all as the same survey concluded that at least three out of five Americans spend some time planning each of their meals.This healthfulness movement does not only apply to what is being eaten within the household, but extends to what people are looking for when choosing where to eat out. Research conducted by the National Restaurant Association (NRA) shows that nearly 75 percent of consumers are more likely to dine at restaurants offering healthful items, and when ordering, half of Americans at least sometimes use nutrition information to decide what to have.
A Few Changes
So what does this mean for the restaurant industry? It means boosting nutrition while maintaining taste. To help, Deanne Brandstetter, vice president of nutrition and wellness for the Compass Group North America, offers a few easy ways to improve the nutrition content of your menu items:
Increase produce on the plate. Fruit and vegetables have a huge water content, are low in calories, lower in sodium, and have no saturated fat in their natural state. The more produce you place on a plate, the less you need of other items. The challenge: making produce as interesting and craveable as your proteins.
Add umami with mushrooms. Mix ground mushrooms into ground animal protein to decrease calories, sodium and fat and increase fiber, selenium and Vitamin D. Let customers know about it. They’re no longer into “stealth health,” Brandstetter says. They want to know that you’re making your menu items more nutritious – and how you’re doing it.
Reduce sodium. Use salt as a “finisher,” rather than in every step of the preparation. Or, explore new salt replacements. In response to restaurant and consumer demand, food manufacturers are developing innovative, new products to reduce sodium. One example: diamond-shaped salt crystals, which are hollow inside and have more surface area than traditional salt crystals.
Improve carbohydrate quality. Use whole grains in pasta, pilaf, risotto and other dishes. Experiment with grains other than whole wheat, such as millet, quinoa and spelt. Get ideas and resources from the Whole Grains Council.
Create interesting, lower-calorie beverages. Offer house-made, healthful beverages, such as ginger water, sparkling water with fruit or tea infused with fruit or herbs. Serve juice made with fruit and vegetable purees.
Consider strategic calorie design. Create plates with a limited number of calories. For example, if you are designing a plate with no more than 600 calories, make sure every element builds flavor, satisfaction and craveability.
Rethink desserts. Instead of serving a large slice of cheesecake with a strawberry garnish, create a miniature cheesecake surrounded by strawberries. “The CIA calls it the ‘dessert flip,” Brandstetter says. Customers appreciate tiny dessert portions rather than low-calorie versions, she says.
Allow for indulgence. But on a small scale. Instead of a platter of all fried seafood, serve a few fried shrimp and many, many more grilled shrimp on skewers. “It balances it out a little bit,” she says.
How are you making strides to improve the nutrient content of your menus? Let us know here, or @gosirvo.
The survival rate of new restaurants is slim to none nowadays, and just about anything from poor food, to sloppy service, to ill-favored decor can be the kiss of death. BUT there are precautions you can take to improve the odds, so do your homework and read up on some tips straight from the experts.
Have A Plan
“It’s way more romantic to think you can open a restaurant by the seat of your pants, but in reality, planning goes a long way. A business plan takes a ton of guesswork out of the startup process.”
Michael Curcio of Pyrogrill and Ray Sidhom of Four Food Studio
Stick to the Recipe
“A lot of restaurant owners or managers will deal with each task individually. Thinking through processes and standardizing is the key to saving time and resources. Write it down, and refer to the steps until it’s natural. This applies most to staff situations too. There is nothing worse than attempting to manage a bunch of individuals trying to do the same thing, each in their own way.”
David Koji of DineAbility
Be A Team Player
“Be willing to do the jobs of other people at your restaurant. Spend a few hours a week welcoming customers or working the reservation desk. Fill in for a server in an emergency. Show your staff you’re part of the team.”
Scott Maitland of Top of the Hill Restaurant and Brewery
Trust Your Employees
“Early on I realized that I had to hire people smarter and more qualified than I was in a number of different fields, and I had to let go of a lot of decision-making. I can’t tell you how hard that is. But if you’ve imprinted your values on the people around you, you can dare to trust them to make the right moves.”
Howard Schultz of Starbucks
Trust Yourself
“When creating or shaping your restaurant, think about what would attract you as a customer. Be honest with yourself – would you choose your restaurant over the competition? Until you can say “yes,” keep adjusting according to your own personal dialogue.”
Danny Abrams of The Mermaid Inn
Like Danny Said, Be Honest
“Sometimes these things that you care about so much, you look at them and go, “It’s just not working.” You’ve got to be honest with yourself. If you hear a pattern of things, especially early on, about things not working, you have to look at that and make a decision as to whether or not you should stick with it.”
Tom Colicchio of Craft Restaurants
Keep Your Enemies Close
“You have to know who you are up against. The best thing is to make sure you create a unique niche in the industry before you go forward.”
Steele Platt of Yard House
Learn How To Handle Stress
“Stress as a restaurant owner will never subside, don’t kid yourself! Learn some mechanisms to handle stress – create a strategy to stay on top of your mental and physical health.”
Damien Scoditti of Brio Downtown
Patience Really is a Virtue
“You can’t learn everything in a year or two. You have to learn the basics. It’s amazing how little people know!”
Wolfgang Puck of Cut
Laugh A Little
“Especially when dealing with customer complaints or more stressful issues at your restaurant. Knowing how to smile and not take things too seriously keeps a positive vibe. The customer avoids a tense situation, and you deflect some of the pressure from yourself.”
Nicholas Lander, Restaurant Correspondent for the Financial Times
Celebrate the Successes
“As chefs, we are our own worst critics, and we criticize ourselves to death. We don’t often champion our successes so sometimes we have to take a step back, have a glass of champagne and say, ‘look at what we’ve done.'”
Thomas Keller of French Laundry
Stay Hungry
“Hungry means to try to learn more, always try to work hard, try to understand more from others, don’t be afraid to ask questions, make mistakes and learn from your mistakes.”
Nobu Matsuhisa of Nobu
Know any other restaurant success tips? Let us know @gosirvo.
In fact, the service industry recorded the strongest sales volume on record in December 2014, as well as the eighth consecutive monthly increase, totalling $49.6 billion on a seasonally-adjusted basis.
For professionals in the business of serving food and drink, trained in the art of creating a successful dining experience, it may be difficult to stomach critiques from customers. After all, what do they know? Well, it turns out they know absolutely everything even if they know nothing.
Who knows best
According to Peter Nolan, chief brand officer for Roti Mediterranean Grill, “the customer who comes in twice a week, or 100 times a year, makes him or her an expert on the brand, and [it] would be foolish not to take his or her opinion into account.” Nolan firmly believes restaurateurs should listen to customers in order to “connect their insights into what the brand is trying to accomplish.”
So, sure, a customer may be commenting on an expertly prepared plate of food, but if it does not satisfy, then does it really matter if it is textbook perfect? The overarching goal of any eating establishment is to provide customers with something that will get them back in the door for a second, third, or hundredth time, so why not take a second to learn what that something may be.
Getting the dirt
Peter Nolan provides a list of tips to obtain valuable customer feedback:
Take the time to actually listen to your customers. Most importantly, hear what they have to say and respect their opinions, even if they are not a food professional.
Engage in casual conversations with customers. Be the most curious person in the room, and talk to anyone, and everyone, about the highs as well as lows of their experience.
Speak like your customers. If you want to understand customers’ insights, then you not only have to speak to them, but they must also speak to you. Using their language goes a long way to ensure this happens.
Know what you want to know. It is possible to obtain valuable information from a conversation initiated with no direction in mind, however asking about specifics will grant you access to much more understanding.
Don’t be afraid to poll. Not all customers will complete a formal survey, but some will, and those are a great way to incorporate customer feedback.
What matters most
Customers are the life force driving every successful business and, as Nolan explains, “integrating customer insights into your company’s innovation efforts can have a huge impact on a brand’s success.” By aligning vision and expertise with the desires of the customers, unforgettable dining experiences can abound.
At the end of the day, as Nolan puts it, “If you love and respect your customers and treat them well, they will come back again and again.”
How does your company find out what the customers are saying? Let us know @gosirvo.
