“Hey, have you heard of [your restaurant]?” “Oh yeah! It’s that place known for __________.” It is up to you to establish your restaurant’s brand, or what fills in that blank space. When people think of your restaurant, what is the first thing you want to come to mind? A plethora of categories exist to be the base of your restaurant brand, so many that this article must be stretched out into future issues. Regardless of how you brand your restaurant, it is vital to determine your brand before moving forward in the development process. To arbitrarily choosing a restaurant’s location, design and menu and then hope for the best would be a risky operation that most restaurateurs can’t afford. The first thing to choose is a target customer [what kind of crowd do you want in your restaurant]. The brand is then built around that customer. Those who try it the other way run the risk of low demand. An extreme example would be building a trendy, expensive farm-to-table tapas bar in a retirement community—chances are the place isn’t going to get much of a turnout. Once you’ve got your customer in mind, define the elements that will set your restaurant apart from the competition. While price may seem like a viable answer, it is rarely ever the correct answer, given that price wars drive down profits and create animosity for a lose-lose situation. Numerous elements, or differentiators in the business world, exist to set a restaurant apart. This article unveils a few of them, with more to follow in the future. Best to choose one central element from which to develop a brand, with the rest serving as supplements to your core competency. Signature Menu Items Many restaurants got the items that they’re ‘famous for’ simply by creating their menu first and seeing how each item fared among the crowd. And while this approach can deliver consistent success, it also limits the threshold for expansion. A restaurant famous for its apple pie will have a much harder time developing its appetizers and entrees, and will see many customers go to a competing establishment for the main course, only coming to them for dessert. A place known for having the best salmon dishes will be at a loss when salmon prices increase. To offset these limits, base your restaurant around overarching food themes, such as geography or style of cooking. Having great Mexican food provides much greater growth potential than just having great tamales. As an additional note, food fads are tempting to enter, but by the time you go through the process of opening a new cupcake/cronut/juice spot, the market will likely be saturated already. Crumbs’ bankruptcy is just one example of food fads turning against new business-seekers. Atmosphere Industrial-chic architecture, communal tables and contemporary music are all in right now. You’ve also got spots for novel experiences that bring you back to the 50’s and allow you to dine as if you were blind. Atmosphere, however, is more of a complementary feature to most restaurants rather than a primary feature. Even a place like Top of the World [Stratosphere] needs good food to go with the view [which it certainly has]. Atmosphere will bring people through your doors the first time. The most important question is what will turn those first-time visitors into loyal customers—the backbone of every restaurant? Not too many people want to dine in the dark once a month, but they do want to go back to a place that gives them the overall experience they’re looking for. People Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich, Guy Fieri…we’re all familiar with food celebrities who have built restaurants around their personal brand. Centering a restaurant around a chef or other restaurant figure can certainly drive traffic. Celebrity chef partnerships are always an option, if you are fortunate enough to have that connection and are willing to sacrifice margins for a famous name on your signage. The challenge comes in actually creating a personal brand that generates enough of a buzz. This high risk/high reward approach requires extensive media outreach that often involves agents and a public relations firm. Also consider the potential for the chef to leave before reaching celebrity status, putting you back at square one. Each of these brand elements poses tremendous potential for restaurants to carve out their niche and create timeless experiences for the customer. It’s up to the restaurant owner to decide on which base they will establish their brand. Be on the lookout for more brand elements in part II.
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Faith and Flower is a leader of the pack when it comes to LA’s ‘most talked-about’ dining spots. Hip, stylish and in the heart of Downtown, Faith and Flower knows its market and puts on a good show for those looking to post about the newest eatery they’ve checked off their list. A lavish dining area best described as ‘chic vintage’ and a menu that puts a fun play on American favorites capitalizes what’s trending and makes for great conversation. When it comes to the actual dining experience, however, Faith and Flower has an unfairly high bar set before it. Unfortunately, this bar wasn’t met. To give credit where credit is due, Faith and Flower has crafted a creative menu that uses standout ingredients. They’ve created an elegant atmosphere that fits in perfectly with Downtown LA’s energetic, eclectic vibe and follow through with great service. When it comes to their brunch menu [haven’t visited for dinner], some of their items are truly standout and fairly priced at that—Eggs benedict pizza layered with spinach, juicy bacon and rich hollandaise all over is worth coming back for. The salads are farm-fresh. The kimchi cornbread is clearly a house favorite, with just the right exotic touch to peak one’s interest. In the bigger picture, Faith and Flower falls into LA’s morass of trendy spots that make a big deal out of average food. A $15 ‘malt’ waffle, served without syrup and not enough berries and cream, offers nothing special other than it’s ridiculous profit margin. The ‘LA Breakfast’ somehow embodies the city through a semi-filling portion of barely distinctive turkey chorizo ‘hash’ [never seen a hash without potatoes], eggs and a few tostada shells. Even their cookie board, which has some amazing blondies, lacks ‘wow’ in its other offerings. The menu itself shies from consistency and identity. There’s a few ‘traditional’ brunch items, but zero pastries. There’s also a lot of non-traditional categories that don’t necessarily go together. Faith and Flower has devoted an entire space to oysters and ceviche. They offer one pasta dish, a decent homemade cavatelli, but it’s half the size it needs to be. They’ve got basic bloody Marys and mimosas, and the rest of the drink lineup is extremely stiff. There’s a bit of breakfast and a bit of lunch, but very little that says brunch. Faith and Flower has the creative wit to be one of LA’s hit restaurants. I hope to see it live up to its hype moving forward. Faith and Flower is located at 705 W 9th St, Los Angeles, CA 90015. Average out-the-door brunch price for split appetizer, entrée, split dessert and 1-2 drinks is ~$76/person. Call Faith and Flower at (213) 239-0642 or visit them online. Bone marrow custard with camel milk. Sea urchin ice cream. Frito BBQ casserole. Octopus prepared half a dozen ways. Seen as abstract and lofty by some, these kinds of ideas were executed with near-perfection on a grand scale at the LA Food & Wine Festival [LAFW], which took place August 25 – 28 in venues across Los Angeles. And while these novelties wowed attendees day in and day out, they served a far greater purpose in strengthening LA’s reputation in the culinary world. LA has no shortage of all that is hip and trendy in the foodie realm. Myriads of places pop up practically every day to experiment with the newest concepts, giving the city a massive portfolio of best practices. LAFW was kind enough to reel in some of the most forward-thinking players. Let’s take a look at three of the festival’s biggest draws, each of which drew dozens of restaurants to showcase their style. Up-and-comers, household names and outright culinary celebrities all followed through on the same mission to bring new meaning to the dishes they created. Friday’s Night Market Based on the night markets that serve street food across East Asia, this event delivered the same ‘casual’ fare with an obvious gourmet western twist. Taking place on First and Grand in Downtown LA, a city thoroughfare was covered in red carpet [literally] with the Walt Disney Concert Hall serving as the backdrop. Highlights included the following: - Badass’ Indian-spiced sliders. Badmaash, Chef Pawan Mahendro - Liquid nitrogen-chilled foie gras. Patina, Chef Paul Lee - Octopus salad. Café Pinot, Chef Jake Eaton - Gourmet hot dogs. Sumo Dog, Chef Jeffrey Lunak Chefs Jet Tila and Brian Malarkey took the stage to tout Los Angeles as “one of the greatest food cities in the world.” Saturday’s Grand Tasting Some seriously good eats made for a glorious LAFW afternoon in Santa Monica’s Barker Hangar—a surprisingly popular venue that hosts other events such as the Planned Parenthood Food Fare. Chefs from across LA represented the city’s culinary diversity in spades. - Sea urchin ice cream. Chaya Downtown, Chef Joji Inoue - ‘Mountains of’ foie gras. Hot’s Kitchen, Chef Sean Chaney - Lobster and shrimp sausage. The Lobster, Chef Collin Crannell - Purple yam bread pudding. B Sweet, Chef Barb Batiste - Cocktail-infused cupcakes. Bree’s Cakes, Chef Bree Miller Restaurant: Impossible Host Robert Irvine was present, serving up some amazing fried chicken and deviled eggs. Celebrity Chef Aaron Sanchez also made a cameo appearance. Saturday’s Live on Grand Live on Grand brought in some eye-catching features to bring the festival to its peak. From Barrel and Ashes’ speed-eating competition to Starry Kitchen’s Nguyen Tran shouting obscenities through a megaphone while donning a banana costume, there was no shortage of personality to keep the energy flowing. The food was, of course, excellent. - Curry sugar and German chocolate donuts. ICDC, Chef Mariah Swan - Homemade pasta and pesto with Parmesan foam. Ray’s & Stark Bar, Chef Fernando Darin - Braised beef cheek with basil spaetzli. Nick + Stef’s Steakhouse, Chef Andreas Roller Tyler Florence brought a splash of Norcal to the scene, representing Wayfare Tavern with shrimp and grits like you wouldn’t believe. He also praised LA’s food scene, and went on to introduce blast from the past De La Soul, who performed for the latter half of the event. Of course every event came with impeccable and free-flowing wine, beer and cocktails from across the world. Wineries such as Bastianich, Michael Mondavi Family Estate, Chateau d'or et Gueules and Zonin poured while Glenlivet scotch and Hendrick’s Gin showed off their marketing prowess with grand displays of audience interaction. The retailers showed some impeccable novelties of their own. Be on the lookout for Choctal Single Origin Ice Cream, where a 40-year winemaking veteran decided to apply his attention to detail toward ice cream and sources ingredients from across the globe. Skinny Pop has come out with dark chocolate-dusted popcorn. Even Lexus showed off via its foodie partners, serving chocolate grilled cheese sandwiches and Not Your Father’s adult root beer floats. LAFW spanned over four days with dozens of events. In addition to the grand tasting-style gatherings, restaurants across the city featured special menus and guest chefs that made for landmark dining occasions. Be on the lookout for next year’s LA Food & Wine Festival at www.lafw.com. |
AuthorBenjamin Brown is a seasoned restaurant writer and hospitality consultant, serving up SoCal's hottest food news and reviews. Categories
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