Ken Burgin

Restaurant Productivity

Increase Your Sales

restaurant podcast

I love this business interview with Nick Kokonas of Alinea and Tock

December 7, 2020 No Comments

Make time to listen to one of the best restaurant business podcasts I’ve heard to in a long time: Patrick O’Shaughnessy interviews Nick Kokonas, founder of 3 great Chicago restaurants Alinea, Next, and The Aviary. He’s also co-founder and CEO of Tock, an innovative restaurant booking system. Alinea broke the mould with the way they pre-sold bookings to avoid no-shows and cancellations, and introduced variable pricing (just like planes and hotels). Kokonas then developed the

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10 Ways to Celebrate Your Restaurant’s Birthday, and Make a Real Impact

November 20, 2020 No Comments

People love to see a business succeed, and if they’re regular customers, they have watched your growth and development. An annual birthday celebration is a great way to share the love and build loyalty. Not sure when it is? No problem, make it up! Once you’ve set the date, here are some easy ways to spread the word, and remember, social media is your #1 friend for this! Birthday Week, not just One Day: milk

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How the H-Word Boosts Restaurant Sales and Cuts Costs

October 15, 2020 No Comments

People expect a lot from us – fast, friendly, good value, available, and more. That’s why the H-Word can add power to your reputation, and even bring down costs with suppliers. Not magic, but it works – you do it, now all the staff need to get with the same program…hands180 The H-Word stands for Helpful, and it may sound a bit low-key. Like ‘nice’ and ‘tasty’ – not much power in it. But think

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Hospitality Christmas Photos

40 Photo Ideas for Your Restaurant’s Christmas Social Media

September 28, 2020 No Comments

Social media posts thrive on visual content, and there are dozens of opportunities to take all sorts of photos during the Christmas season – food, decorations, people and local scenes. They will look good on Facebook, Instagram and your website. Snap and share, and many can be used again next year. Gather props – Christmas balls or decorations, Santa hats and strings of lights – they will all be useful. Starting the Day – setting

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Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Promoting Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Your Cafe or Restaurant

September 27, 2020 No Comments

It’s an important annual event in October and might be forgotten with all the COVID issues on our minds. It’s had less publicity in the last few years but is no less valued – we all have mothers, sisters, daughters and friends who have been affected. The purpose of the month is to raise money for breast cancer medical care and research. It also raises awareness of an issue that affects tens of thousands of

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Restaurant Marketing

How to Use Special Weeks for Cafe & Restaurant Marketing

September 2, 2020 No Comments

The Aussie Artisan Week promoted by Pepe Saya Buttery got me thinking about how else the ‘Week of…’ idea could be used for interesting promotions. They can be short and punchy, and bring in outsiders or employees, or run with different food & beverage themes – an easy way to create some restaurant marketing action. Here are a few ideas I’ve come up with so far. Run the week over 5 days or 7, and

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Quick Fixes to Guarantee a Happy Experience for Customers

August 24, 2020 No Comments

Anxious customers keep their wallets closed. The world is feeling less safe and much less friendly – we can do a lot to overcome those feelings and turn stress into business. There are many ways to ‘build in the welcome’ so it doesn’t depend on having a professional greeter. Genuinely happy staff: Negative Nick or Sour Sarah can cause lots of damage if left unchecked – are they the reason Happy Harry left after a

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Online Events for Restaurants

My Podcast interview with James Henderson of Hospopreneurs

August 18, 2020 No Comments

It was great to have a solid podcast conversation with James Henderson, looking at COVID challenges and how the restaurant and cafe industry is adapting… ? See more podcast interviews here on the Ken Burgin website. ? Check the weekly discoveries on Hospo Reset – information & inspiration for restaurant, cafe & foodservice operators.

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Planning for the Worst: If You Decide to Close your Cafe or Restaurant

August 5, 2020 No Comments

As the COVID crisis drags on, there are many operators who are contemplating closing up shop and walking away. Before it was hard work and OK profits, not it’s still hard work and no profit for the forseeable future. The best way to get out is to sell your business, and a good broker will help you to do that quickly. But what if that’s not possible? Here are some resources that could be useful…

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How to Share (and Receive) More Love in your Cafe or Restaurant

August 4, 2020 No Comments

Customers want fresh, not stale; inspiration, not gloom.. One way to do this is to think about all the things that we love, our staff love and our customers love! We all need to find more ways to keep a smile on our faces and share our love of food, customers and business success. It’s easy to share stories, photos and events – post them on Facebook, on a corner of the menu or add

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