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Tag Archives: Shake Shack

OPEN YOUR EYES

23 Tuesday Sep 2014

Posted by culinarycuesblog in Uncategorized

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Tags

chefs, cooks, New York restaurants, NYC, Shake Shack

shake shack

Well, I am in New York City for two days, my very infrequent taste of everything overload. This jaunt happens less frequently as I age, compared to a week or more every year from 1979-2005. I thought, as I was on a exploratory walk around midtown that I would try something different this year. Instead of the typical New Yorker “walk of indifference” (not making eye contact with anyone), I did just the opposite; I looked at everyone, trying to get a snapshot at his or her inner complexity.

This, of course, was enlightening. I began to realize that as interesting, complex, rewarding and challenging my life may be at times, there are millions of others who live in their own similar world. What are their lives like? What type of work do they do? How large are their families and what is the history behind their clans? What foods do they eat? Do they stick to their ethnic upbringing and focus on the foods of their ancestors, or are they Americanized? Do they cook and are they good at it?

I walked down Eighth Avenue to 52nd and then left on 7th to Central Park South. There in all it’s glory is the home to Per Se and Masa (I won’t be dining at either), Columbus Circle and, the Park. Picking up my pace I headed up Central Park South passing The Nikko, the Old Plaza Hotel (no longer serving in that capacity), crossed in front of the most photographed fountain in all of New York and stared across the street at a crowd of at least 600 or so people waiting to get into the Apple Flagship Store (nearly a week after the release of iPhone 6, people are still viewing this as a must stop in New York). Turing up Fifth Avenue I thought that it would be great to have a walk past some of my old stopping points. First to the site of the original Aquavit – nope they moved from this spectacular piece of real estate. On to 52nd for a walk down to Avenue of the America’s – nope it was fenced off, keeping protestors away from the dignitaries attending conferences on global climate change. Looking at people now, I saw many familiar faces: a few political analysts from CNN, some models I have seen in commercials (don’t know their names), a guy who was a dead ringer for Carlos Santana (maybe it was him) and then a convoy of seven Secret Service Escalades with police escorts (could it be the president?).

Taking a detour back to Fifth, I thought – well I’ll move on to 48th street and walk through Sam Ash and Manny’s and drool over their guitars and percussion instruments – nope, both are gone, leaving the block pretty desolate (apparently Sam Ash moved to a superstore on 34th – I can’t imagine it will feel the same).

A bit hungry, I thought I would stop in somewhere for a small bite, not enough to spoil my dinner with some chef friends later on. Of course, the problem in New York is too many choices. It seems like every other storefront is some type of restaurant. Pick a cuisine: Thai, Korean, Indian, Scandinavian, Russian, Japanese, etc. There was a new street vendor selling Gyros. He had a fleet of three trucks parked on 50th and 6th. There were at least 80 people waiting in line. Although I support the food truck movement I kept thinking that this is a Health Department nightmare and that line of people is oblivious to the potential for stomach cramps this evening.

Thomas Keller has a Bouchon Bakery across from Rockefeller Center. I wonder what his rent is? I really wanted a few pieces of sushi, but I always shy away from restaurants with pictures of food that are turning yellow and windows that haven’t been cleaned this year. So, I settled on Shake Shack for a Shack Burger and bottle of water. This 8th avenue store is one that I have visited before. At 3:30 in the afternoon it was packed and I actually broke one of my overriding rules: I actually waited in line. It was only about 20 minutes, so I entertained myself by taking pictures of the crowd and wondering if they really thought the food would be earth shattering. There must have been 125 people in the restaurant and the closest count I managed was 30 employees (8 line cooks). Across the street is a McDonald’s – empty. Across midtown there were cooks and chefs leaning up against massive buildings, on break, taking a smoke; vendors lined up on every street delivering the raw materials that restaurants needed to function tonight, and shift changes for both front and back of the house. Diners in New York don’t even think about making a reservation before 7:30 or 8. Restaurant staff will still be filling orders after midnight, even on a Monday night. Ah..the city that never sleeps.

burger

Finally, I got my anxiously anticipated burger and water for $8.00 and found a corner of a high top to wolf down the mid-day treat. It was good. I found myself thinking, how hard can it really be and why is it so hard for others to follow the formula. Hand form the burger, make sure there is a good ratio of meat and fat, grill it hot so that the meat caramelizes and adds flavor, toast the bun, make sure the tomato and lettuce is fresh and crisp and act like you are happy that customers are spending their money. I wonder if any McDonald’s executives have visited Shake Shack.

Now I am back in my absurdly priced hotel on 8th and 52nd trying to piece together what I learned over the past two hours.

  1. People are the ultimate spectacle. It is great fun trying to figure them out.
  2. What ever you think your problems are, there are thousands who have more significant issues to confront.
  3. The restaurant industry is amazing. We have every extreme and anything in-between. Great restaurants with impeccable cooking technique, talented people, serious cooks and servers, and an ethical code that is more important than even profit. Then there are ample operations that are the polar opposite. It is the thousands in-between that most American’s are familiar with, staffed with many who look at restaurant work as a means to an end, and some who are using it as a stepping stone to a professional life as cook, chef, server, manager and entrepreneur. New York has them all (somewhere around 25,000 restaurants in all of the boroughs.)
  4. If we take a moment to look people in the eye we start the process of understanding our similarities and accepting our differences. Visit New York, walk for a few hours, look people in the eye and try to understand. You might even go out on a limb and say hello to a stranger.

Tonight I am off to one of those spectacular restaurants: SD26 by Tony May – a New York icon. I will be toasting and breaking bread with some great chef friends and celebrating our similarities and our differences. Tomorrow it is work but I hope to finish the evening at Eataly, watching people once again.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC
http://www.harvestamericaventures.com

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RESTAURANTS MUST CREATE VALUE BEFORE SELLING PRICES

02 Thursday Jan 2014

Tags

Cafe Boulud, restaurant pricing, Restaurant Value, restaurants, Shake Shack

RESTAURANTS MUST CREATE VALUE BEFORE SELLING PRICES

Why should people spend their hard earned money in your restaurant? How many chefs and restaurateurs have ever stopped to seriously ask this question? Build it and they will come may work in “Field of Dreams” but has little merit when contemplating the build out of a restaurant.

It is never wise to assume that just because you can cook others will flock to purchase what you make. There is so much more involved when one is trying to establish a viable business with staying power. Your intent should always be to create a restaurant that will still be earning money 20 years down the road. To do this requires that the chef/entrepreneur have answers to that first question: “why should people spend their hard earned money in your restaurant?”

The answer to the question of the day revolves around the value that you are able to create. Will the meal be worth the money spent? Before you rent or buy a piece of property, before you determine the ambience of the dining room, before you layout your kitchen and purchase any equipment, before the menu is planned, before you hire a single employee and certainly before you establish your pricing structure, this question must be answered.

Interestingly enough, there is little difference between a low priced, quick service restaurant and a fine dining establishment with extensive wine selections when it comes to determining value. Value is not exclusively reflected in how much is charged, it is totally drawn from the perception of worth. Let’s take on two current examples that I find most interesting: Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack and Café Boulud.

For those not familiar with the concept, Danny Meyer – New York City Restaurateur extraordinaire and owner of such landmarks as Gramercy Tavern and the Union Square Café, opened a burger, hot dog, fries and milk shake joint a few years back – probably more on a whim than anything else. The concept was simple: make great burgers, hot dogs, fries and shakes like they use to be and see what happens. This was built in stark contrast to his empire of exceptional fine dining operations in the city so it drew a lot of interest and questions. The result was a to-go concept that was instantly and insanely successful. This was in 2004 – now Shake Shack can be found in 11 locations in NYC, six other states, the District of Columbia and four other countries.

Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack Food Philosophy is simple and to the point:

“Good Ingredients
100% all-natural Angus beef, vegetarian fed, humanely raised and source verified. No hormones or antibiotics – EVER. We pride ourselves on sourcing incredible ingredients from like-minded artisanal producers.”

He goes further to describe what I would refer to as their real “value statement”:

“We stand for something good in everything we do, which also means thoughtful and sustainable design of every Shack, community support through donations and programming, and hand-picked music played in each Shack (because a burger tastes a little better with good tunes).”

In other words: to support Shake Shack is to support your community. This is a bond that allows the restaurant to be a member of the community family and an integral part of each resident’s life. This is a powerful value statement that trumps selling price.

A personal experience with this concept that stands out was a business trip to NYC with a colleague when we decided we had to try out Shake Shack (this was after dinner the previous evening at Café Boulud – quite a change of pace). We arrived at the location on 8th avenue only to find a line about ½ block long. The restaurant was full and they were only letting a few people in at a time to control the crowds. Directly across the street was a McDonald’s that was completely empty. After about 30 minutes we were allowed in and ordered our burgers and fries. The smell was intoxicating (It was reminiscent of burgers on your grill during the month of July), the staff was friendly, the music was spot on for the environment, people were laughing, and the kitchen was full tilt. Our burgers were fresh and sufficiently greasy like they should be, the buns were toasted, the fries were crisp and we stood in a corner (no place to sit) and thoroughly enjoyed the “experience” of Danny’s Shake Shack. Wow!

I have no recollection of the price of that meal, just the “value” received. The previous nights dinner at Café Boulud was extraordinary. Unlike Shake Shack, this was impeccable dining with world class service, a simple but elegant dining room, breathtaking food flavors and presentations and a tour of the kitchen afterwards with Chef Gavin Kaysen that was awe inspiring. Once again, I have no recollection of the price (likely multiple times more expensive than Shake Shack) but only have fond memories of the “experience” still after nearly two years.

Value is not price, but price becomes relevant more and more as the value experience is diminished. Why would people spend their hard earned money in Shake Shack? They would and do because the product, the service, the community involvement, the food philosophy and the name are synonymous with value. Why would people spend their hard earned money at Café Boulud? They would and do because this is an exceptional example of every detail being viewed as important by the owner, the chef and the dining room attendants. In both cases, the experience continues long after the exchange of money for product and service.

Restaurants can create value by looking at those things that are important to consumers and those things that are lacking in the marketplace. It may be product, service, attention to detail, food sourcing, commitment to community, presentation or entertainment. Whatever value statement you make, please ensure that it does not solely focus on price. Without value, price becomes of consummate importance to consumers. With exceptional value, price will be the first thing forgotten. Ask the question and find the answers: “why should people spend their hard earned money in this restaurant”. What is your VALUE STATEMENT?

For more information about Shake Shack, visit their website at:
http://www.shakeshack.com
For more information about Cafe Boulud, visit their website at:
http://www.cafeboulud.com/nyc/

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