A guest asks, “What’s the best thing on the menu?” and your server says, “Everything is great.” It’s not helpful. It’s actually frustrating. And worse, it costs you money.

Last year, I reviewed Hawaiian Bros and loved everything about it. Simple menu. Easy ordering. Fast service. The kind of place I’d eat at weekly. This past weekend, I went back. They added wraps. Big bowls. Little bowls. Build-your-own options. Loyalty programs that didn’t work. Menu items with confusing Hawaiian names and no descriptions.

No, the industry isn’t crashing. Most restaurants are just flat but a handful of them are up slightly.
So if you’re watching your sales drop, it’s not the economy and it’s totally fixable.

Most restaurant owners talk about “building their brand”, but what they’re really doing is working on branding.

These are my two tried-and-true favorite holiday restaurant promotions that will bring in more guests in January when things traditionally slow down. The second one is a promotion that is very common but most people aren’t doing it the right way.