Morton’s, the upscale dark wood and white linen steak house, has been snagged by the economy. According to a letter in my mailbox this morning, the Minneapolis location has decided to cease lunch service, in spite of being located in one of the country’s strongest downtown business districts. It’s not hard to guess that the move is in reaction to a lack of patrons able to justify a pricey expense account lunch-—even when surrounded by the few conservative banks who remain on firm ground.
To offset some of the loss and attract more fiscally responsible patrons, they’ve added a Bar Bites menu to their ongoing, award winning dinner service.
The point of this missive is not to place another stake (no pun intended) in the heart of the economy, but to point out that reinvention is the key to moving forward. Rather than pay a full staff to attend to a dwindling lunch crowd, they re-tooled, recognizing that if the people needed something more affordable, they could certainly provide it. There’s no question the Bar Bites will be scrumptious. And that it will draw not only current fans in, but new ones who may not have been likely to dine at $100+ per person.
Look at the services and options you provide in your stores, then find a way to create a “services lite” menu of your own. Break down 20-count packs of informal notes into two 10-count bundles…then offer in-house printing as an add-on. Look for inexpensive gift items that on their own are too small to stand alone, but combined into a cellophane bag with pretty ribbons become a complete package (think: a la carte selections). Maybe offer 10% to customers who purchase a dozen gift cards at once, then wrap them in pretty tissue (instead of just sliding them into the bag). Imagine the products you sell as “bar bites” to be consumed in individual nibbles, but “ordered” in mulitple parts.
Take it one step further, and come up with a half dozen “bar bite” concepts, have someone letter them onto a nice piece of colored mat board for presentation in the front window or print them on 4 x 9 card stock like a bar menu, tipped on easels around the store. Make this new option fun, whimsical, and creative. Make the bites impossible to pass up.
And remember, just like a bar who really makes their cash on the also-sold liquor, your store stands the chance of making money on also-sold items that fills your shelves. By thinking in small bites, you just might reclaim a few nibbles of your own.
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