October 23, 2010
David Hayden
A Little Humor
1107 S. Washington Ave, Anna’s Taqueria, BBQ and Espresso, Blair's Mega Death Sauce, Blue Goose Kitchen, Cambridge, Caroline Pryor, Casa-Di-Pizza, Chinese, Chris Evans, Cleveland, Daphne, Darryl Murray, Davis v. O’Charley’s Inc, Dennis Donohue, Doeuth Lok, Dowagiac, galveston, George Maloof, Harry Blasco, Hatch, His Mexican Grill, I STOLE AT SOUTH BEACH RESTAURANT AND WAS CAUGHT, Inc, Joel Gomez, Joseph Jacobbi, Josie Nunn, Ken Mistler, La Marque, Linda Davis, Lubbock, Mandi Skudra, Marshall Roth, Mary Katherine Gann, McClain Restaurant Group, meat grinder, Melinda Garcia, Miami Subs, Michael Morton, Montessori Learning Center of Salinas, N9Ne, nanette reyna, Natalie’s Restaurant, news of the weird, O'Charley's, P and Y Incorporated, P&Y, Pacific Montessori Associates, Palms, Phonon Penh, RAIN, REO Eats, REO Town, Richard Barret, Richmond, robbery, Salvador Solis, slip and fall, South Beach Buffet, Sparky's Burgers, Steak 'n Shake, Steak and Shake, Strange Restaurant Stories, Suzanne Corona, Taco Erendira, Teako Nunn, Ted Liggett, The Dog Nuvo, The Grilled Asparagus, TN, TX, Vanna Phon, Wah Wah, Weird Restaurant stories
Welcome to the first ever bonus edition of Weird Restaurant Stories. This week I am going to try something a little different. The difficulty I have each week in compiling this list is eliminating those last few stories. This week several of the stories I wanted to eliminate all fit into the same theme. So this week’s dozen stories is actually a dozen and a half. Bonus.
The reason I limit it to 12 is that this is actually one of the more time consuming posts I write during the week. Coming up with even slightly funny lines about more than 12 stories would be a bit cumbersome. That is why this week in order to accommodate the bonus stories I have decided on a speed round of stories all sharing a similar theme. We have all heard the phrase, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” This week I decided to test that theory. I may have some better variations. Judge for yourself.
Read the full post at Restaurant Laughs
September 3, 2010
David Hayden
A Little Humor, About the blog
cartoon, Charles Ferruzza, cost of a burger, customer service, depression, epiphany, fat city, Food, food stories, free bread, funny, humor, O'Charley's, ranch dressing, Ronnie the roll, Server Blog, snopes, tipsfortips, Waiter, Waiting, waitress, zoloft
R. Charles Pennington IV is best known for his role as the Zoloft rock, but also was the lesser known character Ronnie the Roll
Being less than a week away from my 100th post has left me some time to think about how I want to recognize that milestone. I thought about a grand countdown. I thought about an retrospective on all of the changes I have seen in the restaurant business in my years. I had an idea sent to me for a very controversial point/counterpoint. I even considered just waxing poetic on the business as a whole in a pretentious and self absorbed way. I decided to skip that last one so as not to steal a certain someone’s shtick.
Instead I decided it was okay for me to phone a couple of these in. 100 posts in under 5 months is a pretty feverish pace for a blogger considering the size of most of my posts. Posts that require research have hours poured into them to try and produce something worth reading. Occasionally, I get really excited about the result. In my opinion yesterday’s post about ranch dressing might be my favorite. However after I finish this one, it may take that title. My favorite generally is the one I just wrote.
Read the full story at Restaurant Laughs
August 9, 2010
David Hayden
A Little Humor, Foodies, Managers, Servers
arkansas, backscratcher, free food, free rolls, Home of the Throwed Roll, how restaurant owners can increase sales, how to be a better restaurant manager, how to market a restaurant, increase restaurant sales, increase sales, Lambert's Cafe, Lamberts, marketing with free food, MO, Money, O'Charley's, okra, Ozark, Restaurant, restaurant maketing, Restaurant Manager, restaurant server, Ronnie the roll, servers sell more, Sikeston, sorghum, tipsfortips
Home of the Throwed Rolls
In the far corner of Southeast Missouri is a town called Sikeston. If you have heard of Sikeston, MO it is probably because of a restaurant called Lambert’s Café. I’ve eaten at Lambert’s a number of times over the years, but don’t recall what I had. I always remember the food being good, but nothing amazing. The menu isn’t what made Lambert’s famous though. Lambert’s is known around the world as “The Home of the Throwed Rolls.
If you are unfamiliar with Lambert’s, the atmosphere is best conveyed on video. You almost have to be on guard at all times while eating there because any stray glance could result in a roll being unintentionally thrown at your head. The rolls aren’t the only thing they give away. Fried potatoes with onions, macaroni with tomatoes, black-eyed peas, fried okra, and sorghum are all handed out free of charge around the dining room. At first glance it makes no sense to give away so much food. Yet this small town restaurant is thriving and has spawned three other locations.
In contrast, several years ago an girlfriend at the time worked for O’Charley’s when they released this video on their website. I immediately declared it the single stupidest marketing move I had ever seen a restaurant make. Why would they spend money to advertise something they are giving away that directly trades off with the things they are trying to sell? It is at exactly 1:53 in that video where they completely missed the point. After relaxing with a couple rolls while considering the menu guests face a decision: buy an appetizer or eat more of these delicious free rolls. Anyone who has ever waited tables can tell you how that decision ends. At the end of the meal, guests ate too many rolls to buy a dessert, but one more roll sounds good.
Read the full post at The Manager’s Office
Tips on improving your Tips 