Back2theBlog
I took some time off blogging to focus on other aspects of life and business. There’s so much going on in our industry and our businesses, I just wanted to get back at it and get some things in print. We have always felt long term planning by the partners made great sense for the businesses. I am blessed with two awesome biz partners. Tim (my brother and the keeper of Joe’s Farm Grill), Joe (ya’ll know him as @realjoe) and I meet often to pray, plan and produce. We like to have “summit” type meetings a few times a year to look at big-picture stuff. We also meet frequently to make sure we’re giving our managers the tools they need to put the vision into practice. Lately we’ve met more than usual, as there is a great deal going on. Our planning early in the year produced even more customer-friendly changes than some past years. Some things that have come to fruition of late... BBQTV – as I had blogged about earlier, we sought a way of displaying important, useful and fun info. BBQTV made its debut recently and by all accounts is doing what we had hoped. We showcase some great photos by local fans (send me yours for consideration any time). We throw in some Gilbert trivia. We let folks know about some of the amazing history of our 1929 building. And we let people know the specials as they are walking in to help make ordering a snap. Early Diners – We responded to the requests of folks who like to eat early 2-430pm Monday-Thursday. We came up with offerings that made sense – scaling down portions and prices. We even created an amazing smoked meat loaf I think will be talked about for a while. Coming up with offerings of our caliber food for as little as $5.49, we think we’re on to something for folks looking to save some coin in this whacky economy. In the works... Customer Appreciation Day 2010. May 5 we do it again. We open our doors 11a-3p, catch our breath and do it again 4-8pm. Free food for everyone. This year should prove to be the biggest yet, when over 6,000 people are expected. Aside from the parade, which has folks lining Gilbert Road, it is likely the biggest social gathering in Gilbert. It’s a blast. Yes, there’s a line. Bring a friend and a bottle of water and enjoy meeting new folks while you move quickly (very quickly, actually) along towards the free meal. We’ll again have sandwiches, homemade sides and a drink for all who come out. We’ll have an announcement late this month about something we think will help cement downtown Gilbert’s place as an awesome place to go for great food any time of day. Social media on steroids. We love getting to know our customers. Really KNOW them. By name. This year more than any previous year, we’re working to make sure we put the “social” in social media. A really cool tie-in to the Ford Fiesta Movement is going on right now, which should appeal to those of you using Foursquare to check in places and let people know where you are hanging out. There is an awesome Phoenix Hot Spots mural along the south side of the building, with its own Foursquare location (Phoenix Hot Spots Mural). You can be part of making the Valley a vibrant part of a national ad campaign. Of the 20 cities across the country taking part in the movement, the ones with the most Foursquare check-ins will be featured in national ad spots. There will be more to announce, and I hope to make this blog one of the ways we keep our faithful customers in the loop.
@bbqtad @joesrealbbq
