What about a brown bag lunch?

By Jenny Brooks

Depending on the kind of eatery you own, might there be a way to offer something to your regulars who are trying to cut back, but still generate traffic and sales for you?

I’ve been working with David long enough to know that discounting is not the way to go. The only person who benefits from discounts is the customer. You lose your profits and minimize the integrity of your product.

But if you can come up with menu items that give your customers an alternative to the regular pricier items, but bear your signature and earn you profits, it’s a win-win situation for everyone.

My self-proclaimed idea is for independent restaurant owners who have a pretty trustworthy lunch crowd: Brown Bag Lunches.

Feed into the customers’ need to trim their lunch budget, but still eat in a style they desire. Make it easy to order and publicize the heck out of it, and you’ve got the potential to drive some good lunch sales.

This is great if you have a lower-priced lunch menu that you could pack up for pick up – saves on the tip. Or morph a few of your most popular entree items into a brown bag friendly version that would be acceptable at a lower price point.

It’s just an idea – it might not be right for your eatery. Maybe it sparks an idea that’s right for you.

Jenny Brooks is a public relations professional providing expert and strategic tactics for businesses trying to increase awareness about themselves and their products. She is also the editor of SMART Systems Insider, a monthly newsletter from Restaurant Expert David Scott Peters. Questions about PR and how she can help your restaurant? Email her.