[rabidralph]

Also, maybe there's a microbrewery in the area that you can partner with to feature their beer. Promote seasonal release parties in the restaurant. Gordon Biersch, Capital City Brewery, Fox Valley Brewery, Hereford and Hops, Duclaw and other brewers have incorporated restaurants into their brew business. You can have an arms-length relationship with them without investing in brewery technology in the restaurant.

Buy your ingredients locally and fresh. Promote your local suppliers to build goodwill in the community. As we lose our taste for imports and fight the contracting economy, people are shopping at their farmers markets and shopping locally. I think a restaurant would get a lot of support for supporting other local businesses.

[Enigo54]

The Hereford-n-Hopps you mentioned is here in my hometown...Nice to see the UP get some notice...lol

[Califelephant]

rabidralph’s advice about partnering with local microbreweries rings true to me (as a consumer). Microbrew fans (like me) will clear their schedule for a tasting night hosted by a local microbrewery. Create some type of frequent visitor rewards program, gather patron email addresses, and send out regular email newsletters (it’s cheap advertising) with announcements, events and digital coupons to keep your place top of mind.