Friday, October 19, 2007

One is not a Lonely Number:

Entrepreneur.com highlights the rise of One Item restaurants:

"They say one is the loneliest number, but judging by the growing number of specialty restaurants, going solo can draw a crowd. Some restaurants and food vendors are taking simple items like hummus, Belgian fries, crepes and even cereal and creating a menu based solely on them. Often, these specialty food stops feature nostalgic favorites or indulgences you simply can't pass up.

One classic making a comeback is macaroni and cheese. "We draw crowds from age 1 to 100," says Sarita Ekya, co-founder of S'Mac in New York City. "We've hooked a lot of people simply through word-of-mouth."

Less is more, sorry for the clichés, however simple is definitely better. One of the ways to get very good is to do only one thing and do it better than anyone else. Chipotle has built a brand on a very simple two item menu.

You might have an item on your menu right now that outsells everything else, or that your guests constantly talk about? Have you ever thought of spinning that item off into its own concept. The article stresses how word of mouth has spread about these locations. Customer advocacy is being created by doing one thing well.

Pizza, cereal, mac and chesse, cheesesteaks and a variety of other items are all proving that One is not a Lonely Number!