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Method
Marketing Newsletter: Volume 2 Issue 27
May 17th, 2002
Restaurants
That Give Great "Experience"
Second
Avenue Deli, New York City
Part I
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Synopsis:
Some
restaurants exemplify the principles of Method Marketing
even if they never heard of it or thought they were following
anything but their own creative nose. The Second Avenue
Deli is one.
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"Perhaps
these customers are pilgrims in search of soul food for the soul
and Abe Lebewohl's menu proclaims 'We deliver'."
Sam
Levenson quoted in The Saturday Review 3/1/80
Your
guests define 'value' by the totality of the experience:
the service, the décor, the food and its flavors
and aromas and the cost: all details that create a memory.
The most memorable experiences come from an organized,
well-rehearsed and communicated performance. Great 'word
of mouth' is built note by note, scene by scene, act by
act, so that by the end of the visit your guest walks
away 'wowed'. Or bored. Or, worse of all, disgusted. It's
your choice. |
I went to New York City recently and spent time in one of my
favorite haunts, The Second Avenue Deli, for one of the great
dining experiences in America. I am going to spend the next
two issues exploring just what makes this place so great.
The Second Avenue Deli lives the Five Golden Rules of Method
Marketing by offering a highly sensory, utterly unique experience
anchored by flat-out great food. I have no clue what was in
the late Abe Lebenwohl's mind when he put the place together.
The process of genius is sometimes messy, witness the very same
Second Avenue Deli. It should be a beacon of hope to all entrepreneurs
out there who worry that they are not organized, smart or chic
enough to create a restaurant masterpiece.
The entrance is a both a shrine to Abe, who was killed during
a robbery over a decade ago and to the lost world of the Automat.
Somehow, that combination, weird in most other settings is perfect
here. His spirit endures in this place, as does the era from
which he comes. You feel like shouting, "L' chaim, to life!"
when you enter, except that no one could hear you. This is not
noisy, big, but noisy and slightly claustrophobic. You have
to lean into your dining companion and TALK. Guests delight
in the hub-bub, the clanging plates, the calls for "Who
has the kasha varnishkas?" They revel in the business-like
pushing, accompanied by "Make way!" They balance the
celebration with an obligatory scowl or two and the muttered,
"Don't step on my feet, please." Everyone accepts
the space allotted them, even as it is too little, because this
is home and you make allowances for family.
The Second Avenue Deli works even before you get any food, because
you are immersed in the energy of people eating and schmoozing
and kvelling and kvetching. You people watch not for the beauty
but for the sheer spectacle of interesting humanity in riotous
and fulsome display. The noise isn't noise but a bewitching
incantation that says, "Talk, eat, enjoy." There is
no music to dilute the effect, just unadulterated humanity trying
to make a point to each other over complimentary garlic green
tomatoes, sour pickles and vinegar cabbage salad.
The next thing you notice is the aroma. God almighty, the Second
Avenue Deli is just this side of heaven, with the air redolent
with roasted meats, grilled kosher dogs, sweet deli mustard
and, the ancient version of penicillin, made-from-scratch chicken
soup. You'll notice that I have yet to mention actual food.
That, my friends, is the point. We're in the experience business,
and the Second Avenue Deli gets it, in spades. Next
issue, food to die for. -->
GO
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