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Month: February 2018

The Marketing of Holidays: Descent into Weirdness

The Marketing of Holidays: Descent into Weirdness

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Well, we barely made it past Valentine’s Day (whose candies and trinkets appeared on shelves around December 26th) and if you’ve been out and about at any store, you’ll know that Easter must be right around the corner (FYI – this year Easter happens to coincide with April Fool’s Day [4/1/18], so don’t mix-and-match your holidays). Shelves at local grocery stores and retail locations are loaded with chocolate bunnies, chicks, colorful eggs, and bags full of various shades of plastic…

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Running a Successful Restaurant: Why It’s So Hard

Running a Successful Restaurant: Why It’s So Hard

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I talk often in this blog about the difficulties that local restaurants have in staying open in the four-state area.  Truth be told, the restaurant business is one of the toughest out there – no matter what the address, and most people just don’t realize what it takes to not only make a great restaurant, but what it requires day in and day out for it to remain successful. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve heard people…

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Hagerstown’s Food Scene: The Wheel of Restaurants

Hagerstown’s Food Scene: The Wheel of Restaurants

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As I have spoken about in previous posts, Hagerstown is a tough restaurant market.  Restauranteurs and corporations look at the I-70/I-81 interchange, run the numbers, and seem to come away with the impression that their concept just “can’t miss” in this area. If it were only that simple. Here in the dining trenches; however, it’s a different story.  If you are from anywhere in the four-state area, then you probably already know that locals want food they are familiar with,…

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Valentine’s Day: A Celebration or Obligation?

Valentine’s Day: A Celebration or Obligation?

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February 14th is fast approaching.  That’s right, boys and girls – Valentine’s Day.  Even though we know it today as a holiday created to celebrate love, originally it never had anything to do with hearts, chocolate, or red roses.  It was an observance named after Saint Valentine, a Roman priest who was killed in 269 A.D.  Originally, the day was noted more for martyrdom and death in the early Christian church rather than life and love[1].  In fact, there were…

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