Alfredo Solis decided it was time to send a message. So the owner of Mezcalero, the hottest new Mexican restaurant in the District of Columbia, put it at the bottom of his receipts: “Immigrants help make America great!”
Is this a good thing? Should restaurants embrace politics, or steer clear of this subject?
Why would putting a positive and true message at the bottom of receipts be controversial or even all that political?
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As far as immigration goes, restaraunts are big employers of both legal and illegal immigrants. With high numbers of staff affected both legally and emotionally by immigrations issues, anti-immigration is bad for the business.
As far as other exclusionary politics, restaraunts are consumer businesses that require high traffic to make a profit. Exclusion is bad for business.
Some businesses have the luxury of being able to lean the other direction, but most do not.
Any consumer business worth their salt has to cater to everyone from a racial and sexual standpoint, the last thing they need is to have a certain demographic actively boycott those stores because one person makes an inflammatory comment or decision. I don't necessarily agree with boycotting certain restaurants (specifically franchisee chain restaurants) over what one person says in one franchisee compared to everyone else in said restaurant who may disagree with those views. Now, picking on one specific franchisee to boycott is far more effective than going after the whole company.
Of course, there is the whole "vote with your wallet" kind of tactic which works far better than 99% of regular boycotts.
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At 2/18/17 05:58 PM, Sensationalism wrote:At 2/18/17 01:56 PM, DoctorStrongbad wrote: http://www.bendbulletin.com/nation/5071138-151/the-newest-political-battleground-it-may-be-your?referrer=bullet8I'm fine with something like that. It's just a little writing that has a positive message meant to celebrate diversity and acceptance of others.
Alfredo Solis decided it was time to send a message. So the owner of Mezcalero, the hottest new Mexican restaurant in the District of Columbia, put it at the bottom of his receipts: “Immigrants help make America great!”
Is this a good thing? Should restaurants embrace politics, or steer clear of this subject?
That is a good point. Nothing wrong with adding a positive message.
Chick Fil A is one example: Chick-fil-A has long come under fire from activists for giving millions to groups that advocate against gay rights and even support ex-gay therapy, following interviews in which Cathy said he was “guilty as charged” of supporting “the biblical definition of the family unit” and that gay marriage invites “God’s judgment on our nation.”
Chick Fil-A is really against gay rights. They have come under fire several times for those beliefs. They are so Christian, that they are closed every Sunday.
At 2/19/17 11:30 AM, Camarohusky wrote: As far as immigration goes, restaraunts are big employers of both legal and illegal immigrants. With high numbers of staff affected both legally and emotionally by immigrations issues, anti-immigration is bad for the business.
Yes, restaurants do employee legal and illegal immigrants.
As far as other exclusionary politics, restaraunts are consumer businesses that require high traffic to make a profit. Exclusion is bad for business.
That is why I asked the question. One would think that restaurants would stay neutral on this topic.
Some businesses have the luxury of being able to lean the other direction, but most do not.
That is a true statement.
At 2/20/17 01:49 PM, DoctorStrongbad wrote:At 2/19/17 11:30 AM, Camarohusky wrote: As far as other exclusionary politics, restaraunts are consumer businesses that require high traffic to make a profit. Exclusion is bad for business.That is why I asked the question. One would think that restaurants would stay neutral on this topic.
Some businesses have the luxury of being able to lean the other direction, but most do not.That is a true statement.
I figure it largely depends on demographics. While neutral is generally safe, picking a side can aid a restaraunt in some case. West of the Cascades in Oregon, Washington, and West of the Rockies in BC, a Pro-inclusions stance will, in all but the smallest towns, get you some extra positive attention and business. Supporting an exclusionary law can kill your business (see: Sweet Cakes by Melissa, prior to the largely out of region crowd funding effort). The opposite is true in areas like the inland PNW.
Another huge component is size. Large restaraunts and stores largely try to stay neutral. They realize that in many situations picking a side can result in huge numbers loss. A few stalwarts have ventured into political territory with with mixed results, but they almost always come out OK. Starbucks and Amazon have been openly political, and while some people get riled up, they have come out unscathed or better (see Nordtrom for the latter). Chick-Fil-A got slapped around hard after the owner, not even the company, was found supporting exclusionary causes. It took a strong show of support from its die hard fans and those who support exclusionary policies, along ith some serious grovel-apologizing, for it to come out ahead. Then you have Target where they have been openly political for a while and have had some recent drop offs, but its difficult to tell if the recent boycott has had traction, or if the market is starting to hurt across the board (WalMart's drop in growth signals the latter).
Small restaraunts are largely extensions of the owner. They are patroned for the food and the chaacter of the location. Small restaraunts, as such, are more likely to reflect their owner's views. While a bean counting owner would separate personal and business views, few restaraunt owners are of that personality. They see the restaraunt as an extension of themselves and thus choose to express their views through the restaraunt, meeting with the success or failure spoken of in the first paragraph.
You can preach whatever you want in the private sector but obviously it's a risky move.
In this case, it's brilliant. Considering it's a Mexican restaurant (especially if it's an authentic one) your likely target demographic is Mexicans. So they're developing that type of pro-immigration image to attract Mexican customers.
Places like Chipotle and Taco Bell will be left for the white people who think they're eating real Mexican food.
At 2/21/17 12:03 AM, mothballs wrote: In this case, it's brilliant. Considering it's a Mexican restaurant (especially if it's an authentic one) your likely target demographic is Mexicans.
Have you ever been west of the MIssissippi? Us West Coasters along with Southwesters love Mexican food, regardless of the tint of our skin.
At 2/22/17 09:20 PM, Camarohusky wrote:At 2/21/17 12:03 AM, mothballs wrote: In this case, it's brilliant. Considering it's a Mexican restaurant (especially if it's an authentic one) your likely target demographic is Mexicans.Have you ever been west of the MIssissippi? Us West Coasters along with Southwesters love Mexican food, regardless of the tint of our skin.
Mexican food can be amazing if done well. Just watch out for Taco Bell, that is more like American food.
At 2/22/17 09:20 PM, Camarohusky wrote:At 2/21/17 12:03 AM, mothballs wrote: In this case, it's brilliant. Considering it's a Mexican restaurant (especially if it's an authentic one) your likely target demographic is Mexicans.Have you ever been west of the MIssissippi? Us West Coasters along with Southwesters love Mexican food, regardless of the tint of our skin.
I don't need to have, here on the East coast the same goes. I'm just saying that it's genius for them to segment their target audience different than their competitors like Chipotle who appeal to mostly westerners by using this slogan which develops their image into that of something that appeals to Mexicans and Mexican-Americans.
