New Vegas restaurants show importance of retail experience
Looking for some intriguing lessons on the power of the retail experience? Look at two new restaurants in downtown Las Vegas.
We caught a glimpse of these eateries during the recent Las Vegas Market. We like to stay in downtown; the proximity to the World Market Center is a big plus and the Golden Nugget is a gem on the downtown scene.
During our nighttime explorations of Fremont Street we found Oscar's, a new steakhouse at the Plaza, and the Heart Attack Grill at the Neonopolis, a shopping center a few blocks away. Each adds something unique to the Vegas restaurant scene. Considering the incredible array of Vegas restaurants, that is no small feat.
Oscar's pays tribute to former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, a supporter of the World Market Center project. Oscar's features "Beef, Booze, Broads." The "beef" and "booze" are self-explanatory, but the "broads" set the place apart.
Here's what the restaurant says about them: "These attractive women will be dinner companions who can discuss subjects such as politics, sports, wine, Las Vegas history or things to do downtown or on the Strip. When not dining with customers, they will roam the restaurant as hostesses, adding to the glamorous and uniquely Vegas style of Oscar's."
What do you suppose those ladies think of the body impression problem we have in the mattress industry?
The Neonopolis is just beyond the Fremont Street Experience canopy that starts across the street from the Plaza. There the new Heart Attack Grill serves up burgers, fries and milk shakes in a hospital-themed setting. An ambulance is parked out front and the waitresses are dressed like nurses. Orders are called prescriptions.
The prescriptions here are for high-calorie foods, ranging from Single, Double, Triple or Quadruple Bypass Burgers to Flatliner Fries cooked in pure lard. The diners - "patients" - wash those goodies down with butterfat-laden milk shakes or soft drinks made with real sugar. "Taste ... worth dying for!" is the tag line of this restaurant.
Now say what you will about these newcomers on the Vegas scene, but you have to admit they both offer catchy twists to traditional restaurant offerings. Oscar's wraps itself in the personality of the quotable Goodman and gives the ladies - er, the broads - a seat at the table. And the Heart Attack Grill turns the negatives of bad foods into some positive PR by celebrating the very badness of those dishes.
My dance card was full in Vegas and I didn't dine at Oscar's or the Heart Attack Grill. But I do think they illustrate the power of giving consumers a memorable retail experience. And that's a lesson that we need to heed in the mattress industry.
Anis commented:
:Emilie, you can add Sushi Fever on W. Sahara to the sushi list. The new Lolita's at Towne Square completes your Mexican line up. Hash House A-Go-Go is a must for the utamitle breakfast in town. They are at Imperial Palace, M Resort and on W. Sahara. Also, Firefly now has a location downtown at the Plaza Hotel overlooking the Fremont Street experience.[]Emilie Barta Reply:November 13th, 2010 at 5:23 pmThanks for adding to the list, Mike…your recommendations are especially appreciated since you are a “local!” []
Varshini commented:
Windy Madiedo - Mindy you are an angel. You made that day look so flawless & you know how crazy it was. You were such a supropt & friend. You have the perfect humor, patience, talent for what you do. Your beautiful & can hit the dance floor too, I mean what more can we ask for! I was able to relax, have fun & let loose the most during your shoots on the course, everything else was a blur. No matter what hiccups might have occurred that day, thinking of your pictures brought a smile & excitement along with everything else. Everyone loved you, we love you and we can't thank you enough!-Windy
do something worthwhile commented:
why not check out Dave Fisher to find out where he got $5 million to dump into Late International. Heard he got it from the chairman of the board.....talk about a coverup.....
allitsnot uglinessa commented:
Heart Attack Grill is no stranger to controversy, actively courting fans and nayayers alike with slogans like "Taste worth dying for!" and "Cash only, because you might die before the check clears."
Menu items like lard-fried "Flatliner Fries," highly caloric "Butterfat Shakes" and unfiltered cigarettes abound, scantily clad female servers dressed as nurses take orders as "prescriptions," and a house policy allows diners weighing over 350 pounds to eat for free.
Still, Basso calls the incident "horrible," and had harsh words for those attempting to make light of it. He told FOX5 News, "The tourists were taking photos of him as if it were some type of stunt. Even with our own morbid sense of humor, we would never pull a stunt like that."
"Heart Attack Grill" was trending on Twitter throughout Wednesday, with sentiments such as, "Sorry customer at Heart Attack Grill in LV had heart episode. But you can't complain about getting the house specialty." from NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon.
"I love this story for the irony; feel bad for customer," wrote ABC 17 News Weekend anchor and producer Evan Millward.
Basso claims that this is the first full-scale coronary that happened in his restaurant. The name of the patient has not been released.
CrocodileDundee commented:
Goooood correlation Murph...David Perry and Jonathan Swift. I thought for a moment there you were going to compare Dave to William Shakespeare! Boy are you a piece of work!
Murphy commented:
Adventurous literary techniques are an Irish passion. We appreciate writers, like our own Jonathan Swift, whose real point lies beneath the surface, especially when it eludes duller readers.
Toni commented:
Yes, Murphy. Lets start offending other groups too now that we've belittled women and continue with other minorities to get readership up. Strange strategy. The danger here is, FT is crossing dangerous lines.
Murphy commented:
I appreciate a writer -- especially in the less-formal blog format -- who presents his subject in unconventional ways from time to time. The danger is that some readers won't get it. Or they go out of their way to take offense. Retailers will assume the same risk by adopting creative approaches to display and marketing, but generating some buzz is the name of the game these day. So, kudos to David for doing exactly that with this post.
Kay S. commented:
Unbelievable David. Then you have Gerry refers to women as "broads" in this thread & thinks thats entertainment! Sandow Media better wake up, not lighten up & hook up with a company who gets it already. Ladies, don't support your reading time or $$$ here. Its clear this magazine is run by bad testosterone.
Gerry Borreggine commented:
Someone called to thank me for the comment below attributed to "Gerry." Well, that wasn't me, but I endorse the sentiment.
Sadly, the blogs have become an outlet for the anonymous to become brave behind the power of an invisible pen.
And, kudos to Dave for his interesting and entertaining column.
Gerry commented:
Hey people, lighten up. The point of the article was not about restaurants or broads, it was about the "Retail Experience". You know, the ways a profitable retailer thinks about product display, greeting the customer, providing product information, answering questions and Yes, entertaining them.
aeron sitter commented:
junk and more junk from ft write about real furniture not oscar the pig and his new boring hooters steak house and the other stupid un eaten in heart attack get a real job....
Idiot Shield commented:
You are a male pig. This blog is offensive to women, who by the way are the ones who buy home furnishings and pay your salary. It's 2012, not 1912. This is YOUR "importance of retail experience" ??? Have fun with the broads. Your a real game changer.
Chuck Harmon commented:
Hi, David, I think there is so much room for "new thinking" in the mattress industry that your story is really well worth the space.
I don't thing we will need to have "broads" lying on beds with potential buyers but fresh ideas seem to be escaping many in this industry.
This affords a huge opportunity to the people who dare think outside the box.
BeddingInsider commented:
Dave, thanks for sharing this totally worthless information in your blog!
