Initially, I thought of Walgreen’s and their weekly inserts in the newspapers. Remember newspapers? Back in the day, they’d coax you with great deals on large bottles of booze, you’d go in and purchase your liquor and spend more money on impulse purchases. Retailers, restaurants and bars sacrifice something in order to gain loyalty.
Pro sports teams have been doing this for years. Possibly the most infamous was Cleveland’s $1 beer night. Now minor league teams partner up with Marvel to bring in families with young kids-hoping they’ll buy into baseball. Other teams are less subtle giving away free or very inexpensive hotdogs in the hopes, Mom and Dad will spend some real do re mi at the park.
I’ve taken full advantage of happy hours everywhere with several having earned my undying loyalty. Get them through the door, and it’s your job to keep them coming back.
Not since Wes Unseld unleashed his beautiful full-court outlet passes, has “pivot” been used more gratuitously. In the post-pandemic era, restaurateurs, and bar owners have been forced to pivot to stay afloat. Some have been more creative than others.
This past Friday night, the first Friday of Lent, I went to Katie’s Kitchen for the fish fry. Katie’s is your typical, independent, breakfast-lunch joint that closes at 3 p.m. However, during Lent, they reopen at 4:30 for a three=-hour fish fry. Of course, the Friday night menu has more than a fried cod dinner, but the majority of diners were there for the fish fry. I was among the many newbies. Based on the quality of the meal and service, I’ll be back for breakfast. It wasn’t my favorite fish fry, nor was the best value, but the rest of the menu was pretty alluring.
Kudos to Katie for taking a chance and expanding her base. Whatever it costs to stay open an additional three hours, six nights a year, I’m sure it will pay off.
I'd rather be sitting in a ballpark. 
One response to “The lost leader…”
Thank you for the kind words about Wes Unseld. This 17 year old had never seen a physique like his in person. His thighs were so huge that it looked like slits were cut into the sides of his basketball shorts in order to fit him. And even though he was “the enemy” when playing Drake I have to say that it was almost amusing to see bodies bounce off of him. He was a man and a half.
Did you mean to write “loss leader” rather than “lost leader”? Or how about “the lost loss leader”? They all work, in a sense.
I know that you were only 9 years old but in 1974 Cleveland had a ten cent beer night that ended badly, as you know. Back then $1 was very close to the regular price of a beer at the ballpark and would not necessarily have been a bargain. But ten cents certainly was.
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