Is your restaurant bathroom selfie-worthy?

Tock's CEO had harsh words for restaurant reservation scalpers and the company’s competition. And is "tipflation" talk harmful for restaurant employees? Pull up a chair and some popcorn for today's edition of The Prep. 🍿

On the menu:

💠 The new hot spot for restaurant selfies
💠 The FTC tries to foil fake reviews
💠 Why restaurant playlists matter

Is your restaurant bathroom aesthetic shareable?

Bathroom design can help boost a restaurant’s social media presence (see the millions of TikToks with #bathroomselfie) and even boost a diner’s self-esteem.

“One of the most important things when designing bathrooms is the light,” said Lisa Grape, the interior architect behind Chez Fifi in New York and co-founder of Joyn Studio. “You want the customer to feel beautiful, confident and sexy when looking in the mirror.” (Bloomberg)

Above: The disco-themed bathroom at Austin's Favorite Pizza restaurant. (Courtesy of @favoritepizzaaustin/ Instagram)

The FTC aims to curb fake reviews

Restaurants that solicit glowing reviews or invite influencers to their restaurant in exchange for a positive mention on sites like Yelp could be penalized by the FTC. The agency estimates that the rule change will affect nearly 26 million small businesses.  (Restaurant Business)

Kwame Onwuachi’s DC comeback

Kwame Onwuachi is back in DC with Dōgon, an Afro-Caribbean restaurant opening next month. Onwuachi says he’s grown up a lot since 2020, when he abruptly left his executive chef post at Kith/Kin, which, like Dōgon, was set in a swanky DC hotel. Since then, he’s opened Tatiana, a wildly successful restaurant in Manhattan’s Lincoln Center, which delivers New York City-inspired cuisine and rave reviews.

“It’s so emotional to be back,” he says. “I just feel more mature and not so obsessive over it, unlike the last time when I was in the public eye. I was still a kid growing up.” (Eater) 

The Simmer, Matt Tucker, CEO, Tock

[Restaurant reservation scalpers are] a real issue for our restaurants and a real issue for guests. It creates this narrative that I don’t think is fair for restaurants — that anyone willing to pay any price can walk in the door in front of everyone else." - Matt Tucker, CEO, Tock

 On the Simmer, Tock’s CEO, Matt Tucker, discusses the restaurant reservation wars with hosts Kristen Hawley and Brandon Barton. Tucker dishes on restaurant reservation scalpers who sell hot tables on the black market and restaurant reservation platforms that pay restaurants to sign up for services. 

💠 Why the music in a restaurant matters 

💠 An ode to Old Bay, the great American condiment
💠 A reusable takeout container service launches in DC

89% 

Consumers who consider seafood healthy. ( Datassentials / US Foods )

What we’re reading: Alex Pickett's The Restaurant Inspector, the latest Wisconsin Public Media book club read. The book takes place in a small town where a mysterious illness is afflicting the residents. It follows a restaurant inspector investigating the cause.

Who we’re following: Will Guidara, restaurateur turned best-selling author and hospitality evangelist. On Instagram, Guidara likes to post “acts of unreasonable hospitality” that highlight restaurants going the extra mile, sometimes literally. In a recent post, he recounted the story of a hospitality director who dedicated his marathon run to a guest fighting cancer. 

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