The restaurant industry picks up Hurricane Helene's pieces

We're constantly in awe of the restaurant industry's resilience. And that resilience is so evident right now in North Carolina and other areas hit by Hurricane Helene, where restaurants are helping their communities while they're still digging out themselves. In this edition of The Prep, we have a story of one of those heroic restaurants selflessly helping their neighbors. Pull up a chair. 

On the menu:
💠 Scent marketing gets sophisticated
💠 Fake reviews come under fire
💠 Pent-up demand for restaurants is rising
💠 Looking back at the history of chicken tenders

Restaurants rally to help after historic storm 

In the past, Jamie McDonald, owner of Bear's Smokehouse BBQ, has provided hot meals to those in need in Ukraine and Turkey as a volunteer with World Central Kitchen. But now he's helping much closer to home. McDonald, who has restaurants in Connecticut and North Carolina, is working with the global charity led by chef José Andrés again, but this time, he's working to provide free meals to residents impacted by the historic floods in Asheville, North Carolina. 

"The Asheville community has always been at the heart of our mission, and we are committed to helping it recover," McDonald said. "With World Central Kitchen by our side, we aim to provide not just food, but hope and comfort during this difficult time."

Bear's Smokehouse BBQ is one of many restaurants and businesses working to get food and aid to residents and staff hit by the storm. (NPR)

Scent marketing wafts into restaurants 

The smell of fresh-baked bread and sweets or the smokey scent of grilled meats has long lured diners into restaurants and set an expectation and excitement about a meal. But now, some restaurants are taking a more deliberate approach to “scent marketing.” Take the newest location of  Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar in Tampa, Florida, which has developed a signature scent called “Newport at Night,” which it describes as a blend of salted santal, woody greens, jasmine, sage, and amber. Olivier Delenclos of the scenting company Prolitec says how a restaurant smells impacts how a diner evaluates the restaurant and their experience.

“It’s going to have an impact on behavior,” he said. “It’s going to influence how much time you spend in the place, or your perception of the time. You will stay longer and you will come back because you had a good moment.” (Restaurant Business) 

Google to penalize businesses that post fake reviews 

Google Maps released a new set of rules that punish businesses for creating and posting fake positive reviews. Google is also expected to punish businesses that offer incentives (like free meals) to patrons in return for rave reviews. 

There are still many unknowns surrounding these policies, but under its  maps user-generated content policy, Google notes that fake engagement includes: “Content that has been posted due to an incentive offered by a business - such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services.” Possible punishments for businesses that violate these rules include a warning posted on the business’s Google profile and restricting reviews on a business’s profile for a set period of time. (Google)

Danish Deliciousness

One of the many unusual delicacies at Black Box Bakery in Denver: A pastry featuring black sesame whip, brownie crumble and chocolate cremeux, on a vanilla danish base.

💠 Diners will travel for food 

💠 Happy 50th, chicken tenders

💠 Red Lobster’s new CEO on the endless shrimp downfall 

💠 New Orleans chef Charly Pierre has found love after Top Chef  

42%

Adults who say they do not go out to restaurants as often as they would like
(National Restaurant Association) 

Who we’re following: Kellogg’s Diner in Brooklyn on Instagram. The restaurant is part of the new wave of old-school diners cropping up in New York City and beyond.

 What we’re excited about: Many of the movie and television-show-themed restaurants haven’t been focused much on food, but the latest, a ‘Yellowstone’-themed steakhouse that’s popped up at Wynn Las Vegas, seems to defy that trend. The menu highlight is undoubtedly the 48-ounce Japanese Purebred Freedom Wagyu Tomahawk, which will set diners back $999.90.

 Plus: How sweet it is to be Carvel’s first restaurant partner.

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