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Main Street Menu Club is making menus great again across the Tri-State

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Post pandemic, many restaurants still utilize the QR code.

Of course, that puts patrons immediately back on their phones during what’s become America’s favorite social pastime.

(And now those patrons are checking emails!)

Still, other restaurants have redacted old prices and scribbled in higher prices due to inflation and market volatility.

That’s because updating menus too often drives costs even higher for the owners.

Main Street Menu Club is solving all these issues for local restaurants.

“A lot of owners overlook that first 10 minutes of the customer experience, and so much of that revolves around the menus, the look, the feel, the style,” said Jennie Alberto, who in 2017 co-founded Main Street Menu Club with business partner Andrew Hart.

Main Street Menu Club works with restaurants to save them money, boost immediate and long-term revenues and elevate customer experience through its proprietary Ultimate Menu Management System for small businesses.

And the company, founded by Long Islanders, is getting regional traction, as they now are managing hundreds of menus from across Nassau, Suffolk, New York City, New Jersey and New England.

Their system is modeled after similar menu updating and design workflows utilized by national restaurant chains.

“So for the first time, small businesses on a local level are getting to experience the same expertise, conveniences and savings that 400-unit operators enjoy,” Hart said.

To be sure, the company isn’t against the QR code.

“The best strategy for most brands is going to be a hybrid model,” Hart said. “But we believe strongly in captivating your audience once they are in the restaurant, and a well-designed printed menu is the undisputed best way to keep them in the moment.”

And keep them coming back.

Menu engineering

Menu design is a science. That science has a name: menu engineering. Few people realize this.

“A professionally designed menu should nudge customers to your bring-them-back menu items,” Hart said. “These are the items the restaurant specializes in and are so delicious they create repeat customers — and customers that bring in their friends.”

If the layout of the menu is confusing, Hart explained, then consumers might gravitate to what they’re comfortable with — their default order.

“The default order is that one item that an overwhelmed or confused customer orders when they’re not sure what to order,” Hart said. “Maybe it’s a hamburger or pizza. But a great menu pushes people toward the best experience.”

This is also where the professionals at Main Street Menu Club come in. 

Design aside, Hart stresses the main thrust of the Main Street concept is about streamlining the process. That means less cumbersome phone calls and emails, and the savings are passed onto the business owner. “Less touches,” is the term they use.

“Menu design and printing has never been simple and affordable for restaurant owners,” Hart said. “We have streamlined everything.”

With Main Street Menu Club, restaurants have access to their data and can change their pricing and offerings in real-time, based on the market — or even trends. 

Let’s say TIME magazine just ran a front-cover feature on how fatty fish helps reduce stress and anxiety. Now all the media is jumping on the story.

Main Street Menu Club will have that new halibut option on your menu within days.

The foundation

Many restaurant owners look at their menus as a sort of unnecessary expense. A bother.

“But your menu, properly thought out, should also be the foundation of a marketing plan for in-store branding and promotions,” Alberto said.

This is a captive audience to which some restaurants forget to even market.

“If you’re excited about the seafood tower, let’s design toward it, or let’s blow up a beautiful photo and put it on the wall; now your menu is part of your decor,” she said. “Whatever you’re looking to showcase from the menu, on the design side, there are so many tools to help promote those items, from table tents to spotlights at the bar.”

Main Street Menu Club also operates its own state-of-the-art print production facility built specifically for menus. Printing their menus in-house is a key element in lowering lead time.

“This gives 100 percent control over the entire process,” Hart said. “We print and ship thousands of menus a week usually within 24 hours.

This also goes for to-go menus, bar and cocktail menus and dessert cards.

“We can reduce the menu cycle by 30 to 40 percent” Hart said.

But it all starts with that foundation: the dinner menu.

The goal

“Implementing our Ultimate Menu Management System will lower your payroll, design, printing, shipping and software expenses,” Hart said. “The more locations, the more the savings. Your customer experience will improve and your brand will never look better.”


Contact Main Street Menu Club

Schedule a free demo to see the Ultimate Menu Management System in action!

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Top photo: The corporate team at Main Street Menu Club (L-R): John Ceramello, Andrew Hart, Jennie Alberto and Stephanie Vazquez. Main Street Menu Club is based in Bohemia, N.Y.

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