Our services
Concept Creation and Development
We help new restaurants and food entrepreneurs at every stage of their development:
•From inception — helping restaurateurs and food entrepreneurs create their concept from brainstorm to mock service and beyond
• During pre-opening — fine-tuning, solidifying and developing a hazy concept so its brand story comes through loudly, clearly and delightfully on the website, on the menu, through digital platforms (Resy, OpenTable, Google, Yelp, etc.), and in the press
• Mid-stream — assisting newish-to-well-established restaurants and food businesses clarify, refine, reboot and reset, or completely reconcept
Contact us to learn how we can help your business.
Holistic Marketing (and Public Relations)
Whether you’re still in the planning stage for your start-up, or you’ve already built a beautiful new business, you need to get the word out. A publicist sends a compelling press release, and that gets people to give you a try.
What’s much harder is getting guests to return — again and again and again. It requires connecting deeply with patrons, building and nurturing relationships. You know how to do it on the floor, and on their plates. But just as important is how you communicate with guests through the way your menu is written; when they’re at at home or work thinking about where they might dine; or before they’re even guests, when they’re looking at your website or Instagram feed.
Many restaurants have a great story, but they don’t know how to tell it. Sometimes it’s because they’re not exactly sure what that story is, or how to articulate their concept. Perhaps their concept needs refocusing. Sometimes it’s because making great food and offering outstanding hospitality is what they love to do, and they do it brilliantly. But telling a story on their website or menu, or talking to the media? Not so much. That’s where we love to help. Let us help you tell your story to the world, fill your seats, and get your establishment the attention and accolades it deserves.
Getting new guests to give you a try — and ensuring they return — also requires continually innovating so that you are always the talk of the town. Give your guests something to crow about, while giving writers something to write about. We have the ideas and know-how to make that happen — in a way that thoughtfully expresses and amplifies your brand.
F&B Startup Special
Are you a chef or entrepreneur starting your first F&B business? Working with LBC doesn’t have to mean a lengthy and expensive retainer commitment. If you have a limited budget for things like marketing and PR, we can help you by tackling the hardest part: Creating a brand story for your concept. We’ll write the one press release you’ll need, then give you a crash course in marketing. Then we’ll customize a strategy for your business and set you up with a plan and the tools you’ll need to handle your own PR and marketing — including templates and best practices for communicating with media. Email us for a complimentary 30-minute consultation and we’ll tell you more.
Menu, Wine List, Cocktail List Development / Tune-ups
The right assortment — appealingly expressed — is everything. It’s the thing that draws new guests when they see your menu online, or attracts new customers for your online home food delivery service. But an over-assorted menu with inadequate cross-utilization can kill you operationally and budget-wise. And a brilliant assortment poorly expressed on the menu is self-defeating. So is one that doesn’t appropriately or adequately express your concept. The same is true for a tired cocktail program, or a wine list that fails to embrace exciting trends in the fast-moving wine world. We’ll collaborate with you to craft that ideal menu and beverage program that thrills diners, attracts press and new guests, resonates in your market, simplifies operations and maximizes profits. Of course part of menu development is recipe development (see below).
Recipe Development
Whether you’re a food products company looking for recipes to animate your company’s blog, or a restaurateur or other F&B operator seeking to improve the quality of your menu items, LBC brings exciting ideas and the highest standards to each dish and each recipe.
Quality Control: The Restaurant Doctor
The restaurant doctor in IN — and ready to make a house call. We can propose an assessment program that fits your needs. Food quality, service, menu assortment, beverage program: We’ll bring to it the discerning palate and sharp eye of a restaurant critic — along with constructive ideas about how to improve.
Website Development
Your website is the face your business expresses to the world — and it couldn’t be a more valuable asset. Does it really do everything it could be doing for your business? Does it come up on the first page when someone does a Google search for your type of concept? We’ll work with you to maximize the power of your site to express your brand and attract the guests who will love what you do.
Career Counseling
Are you a chef or GM ready to make a move, or just wondering what might be next? Drop me a line — I’d love to chat and help you explore the possibilities.
Food & Beverage Programming / Curation
The right mix of restaurants and food businesses is essential to the success of every type of real estate project — from a food hall to a mixed-use development to a walkable entertainment district in a city. We’d love to help you create an exciting, dynamic F&B vision for your project, then introduce you to the best tenants and work help you get all the way to signed leases with them. Need help marketing the project? We can help with that, too.
Cookbook Collaborations
Ready for a cookbook but don’t know where to begin? We can do any or all of the work:
• Developing the idea, writing the proposal
• Assisting in finding an agent
• Translating your recipes for home cooks
• Co-authoring
“We were very fortunate to have Leslie’s expertise assist every stage in the development of the Billy Can Can brand. It started with menu and wine list development, continued with keeping our team and staff focused on the core elements of our concept and extended after opening as our ‘in-house’ quality-control point person providing the staff with constructive feedback in all areas.”
— Taryn Anderson, Rebees