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What
do you get when you combine a former professional
tennis player,
As
senior editor of PMQ Magazines, I
have had the privilege of visiting pizzerias everywhere from Milan and
Venice,
to New York, Los Angeles, Sydney and nearly all points in between, but
when I
strolled off of the boardwalk and up the stairs into the Blackbird
Café on a
bustling Saturday night, I think I discovered one of my favorite
pizzerias in
the world. Sit back and let me tell you why.
I
called Vincent Sciglitano, owner
of the Blackbird Café, at the recommendation of some friends I
have at
Brisbane-based Beech Ovens who said this was the place to go while in
Blackbird
Background
Later that night, armed with my cameras,
notebooks and all the other tools we magazine geeks tote around, I head
back
over to the restaurant. I grab a barstool, order a VB and start taking
some
notes about what I see. The first thing I notice is this place has all
the feel
of a very hip nightclub. There’s dance music going in the background,
at least
two bachelorette parties hovering around the bar, complete with
giggling girls
and brides-to-be wearing veils, a Bohemian waitstaff that is dressed as
if they
are headed out to the club themselves and a buzz that makes you wonder
if you
should order food or get up and dance. There was one element, though,
that kept
reminding me that this wasn’t a club, but a restaurant: the food...and
lots of it
being sold. The kitchen was open and I could watch the cooks
leapfrogging over
one another making food and shoveling pizzas in the oven. The counters
were
lined with plates ready to be shuttled out to the tables and everyone
was
eating. I was truly amazed at the whole spectacle of it all. How can
you
combine the atmosphere of a club with a restaurant without it becoming
just a
club?
“My
father immigrated here from
The
Restaurant
The restaurant’s design is a key
part of the concept’s formula of success. Everything from the lighting,
to the
furniture and plates has an American retro feel, but with a modern
edge. On the
patio, there are vintage-looking deck chairs, the lights hanging over
the bar
have a simple pop art design (but each one costs $5,000 Vincent points
out...made
by some big shot famous designer), and even the furniture in the party
room
sticks to the neo-retro concept. “The atmosphere you create in your
restaurant
is the most important tool you can use to bring people in, but this is
just
part of the formula, along with price points and the quality of the
food,”
Vincent says.
The Staff
So the food is wonderful, the décor
is trendy and the music is hip—how do you find a waitstaff to match? “I
have
created a great family here,” Vincent explains. “My employees are sort
of
Bohemian (hippie). Everyone has their own personality and we don’t look
for
professional waiters. The pierced ears, lips and chins, the colored
hair and
even they way they dress allows them to relax and be themselves, which
makes
them happier with the place where they work and it shows. The relaxed
feel even
flows out onto the customers and people have a good time. Personality
and passion
for life is what we look for in employees. You can see it in the way
they talk,
sit and carry themselves. We have never had to advertise for employees
because
everyone knows this is a fun place to work. Sure the music is louder
than you
might expect in a restaurant, but it adds to the ambiance and fun of
coming to
the Blackbird.
“Foods
and restaurants go through cycles. We
are always tweaking the restaurant and the food,” Vincent goes on to
explain.
“Nothing ever stays the same. If you don’t change, business will go
away. We
are always changing. Americans are unforgiving when it comes to change.
If
something changes they won’t come back, but people are more forgiving
here in
Marketing
During the interviews with Vincent, I asked
what his best form of marketing was. He says one of the things that
works best
for him is his website (www.blackbirdcafe.com.au), email database and
VIP
program. “The website provides several advantages for us,” Vincent
explains.
“We have pictures on the site so that people will know what to expect
when they
come in, but it also gives them a chance to see our menu, prices, book
reservations and functions that are going on and what we can offer for
those
wanting to have parties at the Blackbird. When we change the menu, it’s
also a
great way to get the new menus out.
“People
sign up for the VIP program,
which is very popular, on our site. As a VIP, we send discounts, new
additions
to the menu, and information about partnerships we have with other
businesses
on the first of the month. We have worked out special prices through
partnerships with the IMAX Theater, car parks and other businesses in
the area.
It gives our customers a little something more.
“The
site cost us about $5,000 to
set up and we used another company to do the web design. You can have
it done
for less, say about $1,500 to $2,000, but this is a base and the site
needs to
be continually updated.”
One
of the partnerships Vincent has
worked out is with the car park. “We have a stamp we put on the car
park ticket
and when customers come in and eat, they can get a discount on the
parking fee.
We promote it through advertising boards in the car park, in our emails
and we
have a notice on the tip trays.”
Advertising
Advice
“If I were to start a new place,”
Vincent says, “my first advertising would be newspapers, but it isn’t
something
I would do all the time and rely on, just every once in a while after I
was
established. I would also do postcards because they are very successful
and
back up what I said in the papers and postcards. Once you become
established
you can create other partnerships like I have with IMAX, the car parks
and other
venues.
“I
also donate free food to radio
stations in exchange for free advertising. It’s smart business to give
away
some. Don’t be afraid to give back or give out something for free. A
lot of
people become greedy and don’t realize that you usually get back most
of what
you give out.”
Parties and
Functions
Vincent says that marketing a
restaurant is tough and recommends utilizing other tools at your
disposal and
re-invent yourself to keep things fresh and in demand. Marketing your
pizza is
a must he says, but you have to market other aspects of your business
too. This
is exactly what he does through offering catering for functions held in
the
Blackbird. On the far end of the restaurant, he has a party room where
DJs set
up and spin records for private parties. He rents this room out and
sells
catered food for the party. “You have to have functions and have to
cater to
them,” he says. “Don’t just look at it as a Friday and Saturday night
thing,
but something you want to keep booked all week. It is easy to promote
events.
We put them in our menus, on tables with table tents and through our
website
and VIP program. You have to go after business and not wait for it to
come to
you.”
Another
thing they do to encourage parties
to come in is to offer a free bottle of wine if you come in for your
birthday.
This is promoted with handouts attached to drink menus located on the
tables.
Know Your
Business
“These catered parties are great for
business,” says Vincent, “but don’t make the mistake of saying ‘It
sounds good,
I’m going to do it.’ Do your research because mistakes are costly. My
best
advice is to first know your figures. As a business owner, you have to
know the
costs of doing anything and if you are going to make or lose money at
it.
Second, you need to have some form of people skills. You are dealing
with the
public and must know how to treat people like people and not just
customers.
Third, don’t over commit yourself. Learn the industry and work up to
it. My
father used to have a saying. It was ‘Quello chi va piano, va sempre
lontano.’
It means ‘the one who goes slowly always goes farther.’
“A
good example of this was when the
Olympics came to Sydney. Many restaurants opened, but very few are
still here.
They didn’t know the area and didn’t make money after the Olympics
left. You
have to know your demographics and look at what other restaurants are
doing and
do something different. Look at what you could achieve and look at the
worst
thing that could happen and plan for it because it will happen and then
where
will you be in a year. Have short and long term goals.”
What
makes the Blackbird Café a
success? First, the atmosphere is magnetic. The décor is hip and
trendy and
mixed with energizing music. Second, the staff was fantastic. By
allowing his
employees to be themselves, he adds some color to his restaurant.
Third, the
food was fantastic and priced to sell. I have said before there are
three G’s
to a successful restaurant. They are Great food, Great service and
Great
environment. Any one of the three will make me come back to a
restaurant. Great
food makes me more tolerant of poor service or a boring atmosphere.
Environment
and great service from the staff creates the power of redemption for a
less
than desirable meal. Give me great food and an atmosphere that's fun
and I'll
serve myself. Born from the growing demands from other owners for
advice on
restaurant operations, Vincent has developed his own restaurant
consulting
company. The development of this has not only opened the doors for
Vincent to
share his expertise throughout the industry but also develop a
multi-dimensional service with Vincent's unorthodox yet successful
approach.
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When the
food is ready to be
served, the cook turns on the light above the food. This not only
highlights
the food for customers to see, but the lights are also heating lamps.
Cool
idea, huh? |
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Here is a
sample of some of
the promotions Vincent uses to get customers into the Blackbird. You
can also
see some of the companies he works with to offer prizes. |
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Catered
parties are part of
the attraction for Blackbird Cafe’s customers, and a big part of
Vincent’s
bottom line. Customers can rent out this room and Blackbird can supply
the food
and DJ. |
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– PMQ –