Describe your initial vision for the design of Gino & Marty’s compared to what it actually is today.
When we initially designed Gino & Marty’s, we envisioned creating a lively dining experience for the local Chicago market that had authentic roots & heritage within the city. Our team’s goal was to tell a Chicago story curated by Chicago people that included great tasting food and tantalizing drinks in an environment that kept people coming back. Now, being known as a celebrity-filled “hot spot” was never a part of the plan. It has all happened organically. Through the relationships our partners and teammates have developed over the years, we’ve received so much support in our first year and that was unexpected.
Based on your experience working within the hospitality industry for many years, what are the 3 most important aspects to having a successful launch of a restaurant/bar.
Throughout my career, I have been blessed to work under the tutelage of some great operators opening popular venues downtown, many of which are still open today. During those experiences, we started by focusing on who we wanted to cater this new concept to and what were the preferences of our target audience. Once we hammered that out, it allowed us to get into the design & flow of the business and how the customer’s experience would feel when open. Once we’ve homed in on our target audience, the next step is
answering the key question of: How do we get people through the door? At the end of the day, to be successful you need customers in your restaurant and you need them coming back. Once you’ve created your promotion plan, the final step is execution. Building groundswell
& buzz organically happens at a grassroots level if you’ve got a thoughtful and engaging plan that focuses on your target audience and the customer experience. If your team is focused on building relationships with those people, then the rest is downhill from there.
Explain how you decided who your demographic should be for Gino & Marty’s and what marketing steps did you take to reach them.
As a team, our original plan was to create a space that catered to our already established relationships within the local Chicago market. With Daniel, Gino, myself, and the rest of the team having strong relationships here in the city, that was our focus and we hoped it would grow from there. With our cumulative networks including a diverse group of supporters, we felt we had a