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The Best Grocery Store in History
Last Saturday afternoon, I watched a few episodes of, “The ’80s: The Decade That Made Us” on the National Geographic Channel. The hour-long episodes featured iconic images shown over a soundtrack unquestionably unique to the ’80s. This was a decade that the show, in a myriad of ways, proved was truly a definitive ten years in American history, especially relative to how we are living today.
Fast forward and this brings us to the ’90s, which was the first offspring of the aforementioned decade. There were many wonderful things to celebrate and cherish from the nineties. Nickelodeon was a great channel of original programming, with a line-up stacked with shows like, “Salute Your Shorts”, “Hey Dude”, “Legends of the Hidden Temple” and cartoons like “Doug” and “The Rugrats,” to only name a few. There were some of the best sports movies, like “The Mighty Ducks” (one and two) and the “The Little Giants.” There were some of the best major motion pictures, sitcoms, music, shoes that light up and so on and so on.
This entry could literally be a laundry list of treasured favorites, but it won’t.
One of the forgotten gems of this decade was the 1990 revival of the hit 1960s game show, “Supermarket Sweep.”
Remember…
They say history repeats itself. Hopefully, it does so in a supermarket filled with television cameras, an enthusiastic audience, six contestants, an energetic host with dynamite sweaters and $5,000!
This Summer Will Be Golden
“Our family is thrilled to have the opportunity to reestablish these iconic brands with new creative marketing ideas and renewed sales efforts and investment”
With these words from Dean Metropoulos, who is the founder of the private equity firm Metropoulos & Co, the dreams of children and adults everywhere are preparing to return to their regular orbits with the summer return of…
Two private equity firms, Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Global Management, together successfully offered a bid in the amount of $410 million, according to Chris Isidore’s online article, “Twinkies due on shelves by summer as $410 million bid OK’d” on CNN Money today.
As for the renaissance of everyone’s favorite golden-colored, creme filled snack, it appears to be in safe and fully capable hands.
“Metropoulos has experience turning around financially troubled food brands. The firm’s food holdings include Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, and in the past have included Chef Boyardee canned pasta, Bumble Bee seafood, PAM cooking spray and Gulden’s Mustard, all of which it eventually sold to ConAgra Foods Inc.”
Late last year, when Hostess ceased production, the once-full shelves were left barren with sadness and disbelief. The delicious treats were gone. Forever. Faith in the world we all knew took a terrible stumble, leaving millions to ponder what the new snack companies had in store for us? Could they even compare to the Twinkie or the entire Hostess family for that matter?
Luckily, that new “world order” will not transpire. There is substantial uncertainty in our country, and around the globe, but at least we can still count on one of the best plastic wrapped snacks of all-time to return to its golden glory.
Greek yogurt. Greek street food. John Stamos. I suppose it’s not all that surprising a Greek business star would be the one at the top of the current food curve to rescue the beloved Twinkie.
As Twinkie the Kid might say, “Go ahead, make me again!”
The Value of the Dollar is Rising in the American Restaurant
We live in the era where a bag of skittles costs $1, a trip to the movies forces one to contemplate his or her finances and best of all, a large…I mean a venti, at Starbucks is almost $2.00! Who else remembers, “The best part of wakin’ up is Folgers in your cup.” Making our own coffee…it was a simpler time then.
The point is everyday expenses have skyrocketed well beyond reality. We laugh at our grandparents and parents for speaking nostalgically about getting a $.10 hamburger and an ice cream cone for a nickel…Today, it really gives new meaning to the term “The Greatest Generation.” Fear not, this is not an article about business finances related to the rising costs of food. This is about how White Castle has set the food trend that is here in to stay in America for a long, long, long time.
White Castle is famous for its sliders. Small burgers that alone may not be completely filling at around $.45 apiece, but when ordered in packs of four or more certainly can cure a hungry appetite. This is where we are now. Americans are in the “Slider Era.” I don’t mean that every food item will be a small burger, but the slider concept is alive and well and has taken on all sorts of variations. From burgers to lobster roll sliders, restaurants all over are creatively adapting. Chefs of all kinds have realized more than ever that their bottom line is directly linked to their customers. Eating out together today more closely resembles eating out together as a family going to McDonald’s when the Golden Arches first shined bright in suburban Chicago, Illinois, with the Dollar Menu as one example. To be clear, this is a great thing! We are in this together, and restaurants are stepping up.
From White Castle to a sushi joint to Ed’s Lobster Bar Annex in the lower east side of New York city, people are becoming increasingly aware that sharing a few small plates or appetizers together is more fun (economically and socially) than always ordering a large meal and an expensive drink. Order smaller items, but more of them.
At Yogi Perogi in Grandview, Ohio, each perogi ranges from $1.75-$2.50. With just two or three, that’s easily lunch. That not only could be a new lunch spot, but also an expanded palate, as was the case with me. With all prices relative to its location and quality, a lobster roll slider at Ed’s Lobster Bar Annex in NYC is $5, three lobster tacos are $12 and a lobster burger slider is $5. Again, three of these plus an order of fries ($6, but remember it can be split if you’re eating out with friends or family…and it’s quite a few fries) are sufficient for a meal. This is all especially good when you realize the signature lobster roll alone goes for $27.
Simply put: Less is more.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 