Pizza Today - June 2021 - 12

M I K E 'S M O N T H LY T I P

MIKE BAUSCH

Not So Secret Menu

ou should never have a secret
menu. However, an opensecret menu is a great idea.
An open-secret menu is something
that everyone could readily figure out
or find. So it's not a secret at all, but it
has just enough mystique to come off
as a special. In-N-Out does this well
with their " Animal-Style " variations
of the menu. With that said, it's pretty
easy to find their secret menu. If you
have some special hidden menu item
or nuanced specialty " Thing " that
only some of your staff know about,
it's time to get that into the open. If
only a handful of customers know
about it, then it most likely has value,
and you're holding it back on sharing
it. Find a fun way to show the secret

menu. Possibly hide it with a special
link on your website, or explain it as
the " secret menu " because it's out
there, and you want people to feel
special about ordering those items.
There's also the McRib approach of
taking a semi-popular item and then
taking it off the menu and bringing
it back every now and again. This
tactic gives the feeling of exclusivity,
which increases the sales of this item
significantly more than it would sell if
it were on the menu all year. Here is
my pizza approach: I have about
20 specialty pizzas, so when we get a
new idea to add to the menu, one has
to come off. I take the " retired " pizza
and add it to my slice of the night one
day of the week. I pair it with a rare

beer and make it an event that we push on
social media and build a call to action that
pizza would not garner otherwise.
Along with that, every time I do bring
something back or add something new, it's
a new advertising opportunity. If you're just
about to open your restaurant and have a
slew of ideas of what you want on your menu,
start with the base items and slowly add each
new menu item. This approach provides a
new call to action each time you roll out an
item. Sequential calls to action make your
restaurant appear fresh and never stagnant.
New items give your customers more reasons
to come back to your restaurant as you start
your growth. A slow menu rollout also helps
a completely new staff avoid becoming overwhelmed.
For anything else you are willing to do or
sell; it should be evident on your menu and
website. Services like specialized pizza tours
or making pizza at someone's house to selling dough balls in bulk should all be listed
somewhere clear and visible. If you're willing
to sell it, you should also be willing to put it
on an official menu and advertise it. People
will often say, " Oh, but that's something I
do on the side, " which means it's an idea
not being utilized. If people ask without you
advertising it, then there is a hungry audience
for it. Customers should have the opportunity
to purchase it without it being their idea. If
more than once are you asked about doing
something, then it should be on your menu of
items or services.
A great example of this is in Vegas. Steve
Wynn got asked about his linens in the Wynn
Hotel so much that he went a made a whole
showroom near the casino floor of everything
utilized in his hotel room. That way, hotel
guests and non-hotel guest shoppers could see
the Wynn-at-Home products, interact with
them, and potentially buy them. For most
purchases, the items get sent to the customer's
home. That's taking a brand signifier and
making it obviously available for sale, which
you should do for every conceivable product
or service inside of your four walls and not
keep it a secret anymore.

MIKE BAUSCH is the owner of Andolini's Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Instagram: @mikeybausch
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Pizza Today June 2021

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