As fast casual restaurants continue to take over the foodservice industry, casual dining concepts are considering new ways to get consumers into their establishments by focusing on the first course \u2013 the appetizer. Out of all the sections on a restaurant\u2019s menu, an appetizer can make or break the first impression with a customer, which sets a precedent for the rest of the meal. If the appetizer is affordable, shareable, and most importantly enjoyable, then the job of the appetizer is done.<\/p>\n
Appealing to all three, Kansas City, MO-based Applebee\u2019s<\/strong> is putting its food where your taste buds live and is hosting a nationwide sampling event for its \u201cTaste The Change\u201d promotion at almost all of its approximately 2,000 locations on July 21. For Applebee\u2019s Neighborhood Bar & Grill<\/strong> dine-in guests only, the concept will be serving up what may become the largest-ever food sampling event by offering free sampler plates of its newest items \u2013 Sriracha Shrimp and Churro S\u2019Mores appetizers \u2013 \u00a0along with the option to add other new appetizers at low sampler prices.<\/p>\n The appeal to enhancing the appetizer section on Applebee\u2019s menu follows the tapas-like trend where consumers are opting for smaller, shareable portions instead of investing in one major meal. TGI Friday\u2019s<\/strong> answered to this trend in 2014 by offering \u201cEndless Appetizers\u201d for $10. The premise is that dine-in customers can purchase one appetizer (French Onion Dumplings, Loaded Potato Skins, Boneless Wings, etc.) and receive free refills of the same appetizer \u201cendless\u201d times.<\/p>\n Other casual dining locations try to compete by hosting single appetizer specials like \u201cBang Wednesdays\u201d where Bonefish<\/strong>\u2019s famous Bang Bang Shrimp appetizer is only $6 at any of the company\u2019s 200+ locations. Also on Wednesdays, Tampa, FL-based Square 1 Burgers & Bar<\/strong> serves a giant stack of its house made, double dipped onion ring appetizer for only $3 at its nine locations. From online, Red Lobster<\/strong> goes a step further and offers a free appetizer or dessert coupon to new Fresh Catch Club members delivered straight to their email.<\/p>\n In due time, other casual dining restaurants will vamp up the appetizer selection and more than likely follow Applebee\u2019s sampler event to bring in and satisfy hungry consumers of all ages.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As fast casual restaurants continue to take over the foodservice industry, casual dining concepts are considering new ways to get consumers into their establishments by focusing on the first course \u2013 the appetizer. Out of all the sections on a restaurant\u2019s menu, an appetizer can make or break the first impression with a customer, which… Continue reading The Sampler Effect<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"post-template-no-sidebar.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[5],"class_list":["post-5131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-restaurant-foodservice","tag-insight","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5131\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}