Frank Keller asked:


Ocean City offers a wide variety of dining choices. My favorite restaurant is the Marina Deck located at 306 Dorchester Street. Try their cream of crab soup for a taste of true Maryland cuisine, or select from any of their seafood dishes, everything is very good. As with any restaurant, house specialties are always the best so don’t go to a seafood restaurant expecting great ribs. Marina Deck is a must visit while in Ocean City.

If you’re in the mood for ribs or beef I would suggest Nick’s Original House of Ribs located at 14410 Coastal Hwy, or Bull on the Beach with 2 locations, one at 94th Street & Coastal Hwy and one just outside Ocean City on Route 50. While Nick’s has the best ribs, Bull on the Beach has the best pit beef in Ocean City. Many visitors and locals consider Bull on the Beach is a must place to eat while Ocean City in and their bar is a relaxed gathering place for locals. JR’s used to be the place to go for ribs but I have gotten some bad reviews about service the last few years and I have not been overly pleased with their service.

When you’re in the mood for Italian head downtown to Adolfo’s Italian Restaurant located at 806 S. Baltimore Avenue. Their food is excellent and highly recommended by locals, however; the best doesn’t come cheap so be prepared to pay top dollar to eat here. For very good Italian food at family prices try Salvatore’s Italian & Seafood Family Restaurants located just outside of Ocean City on Route 50. I don’t consider Salvatore’s a step down from Adolfo’s, just a different menu with a more family friendly menu and reasonable prices.

The Japanese steak house, Sakura, is one of my family’s favorite places to eat. Located in the White Marlin Mall just outside of Ocean City on Route 50 it offers some excellent beef, poultry, and seafood dishes all cooked in front of you by some talented chefs. Wait times are not too long, but keep in mind that parties of less than 6 will be seated with other small parties. This is really fun and gives you a chance to meet other couples or families. While I’m not into Sushi, I’m told theirs is very good. Sakura’s is a must visit while in Ocean City. Unfortunately there is no one Chinese restaurant that I can recommend over another, so this will have to be a try it and see selection. I always suggest you try new restaurants at lunch or at early bird dinner hours when the prices are usually much lower.

On days when all you can think about is dinner I recommend going to a buffet. This has become a popular dinner alternative in our area because you can really get a good value for your dollar when you’re super hungry. If you mainly want crabs or crabs and shrimp my favorites are Waterman’s located on Route 50 just outside of Ocean City and Higgins Crab House with two locations; 31st & Coastal Hwy and 128th St & Coastal Hwy. Both of these are, in my mind at least, must visit restaurants. Crab feasts are the most economical way to get crabs but buying them by the dozen allows you to get larger crabs and take the leftovers home to eat later. Both of these restaurants have carry-out as well as eat in and all you can eat menus. If buying crabs to go I always recommend buying them by the ½ bushel or whole bushel, because you get more for your dollar. When you’re in the mood for more variety the best buffet is at The Bonfire located at 71st St & Ocean Hwy and the Embers Restaurant located at 24th Street & Coastal Hwy. Both of these offer prime rib and seafood buffets that are the best in town.

Tired from being at the beach all day? Try Ponzetti’s Pizza located at 144th Street & Coastal Hwy, this is a non-chain pizza parlor with very good pizza, an amusement area, and a full service bar. There are many pizza places in Ocean City but Ponzetti’s, Lombardi’s located at 9203 Coastal Highway, and the Dough Roller with 4 locations; 70th & Coastal Highway,  1125th Street & Costal Highway, Division Street & Boardwalk,  213 North Atlantic Avenue, are, in that order, the best in my opinion. If you’re in the mood for a sub try Fat Daddy’s located at 216 S. Baltimore Ave. Of course all of the fast food chains are represented up and down Coastal Hwy, but I really think you will like our local restaurants and Deli’s much better for close to the same cost.

As stated earlier; try unknown restaurants at lunch or for their early bird dinners to see if they are worth spending your hard earned money on. Like all resort areas there are what I call “rip-off” restaurants that appear for a summer or two and then vanish. You may have noticed that several of the restaurants I recommend are located just outside of Ocean City, but all of them are less than 5 minutes away. Every restaurant I recommend is frequented by locals and is open year-round with the exception of the Marina Deck which has a smaller restaurant in Ocean Pines that is open year-round. Almost every question I am asked about restaurants starts with; where do the locals eat? The restaurants listed here are where my family and friends eat that is in or near Ocean City.

jlriesco asked:

There are two basic motivators that propel us to purchase goods:

1. We need them

2. We want them

Groceries, toothpaste and toilet paper are good examples of items that we need (and most people don’t dispute their necessity). However, most of our purchases aren’t made because we need them. They don’t fit in the first category. We really only need just a few essentials, like clothing to protect our bodies, a basic amount of food to maintain energy, and a shelter to protect us against the elements. In most modern civilizations, we also need reliable transportation vehicle (not necessarily expensive).

These are the items we need to survive in today’s world.

But, the reality is that we spend quite a lot of money buying garments that makes us look good, a big house or a fancy car to impress our friends or gadgets and other accessories that gives us pleasure to use and display. These purchases fall into the second category. They are “wants” not “needs”.

When people come to your restaurant, that visit fits into the second category.

They don’t go to your place because they need to eat. To feed the body, they could eat at home, bring a meal with them, or just buy food at the local convenience store.

Always remember that your clients go to your restaurant looking for an experience, a sensorial experience.

Restaurants play a very important social role in the lives of your clients. They are a gathering place where people go to be surrounded by other people: friends, family, a date, coworkers, etc.

We humans are social animals and enjoy each other’s company, even the company of strangers that we’ve never seen before and probably will never see again.

This is why bars, clubs and restaurants provide such an important social component.

Did this ever happen to you: you’re hungry, looking for a place to eat and there are two restaurants (both you’ve never experienced) near each other? One of them was almost full, with lots of people and action; the other one looked nice, and the menu and prices were reasonable, but it was empty.

Which one would you choose? I guarantee you that 90% of the time; you will choose the busy restaurant (unless you are out with a big party whereby you are bringing the social component with you). You could reasonably assume that the busy place is probably busy for a reason, and perhaps they have better food.

The reality is that people go to restaurants looking forward to having a good time; more than that, they’re looking forward to sharing some good moments with the people they are dining with.

When potential clients walk through your door, they don’t come just to be fed and quench their thirst. They come expecting to have a great time, to share good food, good drinks and good memories with their loved ones, their friends, their families, perhaps their date…

Your job as a restaurant owner is to provide them with that great experience that they so much look forward to and deserve.

Try this exercise: Every time people walk into your place, try to put yourself in their shoes. Try to guess what’s in their minds. Why are they coming to your restaurant? Do they come with friends? Do they come with relatives? With other loved ones?

Each client is different, and has different reasons for coming to your restaurant. If you can’t guess what they are…; just ask them!

Ask your clients if there is a special event that they come to celebrate. Ask them if they have been in your place before (if you don’t recognize them), greet them sincerely, the same way that you’ll greet a friend. Make them feel welcome to your place. Make their experience wonderful right from the beginning.

One word of advice here: Please don’t fake this. If you don’t feel like greeting your clients a particular day, either because you are having a tough day or because you are just tired or not in the mood, then ask somebody else in your staff to do it. People are really good at identifying false feelings and fake smiles. It will backfire on you.

Once your clients feel welcome, they will instinctively think that they made the right choice by coming to your place.

But, what if your place is full? (Hey, it happens sometimes!) If you have this problem, just be honest with them and tell them the truth about the waiting time. I have never gone to a restaurant where I was told that I had to wait around 20 minutes, later realizing that it wasn’t true, and I left pissed after 45 or 50 minutes of waiting.

It is better to apologize to them, tell them that the wait could be up to one hour (or any reasonable estimate based on your experience) and suggest them to go out for a drink and come back (you should have a table for them guaranteed if they are willing to do this), or just give them a business card and politely recommend to them that they make a reservation the next time that they want to come on a busy day.

I can assure you that they will be back; if your place is full and you handle the situation truthfully.

If they decide to stay and wait, offer them a complimentary beverage to make their wait more acceptable.

Once they are seated, don’t wait to offer them something (drinks, bread, a little appetizer, etc.). People often get grumpy when they are hungry or tired (and specially when they are both!).

Check on them once in a while, but not too much. Especially don’t interrupt them if they are engaged in an animated conversation. You and your restaurant are there to make their experience great, not to become the center of their conversation or to stroke your ego by getting compliments from them about you or your place.

Always address quickly and decisively any problem that arises with the food or the service, even if your guests are not right, and you feel that they are complaining unjustly. Think about these guests as your clients, your most important reason for doing business. Your job is to please them and make sure that their experience is the best it can be.

Everybody is unreasonable sometimes. You probably have been, so it’s likely that you will find situations where your clients will be as well. Don’t take it personally.

Think of the benefits of making your clients happy, even at the expense of the profit from their meal. Being understanding and taking quick action will compensate you 100-fold versus having a disgruntled customer that not only won’t come back to your place, but will tell all his friends, family members, their colleagues and – nowadays – thousands of other people giving you bad reviews on many restaurant review places.

A bad review on any of these places can damage your reputation and your place many more times than the cost of the food and drinks, if you refund your guests to make them happy.

Surveys indicate that people make decisions based on other people’s recommendations more than listening to the opinion of experts and pundits. Like it or not, the customers are in control, and the best thing that you can do is to try to have them in your side – not against you.

By losing some upfront money to compensate an unhappy client, you not only win back this client (who may come back to your place) but you’ll also avoid the negative reviews and badmouthing that will cause you many more future losses.

In my detailed Seminar (you can download the modules from www.myrestaurantmarketing.com and review each one out totally free for 30 days before you need to pay a penny), I dedicate the first 3 modules to your clients and why you should change your focus from being cuisine- and chef-centric into a client-centric business. Leave your ego at the door. It won’t pay your bills.

Your clients are the ones who give you the money, your revenue. You can have the best chef in the world, the best food, and the fanciest place; but if you don’t attract clients, make them happy and bring them in over and over, nothing else matters.

However, if you provide your clients with what they are looking for; if you can adapt to serve their needs and their wishes; if you can make their experience in your place memorable; you will become a very successful restaurant businessman.

Your clients will love you unconditionally, and will come back again and again, and recommend your place to everybody they know. I guarantee you.

For more information, and/or to subscribe to this free monthly newsletter, you can check my website Restaurant Marketing Strategies

Please feel free to email me at jose@riescoconsulting.com with any ideas, suggestions or feedback that you have regarding this newsletter.

Happy Sailing!

Jose L. Riesco