Getting the Word Out
Red Robin expects to complete the brand transformation, which began a few years ago, in 2016. The most important component of publicizing the restaurant’s rebranding, Post says, will be signage. All Red Robins underwent renovations in the past 12 to 18 months so that they better highlight the beer aspect of the business.
This includes new menus that highlight in bright yellow the brews that match each burger. And tabletop media emphasizes low drink prices along with photography of beers to increase awareness.
The taps now change frequently among local and regional craft selections. Some locations of the chain have also begun printing out daily beer sheets.
These sheets are not just updated menus that let customers know what’s available any given day, but also another way to put beer front and center in the Red Robin experience.
Red Robin is also committed to a three year sponsorship of the Great American Beer Festival. This three-day celebration of all things beer takes place in Denver, CO, near Red Robin’s Greenwood Village, CO, headquarters.
“It’s a way for us to position ourselves with the brewers,” Post explains. “We want to let them know that we are someone they can bring their ideas and innovations to, and that we are looking to pair well with them.”
Also, she adds, “It’s just good to sponsor a great hometown event.”
Red Robin, which plans to open 25 new locations this year, is still “a burger-first concept,” Post stresses. “And we’re not necessarily looking for people who are coming in just to buy an alcoholic beverage. What we want is for people to come in and have a great meal, and be able to have the right beverage to complement that meal.”
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers And Brews hopes that its revamped beer program and other adult-beverage initiatives will boost the percentage of its sales from alcohol.
To position itself with brewers, Red Robin has been a sponsor of the Greater American Beer Festival in Denver, CO, for the past three years.
Restaurant menus now include a suggested beer pairing for many of Red Robin’s burgers.
Red Robin late last year rolled out a 12 And 12 initiative: Each restaurant will increase its draft beers from eight to at least 12, as well as 12 total canned and bottled beers.
Red Robin suggested Sam Adams Oktoberfest as a match with The Überburger, an LTO last fall that was topped with candied bacon, grilled bratwurst and beer-glazed onions, drizzled with beer cheese on a toasted pretzel bun.
Known for its boozy shakes, Red Robin was the first chain to bring Not Your Father’s Root Beer hard soda national with its Root Brewski Float this past fall.
Kyle Swartz is associate editor of Cheers Magazine.