Online reviews are meaningless now
Just ask anyone eating at London's Angus Steakhouse
We have to talk about what happened at Angus Steakhouse a couple of weeks ago. The London-based steakhouse — “London’s version of Applebee’s,” according to the Wall Street Journal — is enjoying an exceptionally bright spotlight thanks to an orchestrated effort on Reddit.
Social media’s impact on tourism is well-documented. One viral post from an influencer can change a restaurant’s trajectory. It can also ruin the experience for locals and other fans. In this case, a Londoner was miffed when their favorite sandwich cart got “discovered” by an influencer; it was, per Fast Company, “a victim of recommendations culture.” As we are wont to do when we’re angry, the local posted their grievance on Reddit.
The incident inspired a copycat prank post encouraging tourists to visit Angus Steakhouse, a ubiquitous chain and tourist trap with a handful of locations around the city. Because we’re a bunch of lemmings who can’t survive without hitting the best “undiscovered” local restaurants as determined by strangers on the internet (UGH), it took root. Hilariously, tourists and influencers flocked to the restaurant for an allegedly viral steak sandwich. It’s like a pump-and-dump stock scheme, but for restaurants.
Luckily, Angus Steakhouse CEO Paul Sarlas was a good sport about the whole thing. “We enjoy a good joke as much as the next person and appreciate the creativity and humor that sparked this love-bombing,” he told the Wall Street Journal.
What else?
What do we think about these “why we’re closing” articles? I’m noticing more of them, but is anyone really paying attention? — San Francisco Chronicle
On second thought, maybe it’s good to call out what’s closing our independent restaurants: A tiny cafe has been serving San Francisco for 20 years. It could close over a cactus and outdoor tables. (Seriously.) — San Francisco Chronicle
OpenTable just released its list of the top 100 restaurants in America, a list that I always feel the need to qualify as the top 100 restaurants in America on OpenTable. — release
Serve Robotics bought the company behind the ‘autocado,’ the avocado-peeling robot also backed by Chipotle. Serve acquired Vebu in an all-stock transaction, adding some back-of-house tech to its fleet of roving delivery bots. Investors clearly have high hopes for the bot maker. “Could Serve Robotics become the next Nvidia?” asks a recent Motley Fool headline, referencing the sometimes-most valuable company in the world. Even with its Vebu acquisition, Serve has a long way to go; it owns a fleet of 100 delivery robots, with 59 in service in Los Angeles. This year, Serve is expected to earn $1.9 million in revenue with a net loss of $34.3 million. — Restaurant Dive
This is amazing.