Spring 2018

14  • PENNSYLVANIA RESTAURANT & LODGING matters • Spring 2018 People love to share what their eating on social media. More and more people are turning to Instagram to decide where to eat and what to order. According to research by independent UK pizza chain Zizzi, 18- to 35-year-olds spend five whole days a year browsing food images on Instagram, and 30 percent would avoid a restaurant if their Instagram presence was weak. Instagram has influenced everything from food presentation to décor to creatively branded moments. Ben’s Canteen, a South London restaurant with a strong Instagram presence and a photo-friendly menu, founder Ben Walton told The Independent that Instagram is a good way to check whether his business is resonating with its crowd. He told the publication, “If people are posting lots of pictures, I know we’re doing something right.” Now some entrepreneurs are taking the idea a step further, designing their physical spaces in the hopes of inspiring the maximum number of photos. When it came time to design their first restaurant, Media Noche, San Francisco entrepreneurs Madelyn Markoe and Jessie Barker told the Verge.com that they gave their designer a single instruction, “Make it Instagrammable.” And, according to Verge.com, while Media Noche’s food gets plenty of attention from Instagram users, it’s the physical space that seems to inspire most of the geotagged posts. Restaurants People expect your cocktail napkin and coaster will be printed with your establishment’s name and logo, but these days the food is getting the same treatment…from ice cubes to burger buns and more. As Naren Young, owner of New York City’s Dante, told Bloomberg last summer, “Competition is hotter than ever, and each place needs a way to captivate people and get them talking about you. It is, after all, free publicity.” ➔ “Competition is hotter than ever, and each place needs a way to captivate people and get them talking about you. It is, after all, free publicity.” – Naren Young Owner of New York City’s Dante