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One Great Thing I Did Last Year: Feed Your Customers (Literally!) To Keep Them In the Store Longer | June 17, 2015 (0 comments)
Merrick, NY—In our ongoing series titled “One Great Thing I Did Last Year (That You Can Do This Year)," The Centurion asks retailers to tell us about one outstanding thing they did in 2014 that turned out really well. This week we hear from Neal Elinoff of Elinoff & Co. Gallerists and Jewelers, Telluride, CO, shares his insight.
Elinoff’s story eventually involves food and celebrities, but begins with the simple premise: the longer you keep your customers in the store, the more they will buy. And nothing makes people want to stay and hang out better than a great meal.
“We decided to open a ‘tea room’ like Neiman’s has,” says Elinoff. “Only, because we're in the Switzerland of America, we serve fondue and raclette and no crumpets. We only open it at night and we let people dine and wander throughout the gallery. We're open until 10:00 p.m. anyway, so it works. The loft above the gallery was my office plus the attached room. We connected the two and put a full bar in the outer room and just tables and chairs in the loft.”
The walkway into Elinoff's "tea room" in the loft. At top of page, a view of the room with tables set and wine waiting for guests.
And so customers came and they stay and wander. Most diners access the restaurant through the gallery but it also has a public entrance. Elinoff also hosts private parties. One party the restaurant hosted was especially memorable. Renowned director Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Basterds, et al) and his cast of The Hateful Eight, (with a January 2016 release date) including Samuel L. Jackson and Kurt Russell, joined them in the 22-seat restaurant when they completed filming.
“We closed the store for the evening and the restaurant’s public entrance. The cast walked through the gallery, up the spiral stairs to our secret restaurant. They were blown away,” says Elinoff.
And was the Hollywood crowd impressed? “We heard through the grapevine that it was the best cast party Quentin Tarantino had ever been to!” said Elinoff. “Kurt Russell brought a case of his "Golde" wine from his own vineyard in Napa and I, of course, proceeded to drop melted cheese onto the woman seated next to Samuel Jackson.” Quite the memorable evening, indeed.
The cast party was booked for one hour but ended up staying for three. Elinoff does not have any photos from the party but they did let him know that they had a great time. And the best part? Most of them became customers.
Elinoff's exterior, above, and a soaring view of the interior, below.
Missed an installment of our "One Great Thing" series? Click here to read previous ideas:
- Rethink Your Store Hours
- Hire Help For The Busywork
- Handwrite Invitations
- Update Your Store's Atmosphere
- Build More Community Relationships
- Optimize Your Inventory System
- 'Your Repair Is Ready' Phone Calls
- Facebook Engagement Photos (With Permission)
- Fundraising For Your Local Community
- Get Social With Facebook and Instagram
- Help Your Community Celebrate The Holidays
- Design a Locally Relevant, Salable Jewelry Line
- Traveling Jewelry Clinics
- Hold a Boot Camp to Teach Sales Associates
- Find The Right Vendor To Fill A Need