Restaurants and communities have an interdependent relationship. That's why Colorado-based Noodles & Company hosts promotions that support charities and other community-related organizations.
"As people in the community support us by coming to eat at our restaurants, we want to give back and support them as well," said Krista Koranda, corporate communications manager for Noodles & Company.
The fast-casual noodle chain typically chooses a day or night when a percentage of its sales will benefit a particular organization. To drive traffic into its restaurants, the company sends Noodlegrams — e-mails with event and product information and coupons — to its database of customers, which includes 250,000 members across the nation.
Noodles & Company partnered with Alexandria, Va.-based Fishbowl Marketing in the fall of 2006 to create the Noodlegrams. Karen Willison, Fishbowl's vice president of national accounts, said at least 80 percent of their clients conduct a charity-related event at least once a year — and many do much more.
"It's important for (restaurants) to be connected with their community in a more meaningful way than just providing food," Willison said. "It's an emotional connection with their community, and that will give them a reason for that consumer to go and support them on a regular basis versus somebody else."
The most obvious reason for these promotions is supporting the community, but a second benefit is increasing the health of a restaurant by strengthening employee-employer relations.
"One of the strongest needs (employees) have is to feel connected to their employer on an emotional level," she said. "That makes them feel good about their employer, it makes them feel good about themselves, and it makes them feel good in general to be included and be active in a community, especially when it involves a charity."
While many take Noodles & Company's approach — donating a percentage of a day's sales — options abound for charity promotions.
Three of the more common methods are:
- Donating proceeds from a designated entrée
- Allowing customers to purchase items (e.g., shamrocks during St. Patrick's Day, stockings during Christmas) that hang inside the restaurant
- Coordinating with Toys for Tots or the Salvation Army to become a drop-off center during the holiday season
Some restaurants come up with their own projects that require a different kind of labor. During its annual general manager conference, Texas Roadhouse helped build a house for Habitat for Humanity, Willison said.
"To be able to have that impact, with how that makes you feel about the company itself, I think it's pretty neat," she said. "It sends a message to me ... this company's pretty special that they're involving their suppliers and their managers to help do something like that around their conference."
While many of these promotions fit naturally with the holiday season, others are spread across the calendar year and are activity- or event-based. For example, events such as Race for the Cure usually occur in the spring and fall seasons.
No matter the type or date of promotion, the importance lies in relationships built and the support given to the charity.
"People appreciate when we get involved in community events and I think that people in general are always interested in doing good and giving back," Noodles & Company's Koranda said.
