Red Robin Launches $10 Gourmet Meal Deal

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Alpha8472
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Red Robin Launches $10 Gourmet Meal Deal

Post by Alpha8472 »

Amid a disappointing second quarter, Red Robin is offering a $10 Gourmet Meal deal. The company did outperform the casual dining segment when compared with other brands.

I noticed that their website says it is hiring 17 and older. The company really must be desperate. Can 17 year olds serve liquor?
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Re: Liquor Service and Table Service

Post by SamSpade »

Alpha8472 wrote: August 13th, 2022, 7:20 pm I noticed that their website says it is hiring 17 and older. The company really must be desperate. Can 17 year olds serve liquor?
These policies are set at the state level. Idaho raised the drinking age to 21 to keep federal highway dollars but never changed the age of sale/service. So a 19-21 year old can work at a convenience store or restaurant and sell/serve alcoholic beverages.
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Re: Red Robin Launches $10 Gourmet Meal Deal

Post by storewanderer »

Red Robin in Reno has a giant banner that they are now hiring 17 year olds also.

Many fast food places are hiring 15 year olds in Reno. This gets very difficult when a manager has a crew of 8 15 year olds to manage.
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Re: Red Robin Launches $10 Gourmet Meal Deal

Post by Brian Lutz »

I've seen email ads for the meal deal, but it seems to be something you have to know about and have to ask for. It seems to cover a limited number of burgers, but does come with a drink and appetizer.
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Re: Red Robin Launches $10 Gourmet Meal Deal

Post by mbz321 »

Brian Lutz wrote: August 14th, 2022, 3:08 pm I've seen email ads for the meal deal, but it seems to be something you have to know about and have to ask for. It seems to cover a limited number of burgers, but does come with a drink and appetizer.
I've seen ads on Facebook as well, so its definitely not something they are trying to hide very well.
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Re: Red Robin Launches $10 Gourmet Meal Deal

Post by Alpha8472 »

Do they lose money on this $10 meal? It might bring in the customers and then the employees will have to upsell more food.
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Re: Red Robin Launches $10 Gourmet Meal Deal

Post by storewanderer »

A fairly common practice with some convenience stores who have fountain drink specials is to not advertise the special at the drink machine, and only put a sign in the window, at the gas pumps, online, etc.

The idea is the customer who intended to buy a 32oz drink does not know about the special and is not paying attention until they get to the drink machine (or at this scenario until they get seated) does not know there is a promotional 44oz drink for .99 (when the 32oz costs 1.29) so the customer who is oblivious to the promotional marketing does not "trade down" to the promotional product from the full price product they would pick on their own. Some convenience stores in the past in my area (Winners Corner, long gone) used to take it a step further on promotional drinks and not only was it only a specific size but you also had to use a specific cup in that size, to get the promotion.

So I think this is the same thing. They do not want the customer who knows nothing of the promotion then walks in and intended to order the full price $11.99 item, to trade down to this $10 item once receiving a menu and seeing the $10 item on it.
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Re: Red Robin Launches $10 Gourmet Meal Deal

Post by Brian Lutz »

Alpha8472 wrote: August 14th, 2022, 7:15 pm Do they lose money on this $10 meal? It might bring in the customers and then the employees will have to upsell more food.
I don't know what their costs would look like, but I'm guessing with a deal like this they would primarily try to make it up with alcohol sales or desserts. I know if I'm making a purchase with a promo of some sort (such as the 10th item free with the loyalty card or something like a "buy 1 get 1 half price" promo they send out) I'm more likely to add on something like a shake or dessert (we don't drink alcohol though.) My wife and I actually go to Red Robin quite a bit, so we do end up using the promos frequently.

I went back and found the email I got for this one. It was a choice of 3 burgers (Banzai, Whiskey River or Gourmet Cheeseburger) and a soda for $10, with a Pretzel Bites appetizer thrown in. That was dine in only, and expired on July 31st. I haven't seen anything subsequently, but I did get an email with a promo code ("FREEPIZZA") for a free Donato's Pizza with a $10 purchase (available for dine-in, take out or delivery, I would assume you would enter the promo code when you pay on the Ziosk or order online.
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Re: Red Robin Launches $10 Gourmet Meal Deal

Post by storewanderer »

I think the $10 meal including a drink is interesting.

I used to like their old Tavern Burgers which were at a 6.99 price point, two small double-type burger patties, they did the job. I'm one who prefers a thin burger patty (to ensure it is fully cooked) so those were just right. But I had more than a few trips to Red Robin back then where I ordered one of the Tavern Burgers, sometimes an additional serving of fries, and then a water and was out at $10 flat after the tax and tip.

This new $10 meal, would likely cause me to pay them the $10, take the drink, not request an additional serving of fries since this burger is larger, then be out for closer to $14 after the tax and tip. So I can see where looking at the consumer behavior model of myself, this definitely works out better for them than the old Tavern Burger menu.
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