First, let me say I'm a huge fan of all of Landrum's restaurants, Ray's the Steaks, Hellburger, Ray's to the Third, etc., but one thing that crossed my mine yesterday was his signs, or lack thereof.
At Ray's the Steaks, which is an upscale restaurant there were no signs for a period of time and now there are cheap black and white vinyl signs that look extremely tacky (same is true with Retro Rays around the corner).
Both Hellburger and Ray's to the Third don't have signs at all – what's his deal with no signs or cheap, tacky looking signs? He can obviously afford it – I know Landrum is a bit off the wall, but I'm not sure if there is something else here.
I think it's a hipster thing. They're being ironic or something. *shrug*
I think his theory was always to focus on the steaks rather than the decor. Supposedly an attempt to keep costs down for the customer, but seems to me it would be a pretty minimal pass along cost if any. Oh well, seems to work for him!
Signs attract attention. Attention leads to patronage. Patrons spend money and keep the restaurant in business. Thus signs and other advertising are essential if your establishment needs more business. However, RTS and RHS are in the enviable position of being businesses that sell themselves. The restaurants are always packed because of the reputation for good food and good value, and they rake in money like crazy. So, from a business standpoint, why does he need better signs?
CW said:
Signs attract attention. Attention leads to patronage. Patrons spend money and keep the restaurant in business. Thus signs and other advertising are essential if your establishment needs more business. However, RTS and RHS are in the enviable position of being businesses that sell themselves. The restaurants are always packed because of the reputation for good food and good value, and they rake in money like crazy. So, from a business standpoint, why does he need better signs?
Although I've been to Ray's Hellburger before, the first time I went, it wasn't exactly clear which door to go into in the strip mall in which it operates. Might be nice for people, who, as you noted, have heard good things by word of mouth instead of advertising, to find the place. I don't think anyone will claim that a store sign is much advertising…more just showing people where to go. I think that that is the original poster's point.
jslanger said:
CW said:
Signs attract attention. Attention leads to patronage. Patrons spend money and keep the restaurant in business. Thus signs and other advertising are essential if your establishment needs more business. However, RTS and RHS are in the enviable position of being businesses that sell themselves. The restaurants are always packed because of the reputation for good food and good value, and they rake in money like crazy. So, from a business standpoint, why does he need better signs?
Although I've been to Ray's Hellburger before, the first time I went, it wasn't exactly clear which door to go into in the strip mall in which it operates. Might be nice for people, who, as you noted, have heard good things by word of mouth instead of advertising, to find the place. I don't think anyone will claim that a store sign is much advertising…more just showing people where to go. I think that that is the original poster's point.
Exactly my point, I can't count on my hands and feet the number of times people have asked me where Hellburger is, where Ray's to the Third is and where Ray's the Steaks was (prior to him putting up signs). If people aren't from the R-B Corridor, or more specifically Arlington, trying to find his restaurants can be a real challenge, especially at night.
It's obvious that he's successful and doesn't need additional business (as I noted in my initial post), but just for the sake of making it easier for his many, many patrons, you'd think he'd invest in some nice signs (at Ray's the Steaks) and ANY type of signs for Hellburger and Ray's to the Third.
He keeps the costs down because he changes names so often!
Remember, Ray's Hell Burger Too became Ray's Steak & Cheese which then switched back to Ray's Hell Burger Too. At least at Ray's The Third (or “Ray's To The Third”?) he has a fancy LED sign!
Exactly!! He can afford those expensive sign boards, but I don't think that sign boards make any attention to the restaurants. It's all about their quality and environment and a general thing is that sign boards are used to look away or get a direction not for the advertisement or catch attention.
___________________________________
outdoor signs
It's part of his shtick and actually helps his business. You can almost hear people talking to their friends and saying, “His food is so good/his restaurant is so popular/etc. that he doesn't even need a real sign.” Then the friends think to themselves that they better join the cool club and check it out. It's pretty smart marketing actually.
You're not getting it – the lack of signs and cheap signs when there is one is part of the whole schtick of Ray's. Along with bare bones interior, no reservation policy (at least in the early days), no-nonsense menu, and changing things up whenever. That would probably be a formula for failure for a lot of places but the food has spoken for itself long enough that it's now a quirk that gives Ray's a unique identity that people talk about, which you're demonstrating with this post.
Dang John, you beat me by 2 minutes. Great minds…
Virtual high five and bro hug!
The only thing worse than ad bots bumping old threads is people replying to them.
Ha ha. Didn't even look at the dates on the posts or pay much attention to the last post prior to mine.
74°
Cloudy
