Golden opportunity: Asher helps new restaurant toast a successful launch

July 19, 2016

Golden opportunity: Asher helps new restaurant toast a successful launch

When The Golden announced the opening of its new restaurant in downtown Fort Wayne, the buzz was palpable—and with good reason. With a James-Beard-Award-nominated chef and a reputation for unique craft cocktails, the concept was well positioned to be a hit. Still, The Golden had three significant challenges:

• How could they turn buzz into real, sustainable traffic?
• How could they convey their points of difference while their restaurant was under construction?
• How could they do all of this on a start-up budget?

That’s where Asher Agency came in. In early 2016, we started working with The Golden on a website, public relations, and design. The website (GoldenFW.com) was developed in three phases: the first was designed to establish a presence and give visitors a sense of what would make The Golden different; the second, to create anticipation; and the third, to coincide with the restaurant’s opening.

From the start, we incorporated an Instagram feed to showcase the owners’ unique personality and to give visitors a peek behind the scenes at everything from décor to partnerships with local farmers. We also helped design a menu page that would efficiently allow for daily updates, given The Golden’s emphasis on fresh and local (and their need to spend minimal time with the website and maximize time in the kitchen and with customers). The result was a responsive site that gave visitors exactly what they need when visiting GoldenFW.com from a mobile device while also reflecting the establishment’s fun, engaging personality.

While the website was at the center of our work, we also assisted The Golden with:

• A Snapchat geofilter, which customers could access during opening week
• Public relations, garnering attention in the media—including a TV story
• Menu and comment card design
• T-shirt design and sourcing

More than anything, however, our work with The Golden is most satisfying when we walk just a few blocks down the street and see the restaurant full of happy customers, with more waiting for a table. Moments like this are truly worth their weight in gold.