All over East Tennessee Knoxville Chamber businesses are finding new ways to improve what they offer to customers, and often it’s coming through a partnership with other Chamber members rather than a capital investment or an expanded product line. The Chamber has recognized this growing trend and wanted to take a closer look at a couple of partnerships that are proving mutually beneficial for the businesses involved in them. While caution is a virtue when it comes to forging partnerships, the two stories below demonstrate the power of partnership.
BREW AND BURGERS With its new, second location just a few months old in downtown Knoxville, The Casual Pint has taken Knoxville’s beer experience to a new level as a mecca for beer connoisseurs to get varieties of beer at The Casual Pint they can’t find anywhere else. But without the power of a unique partnership, customers wouldn’t be able to order food to go along with their beer. “As a staff we knew we wanted to allow our guests to have access to food, but we didn’t want them to have to get up, leave The Casual Pint, and go somewhere else to get it,” Nathan Robinette, the Owner of The Casual Pint said. “Then, Adrienne and I spoke and put it all together.” Adrienne is Adrienne Knight, owner of Trio Café, just around the corner - about a 40-second walk from The Casual Pint. Knight’s Trio staff started hanging out at The Casual Pint after work. They mentioned to her about The Casual Pint’s “BYOF” (Bring Your Own Food) policy and thought there may be a good opportunity for a partnership. “The whole relationship was forged by us offering a good, quality product. I was expecting to really have to sell them,” she said. “I’ve always thought our menu could couple very well with a bar atmosphere.” After a few meetings, Robinette and Knight knew they could bring their busi-
nesses together and deliver something customers wouldn’t otherwise get. “Setting up the partnership was not difficult at all,” Robinette said. “Adrienne and her team made it painless for us. All we have to do is hand over Trio’s menu to our customer and the Trio team does the rest. Trio has done a great job, so we were confident in their ability. We also refer some of the other great restaurants in the Square and Union Ave., but Trio’s is always mentioned at the top of the list.” It’s a win-win-win. Trio gets additional food orders that typically come in at what were non-peak hours for the restaurant, The Casual Pint’s customers stay longer because their food needs are met, and craft beer drinkers get access to a great meal while drinking exceptional ale. Customers don’t even have to pick up the phone to place an order; they can do it from smartphones or iPads from inside The Casual Pint. When the order is ready, it’s immediately brought over to The Casual Pint. “Our guests love the convenience of being able to order great food and have it delivered to them. They never have to leave or stand in a line to get their meal,” Robinette said. “We even had somebody order salmon. I thought ‘that’s so cool they’re drinking really high quality beer and eating salmon’,” Knight said.
NEWSBREAK FINDS A PEARL You’ve probably seen the NewsBreak Network while pumping gas at Pilot stations around Knoxville. The screens are built right into the gas pumps, providing advertisers a somewhat captive audience to share messaging. While Brian Nelson’s network gave advertisers a unique opportunity to reach consumers, it wasn’t until a NewsBreak Network partnership evolved with Pearl Marketing Technologies that advertisers got the functionality and measurability many craved.
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See “PARTNERS” on pg. 46