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BUILDING AN EMPIRE

84 HOSPITALITY Founder & CEO RACHEL COPE Talks Branding

SMARTPIZZAMARKETING.COM

JUL/AUG 2020

The Smart Pizza Marketing Podcast Smart Pizza Marketing was created to provide up to date marketing information and solutions for today’s independent operator, by providing weekly content on topics relevant in today’s fast paced world.

Our primary goal is to increase the success rate of pizzerias over and above any other type of foodservice operation. We do this by offering expert advice on a variety of topics including marketing, employee management and practical business methods.

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onsistency when branding your restaurant comes down to the most minute details. For instance, the vernacular you use in your social media posts, or the music you play in the restaurant. Creating a brand is creating a culture — it gives you the ability to cultivate community through food and interactions if done the right way. If you want your brand to flourish and be received by the community, it has to be thoughtful, and if your employees “buy-in,” loyal diners will follow. Not to mention, a recipe for success.

Empire Slice House in Oklahoma City and Tulsa is doing just that. The joint is known for its New York-style pies with names paying homage to rap legends like Notorious P.I.G., Doug E. Fresh and Ghostface Killah made with ghost chili marinara, pepperoni, poblano and barbecue chips. But the attention to detail doesn’t stop there.

To echo the NY vibes, Empire Slice’s walls are a nod to the poster-covered subways, carefully curated playlists, and a healthy amount of mercy up for grabs for its cult following.

That may seem dramatic, but the regulars at Empire Slice boast their tattoos with the pizzeria’s logo on social media. Speaking of social media, the restaurant’s Instagram is loaded with wellshot slice shots as well as reposts from the community to keep customers engaged.

84 Hospitality’s Founder and CEO Rachel Cope breaks down how the company built the Empire Slice House brand,

BUILDING AN EMPIRE

84 HOSPITALITY Founder & CEO RACHEL COPE Talks Branding pivotal ways to connect with the community, and shares one of the restaurant’s most successful marketing strategies that not only uplifted but also strengthened its bond with community members.

Cope also spills the beans on testing a new hybrid concept launching in Nichols Hills, Oklahoma which could potentially be the catalyst for expansion and what she’s excited about in the pizza industry as we move forward.

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What are your tips on creating a brand and keeping it consistent throughout decor, offerings and social media presence?

of the food. I feel that when people experience both they truly “buy in.”

I treat brand development like character development in a movie — it’s got to be BELIEVABLE to be great. When we built the first iteration of Empire Slice House in 2013, the first part of the development was the NY-style of pizza. To us, the New York we loved was a mix of Run DMC and Beastie Boys music, poster covered subways (hence the walls at Empire), paper plates, traditional pizza done well and funky pies to create our own style. I always run the social media for our restaurants for the first month or so (and pick the playlists) to set the tone.

It truly is like building a personality — visually with the style of photos, with slang terms if it fits your brand (Yo! is a word we use a lot on Empire’s social media, but never for Gun our Japanese pub, for example), and sometimes with music. You truly have to be your brand for people to believe you. When we’ve been able to do that, those concepts have been very successful.

What has been your biggest challenge over the years and how have you overcome?

Which comes first, renting in the neighborhood/ demographic and changing your brand to fit it, or building the brand and finding the targeted demographic?

I once read in Joe Bastianich’s book “Restaurant Man” that you should never build a restaurant to fit a space, but rather find a space to fit your restaurant concept. Create a concept you are passionate about, then you find the perfect place to

COVID is the most challenging thing I’ve ever dealt with, but the other would be deciding to move from our original Empire location and build a new store a few doors down. We had maxed out the usage of our space and the landlord was not being helpful with reasonable rent terms. The restaurant was doing well, but I felt that planning for the future of Empire was more important than the present. We contacted another landlord about an empty lot in the same district and built Empire version #2. A lot of people were concerned that we would lose the vibe they’d grown to love, but we made it our highest priority conceptually to make the spaces look very similar. The cost of moving has been well worth it to have control over our future and to remedy functionalities issues for the staff and guests.

What has been your best marketing strategy or campaign over the past year?

Standing up for what we believe in and staying community focused have always ended up being our best marketing tools, though that isn’t our intention. A few years ago there was a major education issue facing our state of Oklahoma and public school teachers from all over “walked out” and marched on the capital in Oklahoma City. We decided that instead of offering a 10% or 20% discount, that we wanted to provide free meals for teachers for the duration of the walkout. What we thought might last a week lasted three weeks and by the end we’d given away $40,000+ in meals. To this day, teachers mail us cards to let us know they remember what we did for them and will always support us because of it.

What has been the best tactic or strategy to building your team?

I honestly think the best strategy is to be present for your team. We like to hire from within. The best way we cultivate our management is to show them how to lead. Empowering staff to problem-solve and make decisions is also key.

What’s on the horizon for the brand?

by Jenna Rimensnyder put it. Even in the most popular districts I’ve seen people fail because they think they can just put a kitschy concept there and it will work with minimal effort.

Empire Slice House seems to have a cult following showing love with tattoos. What is some advice on connecting with your customers/ fanbase at such a high level?

People connect with our realness. What you experience with our social media is actually how we are in the restaurant. From the music we play, to the staff, to the consistency and quality

We’re about to test our new hybrid version called Empire Slice Shop, a dine-in or takeout counter-service model with beer and wine. If it goes well, it could be duplicated quickly throughout OKC and Tulsa.

What are you most excited about in the pizza industry as we move forward?

Lately it’s been a bit difficult to see past the current state of the world. One thing that has become very apparent for us is that we need to find affordable and efficient ways to bring delivery back in-house and get away from the third-party delivery companies. I have no doubt there will be great advances with that for not only the pizza industry but the restaurant industry as a whole in the near future. I’m excited for that!

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Not all heroes wear capes.

Some wear aprons.

Working every day.

Ensuring neighborhoods stay nourished.

Delivering comfort food.

In a time when comfort is much needed.

We do not know what tomorrow brings.

But today, you are here for them.

And we are always here for you.

Thank you for being exceptional.

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