The phone rang at 6:45 a.m. on a Monday in mid-July.  It was Chef James Cassidy informing me that our beef supplier had just closed their doors – no more deliveries.  We had enough beef in inventory to last us a couple of days.  Time to think and think fast.  Fortunately, we had prepared.  Sensing something may have been amiss with that beef supplier we had begun testing other suppliers.  A couple of phone calls later we were able to confirm a new supplier would be able to meet our specifications and emergent timeline.  Our testing concluded that the new burgers and steaks not only had superior taste but had the added bonus of coming from local ranchers.  Win Win!  They also come at a higher cost which is why we have had to adjust some menu prices.  We do not take this lightly.  In addition to providing our guests with superior quality food our goal is to price our menu items at or below our competitors’ prices; that is one of our strong value propositions.

            I know, we all know, that menu pricing is a very sensitive subject.  This is not taken lightly.  We are a business.  As such, we must price our products accordingly to provide our guests with superior quality food and beverage, prepared and served by smiling / engaging team members in inviting atmospheres with a marginal and vital profit.  This is fair and reasonable. 

            Guests define value on the experiences they receive not what they spend.  There is an old adage in the hospitality business that says, “price becomes less relevant when you know you’re going to get better service or have a better experience.”  Another way of saying that is “the better the service the less price is an issue.”  In these monthly newsletters I often write about Gracious Hospitality.  I do so because I am a fervent believer in the importance of Gracious Hospitality – those are the restaurants where I want to dine, those are the hotels where I want to rest my head and those are the friends and teammates I want to have.  That is also what Ram guests want and expect.  When we shower our guests with Gracious Hospitality, when we consistently drop those rocks and boulders on our guests providing them better experiences prices become less relevant.  This is how we win.  Food quality, menu innovation and Gracious Hospitality is how we cultivate loyal guests and embed the Ram in our communities.    Make ‘em Smile!  Game On!  Give our guests Reasons to Return!

            During the month of August, we say Happy Birthday to:  Scott Hull, Tracy Raley, Francy Rios Barrera, Benjamin Garcia-Cantoran, James Cassidy, Mary Wawrin and Isaac Luedtke. 

            Thank you to the following Ramily team members who celebrate significant anniversaries with us this month:  Kira Conner (19 years), Bryan McInturff (10 years), Jerry Brownell (11 years), Chelsey Iliff (8 years), Barbara Zieseniss (26 years), Michael Royster (5 years), James Wayne (7 years), Olga Zolotsev (5 years) and Megan Miller (9 years).  Thank you all very much.

Hello, new menu features.  Ahi Poke Nachos are back!  A tasty, guest favorite just in time for summer.  Thank you to all who had a hand in redeveloping this popular item for our menus.  Sell, Sell, Sell!  Accompanying the Ahi Poke Nachos is our Ahi Poke Bowl.  If you’re following The Ram on Instagram, you’ll see a great post and pictures of the Ahi Poke Bowl.  By the way, please follow The Ram on Instagram.  Even better to ask your friends, family and guests to follow The Ram on Instagram.  Even better like The Ram’s posts and ask others to like the Ram’s posts. 

            We have two more features on the menu starting this month.  One is a succulent Coconut Prawns entrée served with a fresh vegetable and mashed taters.  This one was a favorite at the testing we had.  The final feature this month is the Founder’s Reserve Pizza.  This pizza actually was a favorite of our founders.  Beer crust, house-made red sauce made with Stanislau tomatoes and whole milk mozzarella topped with cup & char pepperoni and zippy pepperoncini peppers.  A hands down favorite of yours truly, this is my go-to pizza.

            On the beer front IPA for ALS fermenting.  Another guest favorite will tap near the beginning of August.  This year we celebrate our 10^th Anniversary partnering with the ALS Foundation.   Over the course of that partnership The Ram has donated over $115,000 for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Lou Gehrig’s disease) research to discover treatments and a cure for this disease that weakens muscles.  Again this year the Ram will donate $1.00 for every pint of IPA for ALS sold to the ALS Foundation.   Let’s sell and raise a pint for a cure. 

            The Ram’s Steps of Service and Hospitality are top of mind.  All guests will be greeted at the front door with a smile.  All guests will be escorted to their table, seated and presented with menus.  The host will point out daily specials and the beverage menu on the table.  Servers will greet their guests in under two minutes.  Server will lead with daily specials, seasonal beer information and their favorite appetizer.  All guests will be merchandised an appetizer to start with, sharable for larger groups, smaller sizer for under four guests.  All guests will be made aware of upgrades to their choices such as cheese or onions on a French Dip, sweet potato fries for a side, sub a Wagyu burger patty.  All tables will be merchandised a dessert (Mud Pie).  All guests will be “thanked” for dining with us and asked to return soon.  Game On

            Happy Birthday in the month of July to:  Jessica Mendez-Martinez, Diane Williams, Wyatt Iverson, Jack Buttry, Jeff Iverson Sr., and Mark Patterson.

            A sincere “thank you” to the following team members who celebrate significant anniversaries with the Ram this month:  Julie Gault (12 years), Erik Lenderman (28 years), Alyssa Newton (5 years), Alby Zuniga (5 years), Julio Cabrera Garcia (12 years), Daniel Cabrera Henriquez (12 years), Adelina Gonzales (17 years), Vincent Tancredi (6 years), Gatlin Webb (6 years), Austin Iverson (6 years), Kristie Webb (12 years) and Mary Wawrin (17 years).  Thank you.

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is:  What are you doing for others?”

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Happy June Ramily.  While Summer officially begins June 20^th we have had bits of promising weather recently.  We have two initiatives of major focus at the moment – non-negotiable Ram Steps of Service and Hospitality and our Summer Sales Contest. 

                Everyone knows how much Ram values Gracious Hospitality.  We do not just professionally serve our guests and friends; we create memories with them and make them feel special.  How so?  While every team member has their own signature way of making those connections Ram has a handful of non-negotiable service standards that every guest shall receive from every team member, every day and they are:

• Guests will be warmly greeted at the front door with a smile.
• Guests escorted to their table, seated and then presented with menus.
• The host will point out daily specials and the beverage menu on the table.
• Servers will warmly greet their guests in under two minutes with a smile.
• Servers will lead with daily specials, seasonal beer information and their favorite appetizer.
• All guests will be merchandised an appetizer to start with, sharable for larger groups, smaller sized for under four guests.
• All guests will be made aware of upgrades to their choices such as cheese or onions on a French Dip, sweet potato fries for a side or sub a wagyu burger.
• All tables will be merchandised a dessert.  Mud pie is a can’t miss.
• All guests will be thanked for dining with us and asked to return soon.

The second initiative is our Summer Sales Contest.  The team member who raises their GCA the most, from now til the end of August, will win a $500 Amazon Gift Card.  We will also recognize the team member with the highest total gross sales between June 1^st and August 31^st.  Game On!

Results from our new menu show that the BBQ Chicken Quesadilla is selling wildly and growing every week.  Wagyu burger patty substitutions have increased from 1.88% previously to 10.44% on the new menu – WOW!   Smash Burgers now represent 19% of all burger sales with the BAM BAM Burger our #3 most popular burger.  It was wise to bring back the Focaccia Club Sandwich as it is now our #4 selling sandwich and growing each week.  The new 12-ounce Steak Sirloin is nearly 1/3 of top sirloin sales.  Guests love this, it is a great upsale and it is a serious GCA builder for us.  Another old favorite, the Chicken Almond Salad, is outpacing the Taco Salad it replaced and is showing great popularity.  While the Olympus Salad with Steak has become our #2 most popular salad.  Game On!

                In June we say Happy Birthday to:  Tiffany Spaulding, Laura Davalos Anguiano, Bubba Hillman, Jennifer Borchers, Gabbie Torgerson and Jeff Seamster.

                A special “thank you” to the following team members who celebrate significant anniversaries with their Ramily this month:  Noelle Downey (9 years), Katherine Bundy (6 years), Tia Erickson (14 years), Hannah Unger (8 years), Shawna Woods (9 years), Andres Munoz-Solis (5 years), Ty Tran (7 years) and Kelly Van Matre (12 years).  Thank you all very much!

Excellence is not a spectator sport.  Everyone is involved.

~ General Electric

Do it. Do it right.  Do it right now.

~ NASA Slogan

Cool, sunny day in Lakewood, Washington on May Day 2024.  Wishing everyone the best May ever.  We have a very busy month with Cincopatas tapping around May 5^th, Mother’s Day weekend with our combination specials, new menu rollout on Wednesday the 15^th , Boise’s anniversary on the 20th and our Cincopatas Mug Club dinners scattered towards the end of the month and the beginning of June.  It’s a Game On month for sure.

                This month I want to call attention to our Instagram page.  About a month ago, we brought Gabbie Torgerson on board to up our Instagram game.  I am very proud of our new posts and the work Gabbie has done along with the rest of the marketing team.  Recent Instagram posts are engaging with their professional photography and music featuring our tasty food and beverages.  What we have today is a presentation of the Ram that makes me very proud.  Followers have increased so too has account reach and account engagement.  Game On!  I asked all leaders and team members to follow theramrestaurant on Instagram and like all of our posts.  Please share our account with our guests and your friends and ask them to follow and like as well.  I am looking forward to seeing the account continue to grow. 

                I mentioned above that our new menus will roll out on May 15^th.  With the expansion of the Burger Category, we were able to bring back past guest favorites, and notable BURGERAMA winners over the past 16 years. Back is the Bacon Mac & Cheese Burger, The Santa Fe Burger (Smash), and The Smoked Pork Belly Burger (Smash). The Dunker has also earned a spot on the main menu. 

To the Salad Category, making a triumphant return (and one of the most requested items) is the Chicken Almond Salad. We have also added a “Steak Salad” (again, many requests) adding an 8oz Sirloin to the Olympus Salad. 

All hail the return of one of our most popular sandwiches, the Focaccia Club, as one of the most requested items from our Teams & Guests. We were finally able to find the perfect Focaccia bread. Served warm, it truly is an awesome sandwich. We also have added a Pork Belly BLT. An upgrade to our existing BLT (currently sold off menu). We have also made a change to Sourdough bread, making our Cubano, Turkey Havarti and new Pork Belly BLT even tastier.

Our No. 1 most requested item from our Teams & Guest, The BBQ Chicken Quesadilla is BACK!!!

                This month of May we say Happy Birthday to:  Jennifer Hunt, John Laudenglos, Frank Parascondola, Barbara Winnick, Kevin Mobley, Eileen Robins, Brooke Queen, Aaron Ramirez, Antonio Lemos, Marty Hillis and Evan Puckett.

                A heartfelt “thank you” to the following team members who celebrate significant anniversaries with the Ram this month:  Lisa Carafa (19 years), Joshuah Labberton (19 years), John Laudenglos (14 years), Janell Monteleone (5 years), Floro Palacios Gomez (12 years), Kaitlyn Docterman (6 years), Treana Calhoun (9 years), Joshuah Arceneaux (12 years), Jessica Mendez-Martinez (5 years), Thomas Farrell (9 years), Christopher Jarvis (9 years) and Stephen Torres (6 years).  Thank you all very much. 

“There’s greatness all around you – use it.  It is easy to be great when you get around great people.”

~ Bob Richards

It is a beautiful spring day during this first week of April 2024.  Major League Baseball just started their season.  The women’s and men’s NCAA Final Four basketball games are this coming weekend.  The first golf major of the year, The Master’s, follows next week.  Then we have the NFL Draft towards the end of the month.  Tons of great events to entertain our guests and drive traffic.  Let’s get our Game On and get those TVs turned to the right channels at the right times. 

                Over the course of the past couple of months, Banger Smith and his menu team have been working diligently crafting our new menu, which will hit the tables the first part of May.  As part of the process, Banger and his team met with store leaders to discuss their markets, trends and efficiency of executing our items.  In my years, this has been the most involved and thorough menu design process.  The result is menus tailored to fit our individual markets.  While the menus will be 85% +/- similar at their core, the balance will be items that leaders advocated for to increase traffic in their restaurants.  We are looking forward to counting huge wins as these new menus, and you and your teams, make ‘em smile and give our guests Reasons to Return.

                Speaking of growing traffic, what can you and your teams do to increase traffic?  Growing traffic is our number one goal now and always.  What can you do?  What will you do?  What ideas do you have?  You do have the ability.  Traffic grows when you believe it.  Get out in your communities, in your shopping centers, introduce yourself and invite folks into the Ram.  Make new friends.  Get your vendors and their friends in as diners.  Visit your local hotels and talk to the GM’s and concierges.  Touch every table and thank your guests for dining with us.  Make sure every guest is either a loyalty club member or signs up during their visit.  Sparkly clean parking lots, landscaping, restaurants and restrooms.  Open doors, smile and say, “thank you”.  Hot food hot and cold food cold.  100% recipe adherence.  Gator Fries.  Every single guest gets a Ram beer greeting.  Every single guest gets a Ram beer greeting.  Every single guest gets a Ram beer greeting.  Every single guest is informed of our current LTOs like BURERAMA.  Every single guest is offered an appetizer and dessert.   What can the Home Office do to help you and your team to increase traffic?  Call or send your ideas to us, please.  The Home Office exists to serve you. 

                One of my favorite things to do is sending out Boulder Cards to our team members who impress our guests.  As you are talking to our guests please encourage them to drop a message on-line telling us about their dining experience and our folks who made them smile.

                Happy Birthday to Becky Stankiewicz, Joshua Tucker and Kristie Webb.

                Thank you to the following team members who celebrate significant anniversaries with their Ramily this April:  Brandon Brocklebank (7 years), Kevin Martinez (38 years), Katherine Rosenthal (10 years), Frank Parascondola (8 years), Darla Shamel (7years), Oscar Mejia Hernandez (6  years), Scott Hull (8 years), Lindsey Liles (5 years), Collin McNees (13 years), Taylor Hopper (5 years), Ramiro Mendiola Hernandez (11 years), Ricky Wilson (8 years), Carlos Guitierrez (10 years), Jason Scalice (8 years), Alfonso Ruiz Garcia (12 years) and Miguel Solano Cobian (12 years).  Thank you all very much.

The moment you commit and quit holding back, all sorts of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance will rise up to help you.  The simple act of commitment is a powerful magnet.

~ Napoleon Hill