Happy March Ramily.  Two big happenings this month.  On the first day of the month, we kick off our 16^th annual BURGERAMA.  This year we have three uniquely flavored burger creations, one signature pizza and four featured cocktails.  The first burger on the standout three-paneled table tent is our SMOKED PORK BELLY SMASH BURGER.  Everyone loves pork belly, and this generous pile of the good stuff accompanies stone ground mustard, Roma tomato jam atop a smash grilled Black Angus beef patty.  Yum!  Next, we have the PHO BURGER DIP.  A French roll lovingly surrounds a juicy beef patty seasoned with Pho spice, fresh jalapenos, garlic caramelized onions, cilantro and hoisin sauce with Pho broth for dunking.  Yum Yum!  Rounding out the burger offerings is ROSEMARY’S BURGER.  This treat has a beef patty topped with rosemary cream cheese, onion crisps and roasted jalapenos.  Yum Yum Yum!

Joining the burgers this year we have the BACON CHEESEBURGER PIZZA.  This is just as it sounds and is a killer pizza.  Our guests will love it.  Finally, we proudly feature four cocktails this BURGERAMA.  There’s the FLACA MARGARITA made with Herradura Reposado, lime juice and agave.  Next, we have THE MATADOR which features El Jimador Blanco, a touch of mezcal, pineapple and lime juice.  On the sweet side we are pouring a VANILLA OLD FASHIONED made with Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Tuaca vanilla citrus liqueur and black walnut bitters.  The JACK WHISKEY SMASH with Jack, lemonade and mint rounds out the cocktails this BURGERAMA.  Many, many thanks to all those who had a hand in creating this 16^th masterpiece that our guests will love.  Big high fives to the marketing department for such a great-looking BURGERAMA table tent.  The photos, graphics, colors and descriptors are top shelf.  For a little fun, the Home Office placed bets on how the sales of the burgers and pizza will rank. 

March Madness always brings fun and robust sales to our restaurants.  We expect this year to be another record.  Game On!  Make ‘em Smile!  Reasons to Return!  Selection Sunday kicks off the tournament on Sunday, March 17^th (St. Patrick’s Day).  With the first games on March 19^th all building towards the championship game on Monay, April 8^th.  BURGERAMA and March Madness!  Open doors, smiles, great food, frosty beer and thank-yous.  That’s how we cultivate loyal guests.

This March we say Happy Birthday to:  Olivia Hernandes Mancilla, Kirill Lidin, and Earl Jess.

Thank you to the following team members who celebrate significant anniversaries with the Ram this month:  Holly Kalii (6 years), Jessica Yazzie (5 years), Laura Aguirre Torres (11 years), Carlos Santiago (5 years), Amy Westerhausen (16 years) and Dianne Williams (14 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 for help.”

The last paragraph of the monthly message always addresses those team members who celebrate five years or more on the Ram team.  During the month of February, the Ram also celebrates its anniversary.  Cue the band ….. on February 26^th your company will be 53 years young.  What a fabulous journey we are on. 

            As we stand here today in 2024, 53 years from our inception, the scene in our restaurants is vastly different than 1971.  I thought for a moment about painting a picture of many of the changes at the Ram the past 53 years, however, I feel like I write about that often.  Not to disappoint, give me a few months and I will regal you with old stories about Little Tim Diggins and Tallchos.  I know, the anticipation is unbearable. 

            The picture I want to send to you this month is what I want, what I expect, the dining experience at the Ram to look and feel like for every guest every day.  So, here it is – a few weeks ago someone asked me to tell them what Gracious Hospitality looks like, what it feels like.  It looks and feels like this …. When my wife and I have guests for dinner at our house the evening goes as follows.  First, the driveway, sidewalk and front porch will be clean, free of kids’ toys and there certainly will be no cigarette butts anywhere.  When our guests ring the doorbell we will quickly open the door for them, smile, make eye-contact and greet them with a hug or handshake.  We will take their coats and ensure that the dog does not jump on them.  The inside of the house will be clean and orderly.  Candles will be lit, lights will be dimmed and appropriate music will be playing at the appropriate volume.  Perhaps a nice red wine will be poured in a sparkly clean glass to accompany a little appetizer.  We will talk about the wine, food, our kids, sports and other things of common interest.  We will enjoy a unique meal together that we typically do not have at home.  After dinner the dishes will be cleared for me and my wife to do later after our guests leave.  We might have a little dessert as we spend more time connecting.  As the evening winds down, my wife and I will get their coats, thank them for coming and walk our friends to their car.  That is what Gracious Hospitality looks like and feels like.  I have been telling that story to our teams since 2004 as my way of describing Gracious Hospitality and defining the dining experience we all want our guests to enjoy.  That helps paint the picture of Gracious Hospitality at Ram Restaurant Group.  Our enduring culture of Gracious Hospitality is the main reason why Ram International will be celebrating anniversaries for years and years to come.           

            Happy February Birthday wishes to:  Gary Conibear and Megan Miller.

            A heartfelt “thank you” to the following team members who celebrate significant anniversaries with their Ramily this February:  Lauran Anguiano Davalos (8 years), Hannah Weathers (10 years). 

Believe it!  High expectations are the key to everything.

~ Sam Walton

Commencing November 1^st, through the entire month, new three-fold table tents will be on all tabletops.  One side will promote our tasty football season Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza.  Another side will feature two new drinks with Mi CAMPO tequila: a Mi CAMPO Reposado Bloody Maria with a Chile-Lime Rim and then we have the HAWK-A-RITA again with Reposado mixed with lime, pineapple juice, blue curacao, coconut cream and a salted rim to cap this refreshing cocktail.  The final side of the table tent will feature our classic Ram Dunker Burger and a new French Onion Soup Burger which was discovered by Austin Iverson in the winter of 2020 at dinner before one of the last Norm MacDonald comedy shows in Seattle.  This remarkable and memorable burger features crispy Gruyere cheese, garlic grilled onions with a slathering of our French onion garlic aioli.  Many thanks to our beverage and culinary teams for these awesome creations. 

            By the way, yours truly got to enjoy a Ram Dunker on the first day and it was awesome.  I added crispy onions and jalapenos.  It was a great combination and one that I will enjoy again soon before the promotion ends. 

            For our December tri-fold table tent features the culinary and marketing teams are developing a Turkey Holiday Burger and a value priced Smash Burger.  Those limited time offerings will join our hugely popular Udder Chaos seasonal beer tapping December 1^st with Mug Club dinners to follow.   More to come.  Potential future LTO features include a variety of inspired Mole dishes and a Chicken Birria Pizza.

            It was another great Oktoberfest season with the tasty lager and the hearty Mug Club dinners.  Our Oktoberfest has long been one of my favorite seasonal beers.  Medford brewer Sean McCamish did a very good interview with a local, Medford journalist.  Sean’s video provides great detail describing the unique subtleties of Ram Oktoberfest.  Here’s the link for your viewing pleasure https://ktvl.com/features/so-whats-on-tap-the-ram-oktoberfest#

            Speaking of beer, 2024 Mug Club mugs and membership cards are being distributed to your restaurants at this time.  Current members will have the opportunity to renew their membership though November with any remaining memberships going on sale to the general public starting December 1^st.  This is a perfect Holiday gift.  For $40 the happy owner receives 24 ounces of tasty Ram beer at the pint price, $2.00 off growler fills, 20% off hats/shirts, commemorative mug, their name on the Wall of Foam and invites to Mug Club dinners and special tapping events. 

            Ram gift cards also provide the perfect holiday gift.  Starting Black Friday until Christmas every $50 gift card sold will receive a free $10 gift card. 

In November we send Happy Birthday

wishes to:  Beckey King, Michael Royster, Cooper Withers and John Morse.  Happy Birthday everyone.

            A very special “thank you” to the following team members who celebrate significant anniversaries with their Ramily this month:  Trisha Watkins (16 years), Anna Jacobson (11 years), Yaneth Llamas (15 years), Aaron Perreira (6 years), Eileen Robins (7 years) and Norma Aguirre-Ortiz (7 years).

“Attitudes are contagious.  Do you want people to catch yours?”

~ Bob Moawad

Happy October Ramily. I have been sending out a number of Boulder Cards to our team members and want to thank everyone for creating those memorable moments with our guests. Filling out those cards is the highlight of my day so please keep them coming.

            On the marketing front we have a number of exciting happenings.

            NOVEMBER TABLE TENT – TRI-FOLD TABLE TENT…Coming November 1^st

The Culinary, Beverage and Marketing Departments have been busy developing new and exciting items to run monthly through a Tri-Fold Table Tent. Our first Table Tent (November) will feature a “Value” burger option (Dunker), along with a very tasty French Onion Soup Burger (tastes just like French Onion Soup), complete with a Gruyere Cheese crisp.

On the beverage side (Panel #2), we will be featuring a Bloody Maria made with Mi Campo Tequila, and our Hawk-A-Rita.

The third panel will feature our Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza, along with a “callout’ to be determined.

Our goal is to have these table tents changed out monthly, taking into account new and exciting items that are on trend, craveable, seasonal, and offer our guests new culinary & beverage experiences. This also represents an opportunity to bring back old guest favorites (Santa Fe Rodeo and Whisky Chicken have been mentioned).

If you would like to see something return to the menu (Sante Fe Rodeo, Whisky Chicken), please let us know for future inclusion in our Table Tent program moving forward.

Following the success of our $9.99 RAM Classic, we offered a $15.99 BOGO on 10/9 – which brought in about 525 redemptions company-wide. We would love to hear how this performed at your store! Write to John, Marty and Austin and let us know.  Coming up, please note that we have added an extra Kids Eat for $1.99 day to the calendar for Halloween Day (10/31), which we will promote via email and social.

We are excited to begin our rotation of monthly featured items on 11/1!  Our strategy here is two-fold:  offer one “conversation starter” item that is intriguing and unexpected at a higher price point, and one “value” item that builds on the success of our $9.99 RAM Classic promo.  Our “conversation starters” are kicking off with a French Onion Soup Burger – something you truly have to taste to believe.  The culinary team is bringing in Gruyere cheese to make this item something special to remember.

To facilitate this program, you will be receiving trifolds for your tables – with one panel dedicated to our two burger items.  We will drive additional awareness with paid Facebook and Instagram ads, our website feature sections/homepage, organic social, email blasts, and radio reads in WA.

                From August 21st through September 30th, The Ram donated $0.50 from every Hometown Blonde sold to the Hawaii Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund. With the help of our guests, we donated a total of $8,600 to the fund. The Maui Strong Fund is providing financial resources that can be deployed quickly, with a focus on rapid response and recovery for the wildfires on Maui. Thank you to our teams for spreading the word about this great cause!

Happy October Birthday to:  Jennifer Meehan, JT Tsiantos, Brandon Escovedo, Banger Smith, and Angie Nelson. 

            A very heartfelt “thank you” to the following team members who celebrate significant anniversaries with their Ramily this month:  Amanda Rush (5 years), Joshua Tucker (14 years), Dawn Hammond (35 years), Rebecca King (7 years), Lindsey Laidler (6  years), Gary Withers (5 years), Jennifer Borchers (18 years), Kris Findley (7 years), Brandon Escovedo (6 years), Tim Bunch (25 years), James Cassidy (40 years) and Marty Hillis (27 years).  Thank you all very much.

“Caring is a powerful business advantage.”

~ Scott Johnson

Happy September, Ramily.  While the first day of fall is September 22^nd, I have always felt that fall begins just after Labor Day.  That probably emanates from my youthful years when one would head back to school just after Labor Day.  Oh, the dread!  Summer is over.  Back to studying etc…  That was a big rock because I still feel that sense of gloom today even though there is no school for me.  On the same note, I still have those nightmares about forgetting to study for a test.  If someone knows the inner meaning of these occurrences, please let me know. 

            So, with that said and behind us, in my life today, fall is my favorite season.  I absolutely love the cooler days, the longer nights, the changing colors of the leaves and football season.  Another thing about fall that excites me is the tapping of our Oktoberfest beer.  I have talked about our seasonal beers and just how special they are and Oktoberfest is one of the stars.  This unique German-style Marzen beer, which I feel is delicately refined, is copper hued with notes of malt and pretzel crust with a crisp hop finish.  Brewed in the middle of summer and allowed to lager for weeks to create a clean, easy drinking fest bier inspired by the beer halls of Bavaria.  Prost!

            To celebrate this tasty beverage, Mug Club dinners have been scheduled in each store commencing September 19^th with the last one on October 18^th.  For $15.00 Mug Club Members, and their significant plus one guests, will enjoy two mugs of Oktoberfest Lager and a signature, delectable gluttony created by our culinary team.   The meal our Mug Clubbers and guest will enjoy is Schweinbraten.  Of German origin, of course, Schweinbraten is an authentic German Pork Roast Bavarian style, slow cooked for maximum tenderness and smothered in homemade gravy accompanied by tender carrots, mashed potatoes and braised red cabbage. Oh my!  The kicker being that the pork roasts, carrots and cabbage are gently cooked in our Oktoberfest Lager.  I am getting hunger pangs writing this. 

            With all of these significant assets, we have a challenge.  The challenge is for each to significantly increase their Mug Club dinner counts as compared to the last couple of dinners.  On the leader call Tuesday September 12^th each leader will be challenged with stating a stretch goal for Ofest Mug Club Dinner counts.  The goal is to aim high and hit.

            During the month of September, we wish Happy Birthday to Kevin Martinez, Arthur Davis, Alycia Kaeka, Garret Duthie, Gatlin Webb and Tim Bunch.

            A sincere thank you to the following team members who are celebrating significant anniversaries with their Ramily this month:  Jennifer Hunt (27 years), Karlie-Jean Schmidlkofer (7 years), Amanda Gomez (5 years), Helen Ledger (6 years), Courtney Casey (10 years), Tony Magallanes Davalos (6 years), Daniel Nadasky (5 years), Patricia San Agustin (10 Years), Joshua Smith (10years), Ronis Zumba Jacobo (10 years), James Campolo (7 years), Maria Zolotsev (7 years), Benjamin Garcia-Cantoran (7 years), Nathan Williamson (11 years) and Banger Smith (17 years).  Thank you all very much.

“When we set exciting worthwhile goals for ourselves (and our teams), they work in two ways:  We work on them, and they work on us.”

~ Bob Moawad

“Spectacular achievement is always preceded by spectacular preparation.”

~ Dr. Robert Schuller