Happy February Ramily!  Plenty of happenings to talk about.  Will it be the Kansas City Chiefs or the Philadelphia Eagles lifting the Lombardi Trophy on February 12^th?  Seems like nearly a pick ‘em game, at the moment, with Kansas City a 2 ½ point favorite.  A close, exciting game is what I want to see.

A shout-out to our culinary teams and their 2023 BURGERAMA entries.  We have 13 tasty creations to sample on Thursday, February 9.  The day before and after will be fasting days for me.  We are aiming for five burgers on the LTO this year.  BURGERAMA will run March 8^th – April 3rd this year which ties in nicely with March Madness.

Another item on the food tasting list is Crisp Ram Chips smothered in our pizza sauce, topped with Italian sausage and Pepperoni garnished with parmesan cheese.  Oh boy.

Ram beer is awesome.  I love all of our brewers’ creations.  Over the years I have had a few favorites that really fit my palate.  Clearwater Kolsch is one of those.  Around October each year, I and others start bugging Dave Leonard about when it will be on tap.  I am happy to report that the time is now.  Ram beer is one of those Gracious Hospitality boulders, that are unique to us, that we can drop on our guests that creates memorable moments and lasting emotional connections.  Here is some history on this fabulous beer straight from Dave Leonard himself:

Clearwater Kolsch was born in the foothills of the Sawtooth Mountains at the Boise RAM sometime after the turn of the century by brewer Kevin Bolen.  Clearwater won its first medal (Silver) at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival, found bronze in 2018 at the North American Beer Awards, and finally struck gold at the 2019 North American Beer Awards.  The style originated in Cologne (Köln) Germany in the early 1900s with Sünner Brewery credited with the first beer labeled Kolsch in 1918. Kolsch has a protected geographic indication in Europe and must be produced within 50 miles of Cologne, like Champagne in France.  Kolsch beer is a top-fermented ale that is cold conditioned (lagered) for several weeks after fermentation.  This unique process creates a soft, round malt profile with a very mild sweetness and a delicately dry, crisp finish.  Clearwater is a personal favorite of mine (Dave Leonard) and our brewers delight our guests. Cheers!

Let’s drop some Clearwater rocks on our guests!

Clearwater Kolsch 

ABV-5.2%     IBUs – 22 

Refreshing as an alpine lake, crisp & clean as the mountain air. Sit back, relax, and simply enjoy. 

A very Happy February birthday to:  Osmar Quintero Zarate, Connor Bengtson, and Megan Miller.

A very heartfelt thank you to the following team members celebrating significant anniversaries with the Ram this month:  Laura Anguiano Davalos (7 years) and Hannah Weather (9 years).

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

~ Bob (Hope) Moawad

Happy New Year Ramily,

Can it really be 2023?  Yes, time does fly.  Plenty of great experiences and learning moments in 2022 which prepare us for superior execution in 2023.  At this time of the year, we always take time to reflect back and project forward.  As we do that, I like to keep in mind a favorite quote of mine from Eleanor Roosevelt, “Today is a gift.  That is why we call it ‘The Present’.”  Learn from the past, live for today and prepare for tomorrow is how I choose to live. 

Our new menu was installed at the beginning of December.  There has been very, very little guest feedback on price revisions – kudos to Banger Smith and our menu engineering team.  Ram Chips made a smashing return.  The Waygu Burger (with blue cheese) is now our #2 most popular burger.  The Cubano Melt is the #3 best selling sandwich following the French Dip and Turkey Havarti.  The addition of Ranch & Buffalo Style has moved the Rule the Roost Chicken Sandwich from the lowest selling sandwich to the #4 position.  The addition of “Enhance Your Steak” section to the Steaks & Chicken category has increased the average selling price.  The addition of Daily Specials back to the hard menu are showing better results as the number of specials (Steak Day, Mac & Cheese etc…) are increasing.  The pizza category continues to grow.  By the way, a tip of the cap to Chef Benji in Wilsonville for his awesome pizza pies.   By the way, you have to love our new cupped pepperoni.   Finally, our new 4-5-6 Happy Hour continues to grow the number of items sold and sales at Happy Hour. 

The results show that our guests love the items we are offering them and appreciate the value they present.  With that in mind, I have a question for you – what do you feel our “value propositions” are?  Ram Rewards?  The best craft beer for less than the competition?  Open doors, smiles, and eye contact?  What do you think makes Ram special to our guests?  Please email me your thoughts as we want to capitalize and enhance our value propositions. 

It’s almost Kolsch time.  Mr. Leonard tells me that Clearwater Kolsch will be wetting our whistles at the end of the month.  That’s a unique value proposition I love.  Our Mug Clubbers will be treated to a delicious Udder Chaos braised beef dinner in January.  The Home Office team was lucky tasters last week.  High fives to Chef Brandon Escovedo for this delicious recipe. 

Gracious Hospitality!  Gracious Hospitality! Gracious Hospitality!  Open doors.  Smiles.  Eye contact.  Say “thank you”.  What will you do to make our guests’ experiences with the Ram memorable?  What rocks and boulders will you drop on our guests?  Do something unexpected for someone and create a guest for life! 

During the month of January, we say Happy Birthday to:  Justen Rodgers, LeRoy Hairston, Andy Seamster, Collin McNees, Kendra Peck, Kris Findley, Lauryn Benedetti, Cameron Davis, Nick Kannarr, Greer Hubbard, Angie Nelson and Josh Pitt.

A special thank you to the following team members who celebrate significant anniversaries with their Ramily this month:  Frederick Wright, Tiffany Clark, Juan Tovar, Raul Ramirez and Lenka Downs. 

“People who matter are most aware that everyone else does, too.”

~ Malcom Forbes

Ramily –

We have a champion in our ranks. Congratulations to Benji Martinez and his fellow freshmen Timberline Wolves for going undefeated and winning the league football championship. Benji sports #21 at cornerback where he wrangles opposing offensive players with his speed, strength, and smarts. It is going to be a lot of fun watching him play ball in the coming years. Legend has it that Benji is just as unstoppable on the wrestling mat. When Benji is not studying or putting the hurt on wide receivers and running backs you can find him bussing tables at the Boise Ram while showering his Ramily and guests with Gracious Hospitality. Game On Benji!

Is it really December? I know that’s a rhetorical question, but gee whiz where did 2022 go? As I pen this message, I am looking at a snowy, icy parking lot in Lakewood. Same picture I saw in Boise yesterday.

This is the time of the year when all of us are putting the finishing touches on our initial goals for 2023. Proper goal-setting techniques say that you share your goals with those who can help you hit your goals. Here are three things we are focusing on as a company – continue to grow sales and guests by nurturing loyal guests and cultivating new guests, find/develop and implement operational efficiencies and develop and institute a new Gracious Hospitality department.

Our new menu starts today. Welcome back Ram Chips! I talked about this menu last month and just wanted to say thank you again to all who contributed. Same for the 2023 Mug Club – great job team. What a great-looking mug. Early sales are very strong. Let’s get those mid to late-January Mug Club dinners planned now. Speaking of mugs and beer, the Udder Chaos I have been lucky to sample has been fabulous. Please remember to “high five” our brewers.

As I close out this message, I want to wish you all Happy Holidays. Enjoy the season. Shower our guests and fellow team members with smiles and the holiday spirit. Let’s have holiday music playing, all the great games on the TVs, and tasty Ram food and beverages served with a smile for all to enjoy.

This month we say Happy Birthday to Vosean Dennis, Amanda Helmke, DJ Stark, Kelly Van Matre, Austin Iverson, and Josh Pitt.

Special thanks to these team members who celebrate significant anniversaries with the Ram this December: Angelina Basile (6 years), Codi-Rei Pezario (6 years ), Reaven Signs (6 years), Stacey Moon (18 years), Kendra Peck (5 years), Indra Patricio Ramirez (9 years), Robyn Ortiz (7 years), Aaron Ramirez (11 years) and DJ Stark (6 years). Thank you all very much.

“Goals give purpose. Purpose gives faith. Faith gives courage. Courage gives enthusiasm. Enthusiasm gives energy. Energy gives life. Life lifts you over the bar.”

` Bob Richards

Happy November Ramily,

What a great Fall for Northwest sports. The Seattle Mariners had their best finish in 20+ years. I have to admit that it was a nice surprise to see our bars full of baseball fans cheering on the Mariners. How about them Seahawks? Who would of thunk? Geno Smith leading the Hawks to the top of their division when they were picked last by the experts. Amazing! In the NBA, our Portland Trailblazers are sitting third in the Western Conference. The Boise State Broncos currently sit atop the Mountain West with a perfect 5-0 conference record. Rounding out the Northwest the Huskies, Cougars, Beavers, and Ducks all are playing admirably. Let’s make sure these games are on for our guests to cheer on.

Big thank you to all who have provided Banger Smith and his team with all of the valuable input for our new menu which will hit the beginning of December. In my time with the Ram, this menu has gotten more thought, input, discussion, and engineering than any other I have seen. This menu has variety, favorites, value, and production efficiency. Well done team.

With a New Year quickly approaching it is time to work on our goals. Proper goal-setting is the essence of maximizing your performance. Specific, written goals create powerful images and emotions in our minds that lead us toward our desired outcomes. At the Ram, we have learned that writing our goals down as affirmative statements is the key to reaching or even exceeding, our goals. An affirmative statement is a written sentence, or multiple sentences, that describe new realities that we want in our lives.

When setting goals follow these principles:

Balance your goals
Prioritize your goals. Work on around three at a time.
State your goals positively – write down what you want to happen not what you want to avoid.
Clearly define your goals in writing. Be specific and review regularly
Lock on to an exciting, imaginable, realistic end result
Share your goals only with those who can help you exceed them
Update your goals regularly

Once we have written down our list of specific goals, we write our goals as “affirming statements”. An affirming statement is a tool, using written words, to impart positive visualization in our minds consistent with the person and leaders we want to be. Choose one of your written goals and use the following steps to write it as an affirmative statement:

Personal – Write a personal and positive statement that describes how you will feel once you have reached your goal.
Present Tense – Write your affirmative statement in the present tense as if you have already attained your goal.
Elicit Emotions – When writing your affirmative statement use words that trigger positive pictures and emotions for you.
Realistic – Be realistic when writing your affirmative reminders. Use words like, “consistently” and “regularly”.

Here’s an example: “I am patient and understanding. When under pressure, I take a breath and respond calmly. It feels great.”

Once we have written our goals as affirming statements, we use these daily principles to review them:

Review your affirmative statements when relaxed.
Review them 3 to 5 times a day for 21 to 35 days.
Use vivid, first-person imagery accompanied by emotion.
Hold the thoughts and pictures in your mind that your affirmative statements elicit for 10 to 15 seconds.

In November we say Happy Birthday to Beckey King, Michael Royster, Cooper Withers, and John Morse.

A very special thank you to the following team members who celebrate significant anniversaries with the Ram this month: Trisha Watkins (15 years), Anna Jacobson (10 years), Yaneth Llamas (14 years), Maryann Montez (5 years), Aaron Perreira (5 years), Eileen Robins (6 years) and Norma Aguire-Ortiz (6 years). Thank you all very much.

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

~ Bob (Hope) Moawad

Greetings Ramily,

Fall is my favorite season of the year. I love the cooler, dry days. A few years ago, my family drove through New Hampshire when the leaves were changing color and that was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. The Fall also brings college football which is one of my favorite sports. Oktoberfest beer is an anticipatory treat. So is a slice of pumpkin pie or even a pumpkin seasonal beer when you can find a tasty one.

October is National Pizza Month. I want to thank everyone for your commitment to our pizza program. I have heard nothing but raves about our pizza. Big high-fives to our culinary team – thank you all very much. Our marketing team is ramping up pizza marketing so be ready for more orders.

This month I have a very simple message/request of and for you – “beer greets”. I want every single one of our guests greeted with a “Ram beer greet”. Every guest, at every table, will be greeted with a brief introduction about our award-winning beer and tasty seasonals and then asked something like “which beer can I bring you?” Every guest, every table, every time. Your greeting is up to you – personalize it and own it. Every guest, every table, every time. Bigger, Better, Fresher. Game On!

This month we wish Happy Birthday to Jeff Shaffer, Brandon Escovedo, Banger Smith, and Angie Nelson.

Big thank you to the following team members who celebrate significant anniversaries with their Ramily in October: Joshua Tucker (13 years), Dawn Hammond (34 years), Beckey King (6 years), Leslie Vasquez Gomez (5 years), Jennifer Borchers (17 years), Kris Findley (6 years), Brandon Escovedo (5 years), Linsey Laidler (5 years), Tim Bunch (24 years), James Cassidy (39 years) and Marty Hillis (26 years). Thank you all very much.

“Have unconditional warm regards for all people at all times. Treat everyone, including and especially yourself, with consideration and respect.”