1. Guest profile, who are the present guests?

Guests are varied here, I say this because a ton of our business is in the summer and they are tourists visiting the area for the first time, or this restaurant has been recommended to them by someone.  I say our building is a tourist attraction because it is, the history behind the restaurant and Petoskey is extensive.  This building was built back in 1875, the 32 foot long mahogany bar was put in back in 1888 during the prohibition era there had been tunnels created in the basement.  The tunnels went out to the Perry Hotel, Lake Michigan, and even to the Cushman Hotel that had been built to the right of City Park Grill before it was renamed from Park Garden Café.  

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2. Target markets, to whom does the property appeal?

Tourists, Historians, and locals.  We have a large amount of families that come in as well, the kids enjoy it at the restaurant because our place settings in the 300's and some of the 400's allow them to explore their creative side just as Ernest Hemingway did back in the 1910's and 1920's.

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3. What do the guests like and dislike about the property?

Guests enjoy the history and guest service here, however guests dislike the level of business in the summertime and the temperature in the building.

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4. What could be done to increase guest satisfaction?

We could do some giveaways, or something for the locals that decide to return and not take the gap from peak season over the summer and early fall months.

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5. Who are the direct competitors, how do they compare?

Direct competitors are those who also offer entertainment such as Beards, High- Five Spirits, Mitchell's Pub and Leo's.  City Park Grill has karaoke and live music on the weekends, now that summer season is here there are other restaurants doing it as well.  The main difference is that with our low cover, and age minimum, we stay open the latest on entertainment nights in Petoskey.

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6. What are the properties strengths and weaknesses in comparison with the competition?

Strengths is a variety in the industry, having the array of restaurants such as a café, bistro, grill and a catering side.  As far as the focus is on City Park Grill, we are a tourist attraction for the history of the building and half of the other companies in Petoskey who have the tunnels and whatnot, don't base the guest experience over that history.

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Weaknesses include the fact that when we have a waitlist, it's going to be longer because we have a ton of larger groups that come in.  Plus as an older building, a handful of people think "been there, done that" and look for a newer place to go to.

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7. What is the property's primary marketing strategies?

When it comes down to getting the target market, we have created that presence on social media to hit some of our audience.  With live music and a ton of community on both instagram and facebook we keep our guest updated with events happening such as live music and karaoke.

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Another strategy we use is known as the frequent diner program, they get a point for every dollar spent then when a special occasion comes around or they hit 1,000 points, they get a gift certificate!

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8. What methods/media does the property use for advertising and promotion?

Social Media such as Instagram, Facebook, and our website for our main audiences.  Other ways include flyers and community outreach with other businesses.

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9. Determination for prices of rooms; menu items; banquet menus; meeting room rentals, and other revenue centers?

Prices are determined on time of service for lunch vs. dinner prices as well as demand for specific alcoholic beverages.  Prices for catering is determined on the headcount and the alcohol and dinner/dinner service.  

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10. What marketing tactics have been most and least successful? Why?

Most successful is social media, when in a touristy town people tend to go to tripadvisor.com or ask about recommendations from family and friends so word of mouth is a tactic.  The least successful is also word of mouth because that is what cannot be determined or controlled all the time.  We have gotten negative check-ins on facebook which hurts us when our name is typed in and that may be the first review to show up.

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