Main Street Cuisine and Instagram

My family owns a country-cooking, Americana diner. My grandpa opened it right after World War II. He had a dream, and he got a small business loan to turn that dream into a reality. Grandpa spent his life building the diner up. He found the best recipes; he put together the menu; he even built the tables, chairs, and booths.  When the time came for him to turn it over to his son, my dad, Grandpa passed his diner to the next generation as one of the top restaurants in our town.

My dad took the diner into some different directions. After Grandpa died, Dad even converted the diner into a high-end bar, serving no food but appetizers. When business plummeted, Dad went back to Grandpa’s original concept for the diner, even returning his father’s furnishings to their original place. A few years ago, Dad turned our family diner over to the next generation.

Now that I run our diner, I am committed to Grandpa’s original vision. I am also drawn to some of Dad’s dreamiest ideas, too. I rely heavily on social media, especially Instagram, to tell the story of our diner to a hungry world, particularly those who are hungry within a few blocks of our prime location.

I buy followers on Instagram to bolster our social media footprint. The fee is minimal compared to the online traffic all of those followers attract.

We live in a college town. I have identified college students as our target demographic. We offer good kids a place to hang-out and let out steam, without the rowdiness or temptation of alcohol. We offer an affordable, hearty meal, and we don’t rush them out the door when they’re finished, either. An old-fashioned jukebox featuring this era’s songs, and a roomy dance floor in a room adjacent to the dining room makes our diner a fun date-night or group-activity destination.

I tell this story on Instagram. I take pictures of happy, dancing kids. I snap photos of juicy hamburgers, hot, tasty fries, and the coolest milkshakes this slide of a glacier.

We use hashtags and encourage our customers to take selfies and post them to Instagram. Of course, a bunch of college students won’t hesitate to snap photos, and post them, within seconds. The diner gets instant followers.

I have to tell you, ignoring humility—business booms.

We went from a family-oriented café, advertising in the newspaper and on AM radio, to now being a college kid hangout, featuring the same scrumptious food, counting on social media to make our joyful presence known.

There is usually a crowd here, with Lady Gaga and Katy Perry music emanating from the jukebox, wafting up to the rafters, dancing with the smells of the best home cooking you have ever tasted in a college hangout.

Our food is affordable. Our atmosphere is fun.

For the exception of a few dollars I spend each month on Instagram followers, our advertising is minimal. Good times roll.

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