Say it with flowers

Nation's Restaurant News, May 23, 2005

To announce upcoming events and promote gift certificates, Nick Pitillo, gm, Sonoma Grille, Buffalo, NY, devised an upscale alternative to the table tent. He writes a message on a two--by three-inch card and attaches it to a plastic flower fork. The fork is then placed in a vase containing a seasonal flower that is the centerpiece for each table.

"This way the message is prominently displayed and doesn't take up valuable table space," says Nick, whose tables tend to be small. "It's more elegant and less intrusive than a table tent." Messages are typically changed every couple of weeks. However, between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays he used the same card promoting gift certificates, resulting in a 25% increase in sales over the previous year.