Directions

Reality TV shows often seems staged but is some instances you really can’t make up some of the things that are presented. Some of the more popular shows have focused on restaurants and the issues they face for daily survival in a highly competitive environment. For this assignment we enjoy our own version of “Restaurant: Impossible” as you analyze the following case to determine the underlying public relations issues as you attempt to answer the question of CAN THIS RESTAURANT BE SAVED?

If there is any one industry in which word-of-mouth can do great damage in a hurry, that industry would be food service, especially restaurants. A single round of food poisoning can drive away customers for months. Any tale of contamination or unsanitary conditions that circulates in a local community creates a major crisis for a restaurant owner.

Juan and Bonita Gonzales knew the risks when they opened their new restaurant, The Mexican Villa, in a small shopping center in North Canton, Ohio. With the recent wave of Mexican immigrants to the area, two other successful Mexican restaurants had opened across town. The couple believed that if they provided high-quality food in a pleasant atmosphere, their restaurant could succeed.

The business opened in the fall of 2007. First-year sales were better than expected. A mixture of Hispanic and Caucasian customers regularly dined at The Mexican Villa. The restaurant had two distinct serving areas: the dining room and the cantina. In the dining room, authentic Mexican music played softly in the background. There was plenty of room between tables. The floors were carpeted and clean. Servers were dressed in bright colored clothing and were carefully trained to be pleasant, efficient, and helpful. In the cantina, the music was louder. The floors were tile. Smoking was permitted in a bar-type atmosphere. Television sets were tuned to sports programs. In both areas, customers were quickly greeted and served salsa and chips at no charge. The menu was the same for both areas.

Both the cantina and the dining room had regular customers who ate at the Villa as often as once a week. The Villa also had a strong lunch business, where a lighter menu with lower prices was featured. The restaurant was near a business district and shopping center, which provided access to many potential lunch guests.

The crisis occurred after The Mexican Villa had been open for 15 months. In the spring of 2009, one of the Villa food preparers contracted an infectious case of hepatitis. Hepatitis is highly contagious and dangerous. The local health authorities discovered the problem and forced the Villa to close for seven days. Word was sent out in the newspaper, on the radio, and on the local television news that anyone who had eaten at the Villa in the past two weeks should contact the government health authorities to be tested. Word spread quickly through North Canton about the episode, both in the Spanish-speaking community and to other groups.

Fortunately, no one was infected. The employee had worn protective gloves while preparing food. The safety precautions used at the restaurant had kept the disease from spreading to others.

Juan and Bonita had a limited budget for advertising. Once the news stories had run, the media quickly lost interest. It was impossible for the couple to capture the same audience to tell people that the health crisis had passed. The number of customers who returned after the weeklong closure dropped dramatically. Sales had been down for more than a month. The couple began to wonder if people would ever come back.

You are to write a 3 to 5 page paper addressing this public relations nightmare for your client. Please use the following key points to direct your analysis:

• What kinds of public relations tactics should be used to help The Mexican Villa?
• Is there any kind of cause-related or event marketing program that might bring people back to the restaurant?
• Do you believe The Mexican Villa can be saved, or is it a lost cause? Why?

You are expected to appropriately cite all references and to use APA writing style guidelines.

The body of your paper (not including title page, reference list, tables or illustrations) will be 3-5 pages in length, double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font. Header, footer and margins will be 1 inch, left justified.

Please be sure to cite other’s ideas and not to claim other’s work as your own through lack of citation.

Please ensure that your essay is free of misspellings, typographical and major grammatical errors. You will lose points for these mistakes.

Rubric

Assignment Rubric