25 years ago, running a restaurant meant one hard job and almost no competition. Today you’re up against a chain on every corner and a customer who checks their phone 144 times a day.
This is Week 1 of a 13-week series on how independent restaurant owners take back their marketing and build a plan that actually gets attention. Each week’s episode will be posted on Mondays.
In this session, Matt Plapp (CEO of America’s Best Restaurants) breaks down how the competitive landscape exploded, why “I don’t advertise” is costing you, and where your customers actually are now — so you can stop hoping they come back and start aiming and expecting.
⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 25 years ago vs. today — everything changed
0:45 Back when Matt sold radio, and marketing was a guessing game
2:46 Why restaurant owners got spoiled (and why that’s over)
4:22 2026: competition everywhere, and where your customers really are
5:04 The heritage restaurant set up to fail
5:52 McDonald’s shut off all marketing for a day — sales fell 22%
6:41 From 2 restaurants to 21: the competition explosion
7:44 You already know where your customers are: their phone
8:30 144 times a day — the attention you’re losing
9:55 You’re the marketing director now, too
11:26 Who ABR is and the 3 ways restaurants win
13:16 The 13-week journey: building your attention plan
13:57 The bench-press analogy: stacking marketing every week
14:53 Hope & pray vs. aim & expect
15:55 Facebook: get social before you use it as media
19:25 The framework: Attract, Build, Retain
19:58 The 3 places to win: your 4 walls, your community, their phone
🍽️ ABOUT AMERICA’S BEST RESTAURANTS
We help independent restaurants win more customers with grassroots + digital marketing that actually works — win new customers, win back the ones who forgot about you, and get your best customers visiting more often.
👉 Schedule a marketing consult: https://business.americasbestrestaurants.com/win-appointment
👉 Take our free restaurant marketing audit: https://business.americasbestrestaurants.com/audit
👉 See marketing case studies from our clients: https://business.americasbestrestaurants.com/restaurant_marketing_case_studies
👉 Download our free marketing + social media plan: https://business.americasbestrestaurants.com/attention-plan-download
👉 Apply to be featured on the ABR Roadshow: https://roadshow.americasbestrestaurants.com/get-featured
#RestaurantMarketing #RestaurantOwner #AttractBuildRetain #SmallBusinessMarketing #RestaurantSocialMedia
