Bouchee @ Newbury Street
How can a new brand/restaurant compete with already established names?
Boston’s Newbury Street definitely is the place to see and to be seen. They have salons, boutiques and fabulous dining. When I think of Newbury, I think of high end boutiques like Chanel, Emporio Armani, Louis Boston, etc. Going from there will be: FCUK, G-star, Jasmine Sola etc. When I think of dining, I think of Stephanie’s on Newbury (the best), Sonsie (the best breadpudding), Armani Café (for people watching), Tapeo etc.
I guess the main point of my blog is: how can you compete with these already established names on Newbury?
How many of you have heard of the new restaurant on Newbury Street called Bouchee? I bet many haven’t heard. It’s a French bistro with a fancy interior layout. It opened couple of months back, but I wonder how many people have already been there. I wonder if their name is even out there. I tried Google-ing it but there is few results. I got to know about Bouchee when I was parking my car next to the restaurant.
Bouchee offers upscale French food. But with their presence at Newbury, are they trying to sell food, or are they trying to sell the ‘people watching’ experience?
If they were trying to sell the ‘people watching’ experience, I think they have failed. Their restaurant is not visible from the walkway. The only visible part of their restaurant is the ‘Bouchee’ sign on the walkway, and a group of valet personnel standing on the street. On the other hand, if they were trying to sell food, they are also in the wrong location. French, upscale fares are mostly located at the South End (Tremont St), where there are endless choices of French, well-known restaurants (Mistral etc).
They say the restaurant business is a cash cow. I think Bouchee has to make some efforts to market their restaurant, or their ROI will be very slow, or even negative. Come to think of it, how did Johnny Cupcakes create so much buzz? Is it because they match the genre of the kind of shops in Newbury St, or are they visible (located at upper level of the shops, easily seen from the walkway), or do they differentiate themselves successfully? For Bouchee, they are just a restaurant. They are countless typical restaurants like that. What differentiates them, can they even differentiate themselves? Can they have returning patrons?
- Joanne Cahyadi
posted by Brand007 @ 1:13 PM
2 Comments:
Actually, I have been to Bouchee and I believe that they are simply to be a nice restaurant with upscale food. They have a nice bar area for people to hang out. The two times I've been there they haven't been empty, but they haven't been full. I really like going out to restaurants and found this one to have possibilities (though, if you can believe this, they actually have a fee if you want to share a plate), but I agree with you that they definitely need to start marketing and promoting their restaurant if they want to become a restaurant cash cow. I think that it's ok if they aren't very visible from the street; because it adds to the atmosphere. However, they definitely need to create some buzz about the restaurant because traditional marketing promotions might not work for them if they want to maintain an upscale identity.
Karin
I also have a different opinion of the restaurant and feel that without actually going to the restaurant many of the comments made could be seen as uninformed.
Bouchee, as an upscale French restaurant, which caters to the same demographic that Newbury street targets with its high-end boutiques. As someone who has dined at the restaurant and has a friend who works there as a hostess, I learned that not only is the food delicious, but the environment is beautiful and the waitstaff is very educated. The hostesss' and waiters have tasted all of the food and know how everything is prepared, which is exactly the type of service one would expect from an expensive restaurant. It also reflects the prestige and high quality image the restaurant wants to reflect.
In regards to advertising, I can not begin to tell you when or even if I have ever seen an advertisement or promotion for an upscale restaurant on Newbury St. Many of the restaurants count on WOM as well as loyal consumers and people who are just passing by. Restaurants like Bouchee have specific outlets they use to connect to a market that probably does not include college students.
The fact that most upscale French Restaurants are located in the South End could serve as a large advantage to Bouchee since it is the only one of its kind located on Newbury. Bouchee shares the same upscale brand meanings as Newbury st. thus reinforcing its own.
I do agree that the restaurant needs to work on bulding more buzz. It is lacking in that area and needs to capitalize on the many competetive advantages it holds over other restaurants.
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