Marketing: Rare medium sometimes done well

In the mid-1970s I worked in a small, country French restaurant on Long Island. It was a lovely little place, trimmed in spring green and white, with romantic French music on the stereo and fresh flowers on every table. It was the kind of place where you’d linger for hours over brunch.

Blessed with a great restaurant concept in the right time and place, we were having a ball in the kitchen. We weren’t worried about portion control. And our customers weren’t worried about the downside risk associated with eating an honest-to-God Hollandaise over poached eggs or a Béarnaise over steak.

Each…