COLUMBUS, Ohio - When it comes to branding, few business owners in Northeast Ohio are as savvy as Matt Fish.
Say 'melt' and it's probably his grilled-cheese empire that comes to mind before you think of snow disappearing.
Fish, founder of Melt Bar & Grilled, addressed a crowd at the annual two-day Mid-America Restaurant Expo in Columbus. The trade show is a chance for companies to pitch products but also a place for aspiring and established restaurant owners to learn from those in the business.
"He's one of the best restaurant minds in Cleveland," said Melvin Reyes, IT director at Lakewood-based Seasoned Brands who works with Fish and other Cleveland-area restaurateurs. "You see the grilled-cheese sandwich, and everybody knows it. It doesn't even have to be a person who likes grilled cheese."
Fish - the Parma-raised musician who once wanted to be a teacher - shared his ingredients for establishing and keeping a powerful brand in a competitive culinary landscape:
Mid-America Restaurant Expo took place Feb. 24-25 in Columbus. Matt Fish was one of several speakers at the annual event.
Passion + drive + focus
"I was the kid who had a lemonade stand. I didn't get an allowance. If I wanted to get a new bike I had to earn it," he said. "I always wanted to own a business."
His company's focus is monstrous gourmet grilled-cheese sandwiches, essentially plated entrees crammed with protein, starch, cheese, salad and bread. Essentially, comfort food.
"Everything I do is based in nostalgia," he said. "I didn’t set out to start a brand; I set out to do something different for Cleveland. … My success came from me - my heart, my brain, my passion.
"My goal for opening Melt Bar and Grilled was completely selfish: I didn’t wanted to work for other people."
Whatever concept a restaurant owner wants "has got to be personal to you."
"I'm a Cleveland kid. Grew up and raised in Cleveland, watching Cleveland sports teams. Cleveland was a very different place."
He carried that sense of pride as he opened his first Melt in Lakewood in 2006.
"It was fun, different, unique," he said. "I hit it at the right time. The city was looking for something new and different. … 15 years ago that was a really weird concept, but I believed in the brand."
At first he said, he didn't put up a sign, didn't advertise, didn't tell anyone. As Lakewood's art fair was going on, people stuck their heads in the door and inquisitively wondered what was up.
After he told them his concept, he said, "Half the people looked at me - 'Good luck kid, have fun with that.' But the other half said 'That's a really cool idea.' "
Clevelanders, he said "love their past glories, the old sports teams, the old buildings that don’t exist anymore. I'm a nostalgia guy, too. If Cleveland goes down I'm going down with it. But I don’t think Cleveland is going anywhere."
He took that nostalgia and branded the restaurant with it.
Genuinely loving a concept is key, he said.
"If I'm going to work seven hours a day, 14 to 16 hours a day, I better like what I'm doing."
In the end, that's what it comes down to: "Is anyone going to believe in the brand as much as me? No way."
The Mid-America Restaurant Expo featured multiple seminars at the annual trade show for the restaurant industry.
Aesthetics count
Having and maintaining a focused look directly affects the brand, he said.
He hired a marketing team, and they honed the restaurant's look.
"We had a smattering of different logos, different fonts," he said. "It was a hodgepodge of everything going on in my head. They helped ground what the brand was. We identified certain logos that made sense, certain fonts, even certain colors."
The end game was about differentiating Melt.
"We didn’t want any confusion," he said.
Building loyalty
A good product and quality service is at the core of business, but Fish tried two other approaches that helped him connect to customers.
First, he started a frequent-diner club. It was a chance to give something back to the customer, but it also opened a communication channel with them.
Frequent-diner programs are used often and a safe investment. But in 2009 he tried something riskier, an "off-the-wall idea."
"Get a logo tattooed and I will give you 25 percent off for life," he said. "I just thought it would be another small, specialized club to have."
He ordered a box of burgundy Melt tattoo-family club cards numbered 1 to 500.
"I put them in my drawer and said 'I'm never going to use these, I can laugh about them later.' "
A week later, his general manager tucked his head into where Fish was working and said "You're not going to believe this. Someone got the Melt tattoo. He's out back."
It was that customer's first tattoo. Others followed.
"People started coming in," Fish said. Melt is at 950 tattoos, and he anticipates hitting 1,000 in 12 to 14 months. He throws a Melt tattoo-family reunion party, and the initiative gained national media exposure.
"They are big fans, walking billboards," he said. "When they come into the restaurant, they are like celebrities. … I didn’t think it would take off like this. Is been a cool fun ride."
"I try not to reintroduce who we are, not try to venture out who we are from our four walls. Does it make sense for me to start a pizza line? No. To me that waters the brand down. If it doesn’t fit within my box, I can't do it." - Matt Fish of Melt Bar and Grilled, at the annual Mid-America Restaurant Expo.
Select partnerships
Melt has three satellite locations in partnership arrangements: Cedar Point amusement park, Progressive Field and Case Western Reserve University student center.
"Like-minded companies" propel Melt's brand, he said.
Cedar Point can see 3.5 million visitors in 140 days, he said. Annually, 1.5 million people can come through Progressive Field gates.
"It's an opportunity for people to see my brand, my logo," he said.
What Fish gained from a presence at Cedar Point is invaluable: After Northeast Ohio, the most popular place that visitors come from is Detroit. That city is now on Melt's short list for expansion. So Melt at Cedar Point already has gained an introductory foothold in that market before any grilled cheese has sizzled on a grill in Detroit.
"It's warming up the crowd," he said.
More from Fish:
• "I purposely tried not to water the brand down. I tried not to change what we do. We're still an Ohio brand."
• "Maintaining the brand is probably more important than building the brand. … 'Oh, I've got this brand now, I've got to live it, breathe it, and sleep it.' "
• "I try not to reintroduce who we are, not try to venture out who we are from our four walls. Does it make sense for me to start a pizza line? No. To me that waters the brand down. If it doesn’t fit within my box, I can't do it."
• People falling in love with a brand is not difficult. But the restaurant industry is very fickle."
• "If you're not on social media and you're running a restaurant you're missing out on probably 80 percent of what's out there. It all goes back to that brand - my logos are there, the good food photography is there."
• "Work your butt off and don't give up."
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