50 Great Ideas

Rx for pilferers

When you put nice serving ware on the table, you got to figure in the guest or two who’s going to walk off with a “souvenir,” right? Chalk it up to the cost of doing business. But that wasn’t a good enough answer for Kevin Grainger, proprietor of the Village Anchor Pub & Roost in Anchorage, Kentucky, near Louisville. He addressed the sticky finger problem head-on in a humorous email he sent out to his customer database.

“Short of saying ‘QUIT TAKING THE DISHES’ I am offering up the following to elicit whatever emotion is necessary that makes one believe the dishes are better off in our kitchen than yours,” he wrote. Here’s a snippet of the dialogue:

Cocktail fork: Wow! I love it here at the Village Anchor.
Guest pocket: Come here, little fork. I have something to show you.
Cocktail fork: No. I’m not to talk to strange garments.
Guest pocket: Don’t worry little fork. Look, there are already lots of little forks in here.
Purse: Come with me, little fork. I will take you up to the kitchen with all the other utensils where you will be safe.
Guest pocket (who has moved on): Come here little Oneida $15 ketchup ramekin….

“Be a good guest and stand up for the forks and ramekins,” Grainger concluded.

#50 | Using your noodle

#49 | Eat a pita, feed a kid

#48 | Ask the staff chaplain

#47 | I’ll be calling you

#46 | Rolling in dough

#45 | Fried chicken flies the coop

#44 | A penny for your calories

#43 | Better than a lobster bib

#42 | Bending the bento

#41 | Billboard redux

#40 | Dining at the fountain of youth

#39 | Building a better box

#38 | Roll out the barrel

#37 | Mochi Madness

#36 | A toast to Belgium

#35 | Screening employees on the screen

#34 | An Olive Garden customer sat here

#33 | Setting the e-table

#32 | The buck strolls here

#31 | Gin game

#30 | Childhood revisited

#29 | Moveable feast

#28 | Certified gluten free

#27 | Buy a car, eat a meal

#26 | Locating the best Happy Hour

#25 | Local broadcast

#24 | Tabletop taps

#23 | Double the pleasure

#22 | The three Bs

#21 | Cocktails to amuse

#20 | Fans of the grape

#19 | Whole animal accessorizing

#18 | Translucent menus

#17 | Have oven will cater

#16 | Allergic interaction

#15 | Greener produce

#14 | Competing to win at weight loss

#13 | Space saver

#12 | Test kitchen=test market

#11 | Be my guest

#10 | Plug in and eat up

#9 | Rx for pilferers

#8 | Hands free—and clean

#7 | Some like it too hot

#6 | Chicken fried steak gets its day

#5 | The staff that reads together…

#4 | Twinkle toast

#3 | Stick with this

#2 | Stamp of approval

#1 | From seed to fork

Do you have a great idea for 50 Great Ideas? Please use the form below.

Rx for pilferers

Quick Links