Post #219454 by christiki295 on Tue, Mar 7, 2006 6:02 PM

On 2006-03-07 15:44, ruinthejimi wrote:
Hello!
Trader Vic's to resume U.S., foreign expansion

By Carolyn Walkup

. . .
The time has not passed for concepts like Trader Vic's and its signature lounge offerings of tropical-theme cocktails and pupu appetizers, agreed foodservice consultant and analyst Ron Paul, president of Chicago-based Technomic Inc. "Specialty drinks are very popular with consumers," he said, noting that Trader Vic's increasingly is competing with such contemporary brands as P.F. Chang's China Bistro. For that reason, Paul said, he would restrain the decor in new Trader Vic's to avoid tropics-theme excesses that might take the concept into the realm of kitsch.

Ron Paul's analysis is self-contradictory.

The "signature lounge offereings of tropical -theme cocktails" account for 40% of the profit and a high alocohol-food ratio.

Consequently, the decor should emphasize that issue, not "avoid tropics-theme excesses that might take the concept into the realm of kitsch."