Chronogram Advertiser Spotlight: Mary Anne and Richard Erickson, co-owners of “Blue Mountain Bistro Catering Company” and “Bistro-to-Go”.
Posted by Jason Stern on Fri, Jun 10, 2011 @ 12:12 PM
What is the history of “Blue Mountain Bistro” and “Bistro-To-Go”?
My husband and I were living in New York City. This was pre-Giuliani, so the crime was getting really bad. A lot of our friends had left. We used to come up on the weekends and try to figure how to live here full-time. Richard became a chef for a restaurant but we were tired of working for other people so in 1993 we opened Blue Mountain Bistro. We purchased a building, moved the restaurant, renovated the space and turned it into a catering company -- which was great for a couple of years but it’s hard to make a go of a restaurant during the winters. We were trying to come up with an idea for a business that people wanted, that was food-related and profitable. That’s when we thought about doing Bistro-to-Go.
How did you know Bistro-to-Go would work?
Route 28 is a very active, busy road with people going out to Bel Air and Margaretville, a lot of people come up from the city and go out that way. We saw the need for a good take out place. We found a location -- an alternative video store and a flower shop -- and we knocked the wall out between the two stores and created Bistro-to-Go. That was November of 2007 and it’s done great business. We’re really, really thrilled with it. People appreciate us and we know we make a difference in the community. We feed a lot of people.
What makes Bistro to Go unique?
Well, it’s not your average deli or fast food take-out place. We have four star restaurant chefs preparing the food. Really. We’re making the same delicious food people are used to having in our restaurant -- to pick up and eat at home.
What’s your vision for the business three years from now?
We’ve been able to put together this amazing staff of people who are all highly trained who match our vision of how to treat people and how to make great food. So, one of our goals -- just as owners of the business -- is to be able to trust our staff to run it so that we can step out of the kitchen once in a while and have a vacation.
What kind of local advertising do you do?
We felt that number one, being right on Route 28 with this gigantic sign was a lot of advertising in itself. We know that word of mouth is really important. We do some radio advertising with WKZE and Tavernier ANC, we think that’s a pretty amazing audience to reach. We have a Facebook fan page, we have a blog. And of course we’ve been in Chronogram since the very beginning.
Why advertise in Chronogram and not another local magazine?
Chronogram is the most successful. It was one of the first free magazines that really reached a large area. They have comprehensive listings and I’m really impressed with the level of articles they put out. But the main thing is: people love it. Here’s an example: They dropped off a stack of magazines at our store the other day and before I could grab one for myself, they were all gone. I mean people snap them up. As fast as they can bring them to us, they’re gone. So, obviously it’s a great place for us to advertise. It’s distributed all over the place.
How do you imagine local advertising helping you with your three year vision?
I went to a design school in LA and one of the main things you learn in advertising class is “name recognition” or “brand recognition” whatever you want to call it. People flip through the magazine, they see our logo, they see the name and they just file it away in their brains until sometime later when they’re driving by our store they go, “Oh yes! That’s the place! I saw their ad in Chronogram!”. Then the next time they drive by and they’re hungry, they’re going to stop because they’ve made the connection.