One of the things I have grown to really love about being in Louisville has been the foodie scene.  So many great restaurants and places to go to get some amazing food ranging from the traditional Kentucky cuisine (ex. hot brown sandwiches, etc) to fusion (mexican and japanese – yes, there is a place in Louisville that does this), and good comfort food.  It’s been fun to take  my friends and family out to these locations so they can experience this as well.

One place I got to go to a few months ago with Lynn’s Paradise Cafe.  This was quite the experience if I say so myself – great food and atmosphere.  The pancakes I had were very good – and huge if I may say so myself.  However, Louisville has lost a local iconic place just a few days ago when the owner, Lynn Winter, abruptly stated that they will close their doors after 22 years in Louisville. Many local fans and residents were shocked by the news of the sudden closing and considered Lynn’s a must go to place in Louisville.

Owner Lynn Winter made the following statement regarding the closing:

“Thank you to all of our loyal customers and faithful employees for making it possible to a run a 22 year business. It’s been a great run and we’ve had a ton of fun. The time has come to move on to new creative ventures.”

The reason why they called it quits so quickly surrounded an issue related to a new policy for servers at the restaurant to carry at least $100 to tip supporting staff after each shift.  This of course caused some concern among the employees, and one employee was fired for not following procedure.  Professor Ralph Merkel and his team of student reporters have been covering this story in their online journalism class, and you can read more about what they found out about this study on their blog Cards Eye View.

From a PR standpoint, there are a couple of things we can learn from this situation and case study.  Lynn’s faced a crisis in this situation and responded by closing the shop suddenly due to the increased pressure from various groups in the community both online and offline. Here are a few things I think are good to point out:

  • Power of stories.  One of the things that was mentioned in a majority of the news articles was the stories from current and former employees of Lynn’s.  Many voiced their concerns and went to others to share this information that helped generate the discussion and put pressure on Lynn’s to respond.
  • Online media generates coverage in traditional media.  Bloggers and others were the first ones to cover this story here in Louisville, and generated a lot of discussion online about this issue.  As a result, many local news stations and newspapers jumped on board to cover the story as well.
  • Employees are indeed brand ambassadors for the brand.  This case really does surround the issue we talk many times in PR about – you have to make sure you treat your employees proactively and are transparent with them as well.  It appears this may have not been the case at Lynn’s, which probably escalated the situation to where it is now.
  • Understanding new online media environment.  Employees and others were going online to discuss and share their insights related to Lynn’s – but where was the restaurant in this conversation?  One recommendation would be for them to make sure they monitor and are engaged with what people are saying and make sure to have a presence online to address questions or concerns about this situation.

In summary, I am sad to see a place like Lynn’s to stop operating – it was indeed a fun place to go and spend quality time with.  The food was amazing and I had a great time the last time I went. What this situation shows that even though you may have a strong reputation and presence in a community, it only takes one incident to change people’s perspective about the brand.  From what I have seen online – people are sad about the closing, but they understand why they had to close due to the pressure from the community and others regarding this issue.

Hope you all are having a great day.

Best Wishes,

Karen