Finally, the burger-goodness of Truckee, Calif. has been introduced to Reno. Burger Me is now located in the Northwest, in a facility that was once occupied by Tahoe Burger. Owners Mark Estee, The Spenella Family (Jim, Debra and son, Jordan), and Tom Farina proudly introduced their burger restaurant to Truckee, Calif during the summer of 2008. The all-natural, all-organic, and locally sourced burger joint was placed in an old garage-style building, which was formerly an organic supermarket. This community-minded restaurant will not compromise on ingredients. Receiving their produce from Habeger Produce, bread from Truckee Sourdough, and meats from Sierra Meat and Seafood, you can taste the freshness of their burgers and fries. It truly makes a difference.
Mark Estee was once the owner of Moody’s in Truckee, Calif and is now the owner of Campo Reno and Burger Me. Mark’s biggest influence with Burger Me is being the “food guru” and managing any major menu and product decisions. The Spenella Family consists of Debra, Jim and son Jordan Spenella. Debra is a real estate agent, Jim has been a general contractor for 35 years, and Jordan is the General Manager of Burger Me, Reno. Jordan was once a prep cook for Mark back in the day at Lone Eagle Grill. Tom Farina was the last partner to join the team and complete the puzzle. Tom is from Chicago, and was formerly the Food and Beverage Director at the South Lake Tahoe Hilton. Tom was excited to escape the corporate world and is now the General Manager of Burger Me, Truckee. This great team’s restaurant was featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, hosted by Guy Fieri in June of 2010.
On September 15, 2011, the doors of Burger Me, Reno opened. Burger Me prides itself on three things: the freshest food possible, being part of the community, and customer service. Burger Me is also assisted by The Abbi Agency for their marketing, public relations and social media. The Abbi Agency has been an integral part of Burger Me’s involvement with the community when it comes to reaching out through social media. For
example, Jim Spenella is assisting Lion and
the Lamb preschool in building a garden for the youngsters to enjoy- the build can be experienced via Facebook. Pictures of families enjoying a meal together, kids chomping on chicken tenders, and businessmen on their lunch breaks biting into a bison burger is all shared through Facebook and Twitter.
The assistance of The Abbi Agency has allowed Mark, The Spenella’s, and Tom to focus on what they are really good at-running one of the best burger joints in town. Check out their Facebook page for insane pictures of their awesome burgers, and follow them on Twitter to get updated on the latest and greatest of the burger-goodness!
Once upon a time there was this restaurant called Moody’s in Truckee, CA. It was run and operated by a gentleman named Mark Estee for 10 years. Mark was more concerned with cooking great food and staying in the kitchen then he was with his reputation out in the public. He admitted that he was younger, maybe naïve, not nearly as polished of a business owner as he is now.
“I always understood the value of public relations and marketing. But I just figured if these people want to come in, they’ll come in. I will cook great food, provide a great atmosphere and people will come in. If they don’t that’s their problem. I did not see a value in truly connecting and interacting with the public especially by using Facebook or any other kind of social media for my business.”
Mark also admitted that social media intimidated him. He didn’t know anything about it, he didn’t want to put the time in, and he feared the negative feedback he would possibly see from opening the social media flood-gates. He was very hesitant and continued to avoid the opportunity.
Fast-forward 10 years, on November 17th 2011 Mark Estee opens Campo, Reno. When mark was sitting in his bedroom creating his mission statement and business plan, he committed himself to getting involved with social media marketing. His first step was hiring Abbi Whitaker with The Abbi Agency to help provide him with the tools he would need to begin his social media venture. Mark committed to Abbi and this is where the magic began.
“When I first started I told myself that I CAN NOT be scared, and I knew I just had to jump in. Social media marketing is a whole new playing field. It is extremely time consuming; you have got to stay on it. It takes time to be yourself and make sure you get in touch with everyone who is taking time out to support your business. I am myself. I am consistent. I can’t reply instantly to every message, I try! But I am human and I am running a business- this is me.”
One of Mark’s fears of social media soon became a reality- a couple complaints on these social media platforms caught his attention.
“I am providing great food, I have built this beautiful restaurant, I had just donated $10k to a charity- but we had one small error on our webpage and it came back to me ten-fold. I remember thinking to myself ‘who even looks at that?’ “
I asked Mark what his strategy is with handling these public complaints:
“I tell my crew that if we don’t make mistakes- we aren’t trying. I am expecting mistakes, and I know I have to deal with the consequences after-even if it is as small as our hours of operation on our website. The nice thing about social media is that I am able to immediately contact these customers directly. I investigate the situation to see what happened on our end and then I will call, email, engage, apologize, listen, and move forward- I will fix it. I won’t discuss the matter on the Web, I will take care of it privately.”
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Yelp, Open Table, and his personal blog on Campo’s site (which is my personal favorite, check it out) have proved to this restaurant owner that social media marketing DOES have a huge impact on his business. His customers are able to connect directly with Mark as well as help him make changes to be more appealing to his clients, and that is so important to him.
“People can see that I am funny, I am approachable, I am serious about my restaurant, and they can get a feel for our presence. Social media affects my business daily.”
Once upon a time this restaurant owner didn’t believe in the use of social media to help his business grow. Fast forward 10 years (with some help from The Abbi Agency), customers can now enjoy “Minute Mondays” with Mark, where he discusses what Campo will feature this week. Also “Back of the House Fridays” where Mark will introduce a new member of the Campo team to his friends. Where can you view these weekly features you ask? Facebook, where else?
Finally, the burger-goodness of Truckee, Calif. has been introduced to Reno. Burger Me is now located in the Northwest, in a facility that was once occupied by Tahoe Burger. Owners Mark Estee, The Spenella Family (Jim, Debra and son, Jordan), and Tom Farina proudly introduced their burger restaurant to Truckee, Calif during the summer of 2008. The all-natural, all-organic, and locally sourced burger joint was placed in an old garage-style building, which was formerly an organic supermarket. This community-minded restaurant will not compromise on ingredients. Receiving their produce from Habeger Produce, bread from Truckee Sourdough, and meats from Sierra Meat and Seafood, you can taste the freshness of their burgers and fries. It truly makes a difference.
Campo Reno and Burger Me. Mark’s biggest influence with Burger Me is being the “food guru” and managing any major menu and product decisions. The Spenella Family consists of Debra, Jim and son Jordan Spenella. Debra is a real estate agent, Jim has been a general contractor for 35 years, and Jordan is the General Manager of Burger Me, Reno. Jordan was once a prep cook for Mark back in the day at Lone Eagle Grill. Tom Farina was the last partner to join the team and complete the puzzle. Tom is from Chicago, and was formerly the Food and Beverage Director at the South Lake Tahoe Hilton. Tom was excited to escape the corporate world and is now the General Manager of Burger Me, Truckee. This great team’s restaurant was featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, hosted by Guy Fieri in June of 2010.
On September 15, 2011, the doors of Burger Me, Reno opened. Burger Me prides itself on three things: the freshest food possible, being part of the community, and customer service. Burger Me is also assisted by The Abbi Agency for their marketing, public relations and social media. The Abbi Agency has been an integral part of Burger Me’s involvement with the community when it comes to reaching out through social media. For
