What could you do with a $180 sandwich?
February 20, 2019
By Jerry Bellune
We thought the epitome of extravagance was a $100 hamburger on the menu at a fancy schmanzy eatery in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square. Then we read Jason Gay’s account in the Wall Street Journal of a $180 steak sandwich in a tiny 6-seats-at-the-counter hole in the wall in New York.
This clearly is an indefensible purchase, Jason wrote. It is a dish strictly for vulgarians, a decadent symbol of 21st-century gluttony and the over-luxurification of everything. To buy it is to wallow in one’s privilege, one’s shameless indifference to the plight of humankind.
OK. In case you’re interested, the joint is called Don Wangyu, and you’ll find it by looking for a neon sign of a cow smoking a cigarette. The steak is from Osaka, Japan, and Don Wangyu’s is its only US customer.
It took Jason five minutes to eat it with fries, and we assume his boss paid for it.
Was it worth $180? That depends a lot on whose money you’re spending.
The important business lesson in this is NOT to price yourself out of business.
It is about creating buzz – word of mouth that gets people talking about you and your business – and attracting upscale customers who will spend bookoo bucks with you.
We discuss these kinds of ideas in our co-authored book “Maverick Entrepreneurs’ Million Dollar Ideas.”
For a personally autographed $20 copy, call Katie and Jewel at 359-7633.
Copyright 2019, The Bellune Co., Inc.
