January 11, 2006   (Look for the subscriber discount!)

Hello again, folks, this is Jim (the Cook) with your latest Rooster News.

Happy New Year from Running Rooster

Happy New Year to all of our customers, friends, and family.  We hope you had a great holiday season and that 2006 is good to you all.  Brenda and I extend our fondest thanks to all of you who've helped Running Rooster grow so tremendously.

Like many of you, we used the end of the year to reflect on a few things about Running Rooster and we decided to make a few New Year's Resolutions:

1. Improve the subscriber reward with a better discount (see below);

2. Get more customer feedback on our food and service - meantime, please call us or use our online customer feedback form to make suggestions;

3. To expand our business to include a new Running Rooster store in a new town, quite likely Morgan Hill.

4. To re-invigorate our customer referral program.

The New Improved Subscriber Discount

I'm sure you all remember that we typically have a trivia question or a silly phrase that we offer in most editions of the newsletter.  Typically, this will give you a free dessert or loaf of bread.  We've decided to reward our newsletter subscribers in a more substantial way -- 10% off of every order.  We do this because we want to thank you for joining our list and supporting Running Rooster.

It will work like this.  Every week you will receive a short Rooster News Flash (longer Newsletters like this one will be sent only monthly).  Each communication will include a discount phrase that is only good for that week.  Use this discount phrase every time you order for an instant 10% off your entire order.  Doesn't matter if it is dinner, lunch, or just a cup of our fresh Peet's™ Coffee.  The only exclusions are special orders and catering orders.  If you come in three times in a week, it doesn't matter.  The discount is good on every order.

This week's discount phrase is "Go Rooster!"

The only restriction is that the subscriber discount can not be combined with the frequent customer card or other discounts.  In other words, when you use the subscriber discount, we won't also punch your card, since both are equal to a 10% discount and we can't afford to give 20% off every dinner order.  But we hope you'll like this discount better because it is immediate and it applies to everything, not just dinner entrees.  We'll keep the frequent customer cards available as an incentive for those who aren't subscribers.

Have You Tried Lunch At Running Rooster?

We've been offering lunch at Running Rooster since after Thanksgiving word is spreading about our meaty sandwiches and scratch-made soups.  Our menu is simple - classic sandwiches, great salads, and delicious soups - but we focus on making it really good.  We bake our rolls fresh daily, roast our own meats, and cook our own soups (the clam chowder and split pea have gotten rave reviews).

Our sandwiches include the ever-popular warm BBQ Pulled Pork ($3.99) along with Roast Sirloin Beef, Roasted Turkey, and Carved Ham ($5.99 each).  We have a signature version of each that I encourage you to try.  For salads, we have our very popular Chicken Apple Walnut salad, along with the Chicken Caesar and Brown Derby Cobb.

And now, we are also offering fresh brewed Peet's coffee all day in the store.  For those of you familiar with Peet's from the Bay Area, you know it is an excellent local coffee roasting company that emphasizes freshness and bean quality.

Our Peet's coffee beans are fresh roasted especially for us and shipped to us for immediate use within days.  We carefully grind and brew according to the Peet's Coffee guidelines to ensure you get the best cup possible.

Currently, we are pouring Major Dickason's, French Roast, Blend 101 (a medium roast), and Decaf House Blend.  So if you want a good cup of coffee at lunch or in the afternoon, come on in to Running Rooster.  You can get it to go or sit down, read the paper, and enjoy a bottomless cup.

Expanding The Rooster To New Territory - Investors Sought

We've been talking about this for some time, but we feel that we are finally ready to be serious about expanding Running Rooster to a second location.  So many of you have told us what a great concept you think Running Rooster is, and how good our food is.  Certainly our sales growth supports that thinking.  2005 was a very good year for us.  We finished 2005 with business 400% improved over the end of 2004.  There are several of you that drive regularly from Morgan Hill to pick up Running Rooster dinners.  We repeatedly get the question:  "When will you be expanding to Morgan Hill or Gilroy?"

Truth be told, we have planned from day 1 for Running Rooster to be more than just a small Hollister business.  We envision 6 or 7 Running Rooster stores in the surrounding towns of Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Los Banos, Salinas, Monterey, and southern San Jose by the end of 2009.  Beyond that, Running Rooster can expand to other regions, wherever there are busy people who still value good food and family companionship.  In fact, our hope is to bring the Running Rooster mission of "Bringing Dinner Back Home" to much of Northern California over the next 10 years.

Our vision is for a Running Rooster that is an important and vibrant brand with a strong and successful company behind it.  And it all starts right here in our home town - Hollister.  My fondest wish is that the investors in our (temporarily) small Hollister company be Hollister residents like we are.  Local people building a local success story.  Currently, I have begun talking to potential investors who want to be a part of our success and growth, people who want to help us get there.  If you feel I should be talking with you and I haven't yet, please give me a call at 831-902-7400.  Thanks.

Drawing Winners

Lastly, the winners of the free dinner drawing for November doorhangers and mailers were George Norris and Barbara Lee.  Congratulations!

Here's our menu for this week.  If you have any questions or wish to reserve something, please call the store at 831-634-0135.  To see a description of any of these items, go to our online menu.  By the way, I would like to hear from anyone who tried the Roast Pork Loin.  Let me know what you thought of it.

SUN:  8	MON:  9	TUE:  10	WED:  11	THU:  12	FRI:  13	SAT:  14
	Wood Roasted Garlic Rosemary Chicken
Mom's-N-Kids	Memphis BBQ Back Ribs
Fundraising	Old Fashioned Lasagna
Week	Standup Chili Con Carne			North Beach Eggplant Parmesan
		Chicken Pot Pie			Texas BBQ Brisket
			Poached Salmon with Dill Sauce

Note:  All menu items may be subject to substitution or selling out, depending upon our suppliers, our customers' appetites, and the whims of Jim (The Cook).

Papa Joe's Fresh Fish Back Today

Papa Joe is back from his vacation starting today.  We'll see if he has any pictures to show us.  He'll certainly have his usual selection of wonderfully fresh fish.  If you need to reach  him, his number is 905-1407.

Mailing List Note:
You received this email because you either added yourself to the Running Rooster mail list on our Rooster News page, or you indicated that you wished to be added to the mail list via some other format, such as at the store. To be removed from the Running Rooster mail list, simply reply to this email with the subject line “REMOVE”. Please allow up to 3 days for removal, as I do it manually. After all, I cook chickens for a living.  This tech stuff is a pain.