Another week, another Guinness Record. Olive Garden tries to fix a bad idea. An upstate New York restaurant gets certified. And, really, wasn’t it just a matter of time before Jon Bon Jovi found his way into The Week in Ideas?
Idea #1: Guinness on tap. Mallie's Sports Grill & Bar in Southgate, Michigan, attempted last week to break its own Guinness World Record with the aptly named 338 pound Ridiculous Burger. It stole the record from a Thailand restaurant in 2008 with a 134-pound beast. Since, it has clocked in with burgers of 164, 186 and 319 pounds.
Idea #2: You give profits a bad name. New Jersey’s second favorite rocker Jon Bon Jovi opened a pay-what-you-want restaurant last week. Soul Kitchen asks patrons to leave an envelope on their table with whatever they want to pay. All proceeds go to charity. And if you can’t pay anything, you can volunteer to work at the place if you want.
Idea #3: Fixing a bad idea. That Alabama Olive Garden that had the brilliant idea of telling the local Kiwanis Club it couldn’t display an American flag? It’s erected one on its front lawn to try to staunch the bad blood.
Idea #4: Good for animals, good for business. The country’s first Animal Welfare Approved restaurant was certified in upstate New York last week. Grazin’, a ’50s-style diner, gets all its meat from humanely raised and pasture-fed livestock on family farms. Nearly all comes from within 11 miles of the restaurant. While many restaurants would no doubt meet the criteria—humanely raised, grass fed, family owned—Grazin’ was the first to have the idea to apply.
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