Tecnorati Follow-Up

I joined the Technorati Web site by signing up for a username and a new password. The two words that I am going to have as my favorites are “sushi” and “sushi ratings.” I chose these two words because I think that they will be broad enough to find multiple articles a day. I also added one blog to my favorites, which will allow me to find out if any new blogs have been posted since I last checked. The blog is about good/bad sushi restaurants.

Technorati Search

Technorati Search

I typed in the word “sushi” and the words “sushi restaurant” to the search box. With the word “sushi” relatively nothing came up, just a few blogs that happened to have the word sushi in it for absolutely no apparent reason. When I typed in “sushi restaurant” a few blogs came up that had some relevance. The blogs that came up were for a particular restaurant and the others were comparing the best and worst sushi. These were somewhat relevant to my topic. What is different about my topic is that it is fast-food sushi, and I did not find that at all in the blog search.

Rolls 'n' Bowls Still With out a Web Site

Dragonfly Rolls 'n' Bowls still does not have its Web site up yet. The other restaurant, Dragonfly Sushi & Sake Company has its Web site up, so I am confused on why Rolls ‘n’ Bowls has not stepped up its game.

I think that a company not having its Web site up in today’s day and age is inexcusable. Dragonfly Rolls 'n' Bowl’s main audience is young college students who are especially Internet savvy. Not having a Web site could hinder some of its business from potential customers. Also, not having a Web site may deter people away from coming who might have been looking for a map/location of the restaurant. Potential customers may also be curious of what exactly Rolls ‘n’ Bowls serves. With out a Web site, the only way to find out is to go in and look for yourself, a time luxury many do not have.

The problem may lie in the simple initiative to get it going by management. Dragonfly Sushi & Sake Company has its Web site and it is obviously professionally done. I think the lack of Web site for Rolls ‘n’ Bowls may be costing the restaurant potential business.

Sushi Loses to Burgers and Beer on Gamedays

The University of Florida will be playing for its third national title tonight, and I’m guessing that sushi isn’t on everyone’s tailgating menu.

Dragonfly Rolls 'n' Bowls will probably get hit pretty hard tonight with a decrease in sales. I personally go to Rolls ‘n’ Bowls a lot, especially Mondays after a long day of classes. The restaurant is always packed. Tonight will be much more filled with burgers, hotdogs and beer, not so much raw fish and soy sauce.

I think that there is nothing that Dragonfly Rolls 'n' Bowls can do about national championship days and normal game days alike. I would be curious to know what the sales are on UF game days. I would guess that on a normal Saturday night, business is pretty good. The numerous football days in the fall at UF, must put a pretty big deficit on the sales. And I’m sure that tonight’s basketball game is no exception.

Rolls 'n' Bowls Introduces New Coupon

Rolls ‘n’ Bowls has introduced a new coupon good for 20 percent off of your purchase between 3-5 pm.

The new coupon was introduced to encourage more business at the restaurant between lunch and dinner hours. I do not think that this coupon will significantly increase sales. Sushi is a meal, not so much a snack, and customers are going to Rolls ‘n’ Bowls for a full meal. Full meals are not eaten between the hours of 3-5 pm.

I think that there are better alternatives to increase sales during these hours. One alternative could be to offer a free soup/salad with the purchase of the meal. This might be more enticing than just 20 percent off of a meal. I think Rolls ‘n’ Bowls needs to focus more on making their busy hours more efficient to increase sales during peak times.

Rolls 'n' Bowls Plans a New Location

Dragonfly Rolls 'n' Bowls is going to expand its restaurant to Haile Plantation in Gainesville, Fla. It is unknown when exactly this is going to happen, but the owners are hopeful that it will happen within the next year.

Even though the location on 34th Street is home to mostly college-age customers, the owners are hopeful that the new location will draw new, family customers. This new hope comes along with changing the name of Dragonfly Rolls 'n' Bowls to simply Rolls ‘n’ Bowls to target the new market.

The Dragonfly Rolls 'n' Bowls location on 34th is usually very busy around dinnertime and is filled with young people. The new location is hoping that families who are usually deterred away from going there, due to the hassle of the young crowds, will go to the new location in Haile Plantation.

I think this is a good idea. Even I, a sushi lover, can get frustrated with the long lines at Dragonfly Rolls 'n' Bowls. It’s not something that would ever make me not go there, but I can see how a family with limited time on their hands would not want to waste their time. I think the new location will be a success with the right marketing techniques and advertisements.

Nutritional Facts on the Web

In a recent post, I revealed that Dragonfly Rolls 'n' Bowls will be releasing its nutritional facts to the public in the near future. While that still has yet to happen, I was curious to find out what the facts are. I eat sushi multiple times a week, and I really have no idea what exactly I am ingesting (as far as nutritional facts go).

So I went to the Internet and found a couple of sites with facts. One site based out of Australia called Calorie King, www.calorieking.com.au, had many different Japanese dishes to choose from. There were other dishes that are typically served at a sushi restaurant too. Edamame, sake and other dishes were included in the nutritional information. I looked at a California Roll, a typical roll served at many sushi restaurants. Here are the nutritional facts:
Calories 40 ( Kilojoules 166 )

% Daily
Value*
Total Fat 0.6 g
Saturated Fat 0.1 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 70 mg
Total Carbohydrates 7.2 g
Dietary Fiber 0.4 g
Sugars 0.7 g
Protein 1.1 g

Next, I found a site, http://homepage3.nifty.com/maryy/eng/calorie.htm#fastfood, that compared a meal of sushi to the meal at McDonalds(www.mcdonalds.com). Both of these sites eluded to the fact that sushi, is in fact, a healthy meal. Here are those nutritional facts:
Fast Food
Calories (kcal)
McDonald's
(eff. 03-01-2004)
Hamburger 280
Egg MacMuffin® 300
Cheeseburger 330
Filet-O-Fish® 410

Sushi (Set for 1 serving) 450

Double Cheeseburger 490
Big Mac® 600
Double Big Mac® † 720
French Fries
Small 210
medium 450
large 540


Hopefully, Dragonfly Rolls 'n' Bowls will come out with its nutritional facts soon, so I can compare them to the numbers I found on these Web sites. Since the restaurant claims to be so healthy, I hope the numbers match up.

Dragonfly Rolls 'n' Bowls Changes its Name

After speaking with the general manager of Dragonfly Rolls 'n' Bowls, Yoshi, I have found out that the restaurant is going to rename itself to simply Rolls ‘n’ Bowls. The reason being, according to Yoshi, is that the parent company, Dragonfly Sushi and Sake Company, carries a stigma that Dragonfly Rolls 'n' Bowls does not want. A lot of people associate Dragonfly Sushi and Sake Company with an expensive, upscale and dressed up night out. With drinks, appetizers and a meal, a couple could easily spend $80 at Dragonfly Sushi and Sake Company in a night.

Dragonfly Rolls 'n' Bowls has already made new T-shirts for its employees to wear, adorning the new Rolls ‘n’ Bowls only title. Soon the menus, advertisements and even the sign on the outside of its building will read only Rolls ‘n’ Bowls. The projected date for the end of the transition is still undetermined.

The concern that I have with this new venture is the fact that having the name Dragonfly associated with Rolls ‘n’ Bowls also ensures good quality, which is one of its highest priorities. This is where the double standard comes in. The name will ensure customers of quality, but may scare customers off with the price and atmosphere of Dragonfly. Yoshi and his management team seem to think that the name change is worth the risk.

Rolls ‘n’ Bowls to Release Nutritional Facts Later this Month…

Rolls ‘n’ Bowls, which claims to be fresh, healthy food, will be releasing its nutritional facts in February. This is going to be very important to the restaurant’s success because of its previous claims of being so healthy.

I don’t think that the actual food itself will have any real problems or shockers when the nutritional facts come out (cucumbers, avocado, carrots, etc.). I do, however, think that some of the sauces and dressings may be a bit less healthy than customers may assume. According to www.sushifoods.com, Rolls ‘n’ Bowl’s “Super Fly Spicy Sauce,” commonly used at sushi restaurants, is made up of mostly mayonnaise. Mayonnaise is not typically thought of as being “healthy.” Other Rolls ‘n’ Bowls sauces include teriyaki, eel and sweet wasabi mayo.

Even if the nutritional facts come out revealing a downside to the ever-so-popular Rolls ‘n’ Bowls, I don’t think that it will hurt business. Rolls ‘n’ Bowls has a tendency to be addictive, and I think it has something to do with those sauces.

www.sushifood.com

Rolls 'n' Bowls

Hello, my name is Katrina and I am studying public relations at the University of Florida. I am starting a blog for my Public Relations Writing class. In this class, I will be creating a communication plan for a restaurant, Dragonfly Rolls ‘n’ Bowls, in Gainesville, Fla. In this plan, I am recommending that Dragonfly Rolls ‘n’ Bowls starts bottling its sauces and dressings. This blog will be an additional supplement to the communication plan.
I have a passion for good food, sushi in particular. This blog is dedicated to good food, fast. Dragonfly Rolls ‘n’ Bowls, located on Southwest 34th Street near Hooters, is a high-quality, fast-food sushi restaurant. The restaurant offers a Subway-like atmosphere. A customer can choose from a sushi roll or a bowl, which can be filled with hot rice, sushi rice, greens or noodles. From there, you just walk down the line picking out your elements (meats and seafood) and your extras (vegetables and other fillings). Then at the end of the line, you choose which sauce or dressing you want with your self-made creation.
Dragonfly Rolls ‘n’ Bowls fits any budget. A person can eat there for as cheap as $4 and would have a difficult time surpassing $15 on one meal. And, don’t let the prices fool you, this is good food. The fish and vegetables are as fresh and delicious as they would be in a high-quality, sit down sushi restaurant. Everything about Rolls ‘n’ Bowls is just faster and cheaper.