Beth's Burger Bar

• Beth's Burger Bar is a chain of restaurants around Florida known for its highly customizable build-a-burger menu, as well as its diverse range of beers and wines. Beth's Burger Bar aims to "satisfy the child inside each of us" by giving customers a feel of a big kid’s diner.
• Beth's Burger Bar has received awards such as Orlando Sentinel's "Best Burger in Orlando" for 4 years in a row.
• We chose Beth's Burger Bar as a competitor to Ford's Garage based on its similarities in location (Florida), cuisine (burgers and beer), price point ($$) and ratings (4.4 stars out of 5 and above).

BurgerFi

• BurgerFi is a chain of restaurants with locations around the U.S. including around Florida. They are known for serving "the highest quality of natural Angus beef sourced from the leading ranches in the country and always free of hormones, steroids, and antibiotics." They aim to "redefine the way the world eats burgers" by offering customers an eco-friendly environment.
• The 5th annual chain reaction report gave BurgerFi the "Best Burger Joint" award for their commitment to only serve responsibly raised beef. 
• We chose BurgerFi as a competitor to Ford's Garage based on its similarities in location (Florida), cuisine (burgers and beer), price point ($$) and ratings (4.4 stars out of 5 and above).

M.E.A.T. Eatery and Taproom

• M.E.A.T. Eatery and Taproom is a chain of burger joints with 2 locations in Florida. It is known for smoking its meats onsite, making sausage in-house and creating its own condiments from scratch; and also serves a variety of craft beers, micro-brewed sodas and organic wines. 
• M.E.A.T. Eatery and Taproom has received several awards including Big Seven Travel's "Top 25 burgers in Florida", Trips To Discover's "11 Best Burger Restaurants in Florida", and The Daily Meal's "Top 101 burgers in America" for 5 consecutive years, among others.
• We chose M.E.A.T. Eatery and Taproom as a competitor to Ford's Garage based on its similarities in location (Florida), cuisine (burgers and beer), price point ($$) and ratings (4.4 stars out of 5 and above).

Research Strategy

Beth's Burger Bar

• Beth's Burger Bar serves customizable burgers as well as domestic and imported beers and several wines. They also offer chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, wings, salads and a kids' menu.
• The differentiating factor for Beth's Burger Bar is that it "boasts a highly-customizable, build-a-burger menu." It also offers bingo nights, board games, beer pong and daily specials to "satisfy the kid inside" of every customer.
• Beth's Burger Bar carries out marketing through different social media platforms. They have Instagram, Twitter and Facebook accounts where they post upcoming promotions and events, as well as the different meals that they offer. They also sell merchandise with their logo on it, also known as "Beth's Swag."
• Beth's Burger Bar positions itself as serving the "Best Burger in Orlando", as "Proof once again that one girl can beat five guys" and as "A big kid's diner." 

BurgerFi

• BurgerFi offers beef, chicken and veggie burgers as well as craft beers and wine, hot dogs, fries, onion rings, desserts, and kids' meals.
• BurgerFi's differentiating factor is that they are natural, from their food to their restaurant design. Their beef and chicken come from farms where they are humanely treated and they don't contain any hormones or antibiotics; their fries and onion rings are hand-cut; and their sauce is made using various fresh ingredients. In addition, the fans that they use in their restaurants are environmentally conscious. 
• BurgerFi's marketing occurs on its various social media platforms. It has 52,100 followers on Instagram, 12,000 followers on Twitter and 148,000 followers on Facebook. On these pages, they post customer pictures as well as the different meals offered.
• In 2018, BurgerFi had a print and film campaign, "BURGERS for Every 1", where it highlighted those with weirdly exceptional achievements such as “The Top 1% of Minivan-Driving Metal Moms,” “The Top 1% of Aspiring Amateur Ventriloquists” and “The Top 1% of Danger Seeking Daredevils”, among others. The campaign stemmed from the fact that BurgerFi uses the top 1% of 100% natural Angus beef patties.
• BurgerFi has an estimated annual revenue of $47.5 million.  
• The company positions itself as a brand that is "RedeFining the Way the World Eats Burgers" due to their eco-friendly practices. They also say that "Our Beef is Beef", referring to their all-natural beef.

M.E.A.T. Eatery and Taproom

• M.E.A.T. Eatery and Taproom serves burgers, craft beers, micro-brewed sodas, organic wines, and other items including salads, hot dogs, sandwiches, onion rings and fries.
• M.E.A.T. Eatery and Taproom's differentiating factor is that it smokes its meats onsite, makes its sausage in-house and creates its own condiments from scratch. It has also accumulated more than 3 dozen accolades and awards over the past 5 years.
• The company carries out its marketing through different social media platforms. They post upcoming promotions and events as well as the different meals that they offer on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. In addition, they sell merchandise with their logo on it, including t-shirts, key chains and ketchup.
• M.E.A.T. Eatery and Taproom has an estimated annual revenue of $23.7 million.  
• The company positions itself as "One of the most awarded restaurants in Florida."

Research Strategy

Strengths

• Ford's Garage is located in prime locations, where there are many businesses.
• The Fort Myers restaurant is in the vicinity Henry Ford's residence, with an outdoor seating and valet parking.
•  Cape Coral outlet is located close to the Cape Coral Parkway Bridge, making it easily accessible.

• Ford's Garage offer unique foods and drinks such as the gourmet-style burgers and craft beers.
• The burgers and beers appeal to all masses;"from college students to families, seniors, men, women, you name it! The concept just works for everyone because of everything we have."

• Ford's Garage offers local beers made locally and keeps the tabs open in every bar.
• Ford's Garage also names one burger after a member of the community with their signature "Burger of Fame."

• Ford's Garage uses the Evergreen software to market itself, and the digital drink boards are displayed in every store.
• The management also uses promotions, such as beer of the month specials, to appeal to the public.

• The architecture at Ford's Garage oozes of 1920s service station, making it a preferable location for taking pictures.
• The bricks are designed with an old style with dark colors.
• The bar top is made of rich wood and hand-hammered copper.

Weaknesses

• Although the employees are subjected to training prior to hiring, the high volume of guests makes their work tedious.
• During slow days, the employees' working hours are reduced, which is not as per their contracts.
• The salary for the employees is non-competitive thus lowering employees' morale.

Opportunities

• Ford's Garage outlet in Estero partners with Florida Everblades, which creates an opportunity for the business to grow.
• After striking a deal with Ford Motor in 2014, Ford's Garage has an opportunity to grow its business by association with the Motor Company.
• The Evergreen analytics help "forecast inventory and make new-carry decisions." This will help the burger and beer joint understand the customer needs and serve them better.
• The organization culture employed in Ford's Garage is effective in meeting their forecast of expanding operations to other regions in the next 5-10 years.

Threats

• Ford's garage faces competition from various burger and beer restaurants such as Square 1 Burgers & Bar.
• Competition for customers, especially at Fort Myers, is high as the restaurants offer similar services.