In this digital first, web browsing world, attractive images are significant to a product’s success. That’s certainly true for restaurant items. Dan Burkard and Michelle Carilli created Menu, a platform that brings high-quality photos of menu items straight to customers through their digital devices.

Dan Burkard, co-founder of the digital platform Menu, shows off a brunch item from a Nashville restaurant on his blog. Provided

Nov. 18, 2021 | by Kevin Damask — Editor, Digital Signage Today

In this digital first, web browsing world, attractive, eye grabbing images can be significant to a product's success.

That's certainly true for restaurant menu items.

However, restaurants, especially small, mom-and-pop establishments, often lack the time, staff and resources to effectively promote their food items online. Sure, customers might snap a photo of a delicious dessert, post it to their Instagram accounts and share glowing praise for a restaurant, but how good are the photos? Unless the customer is a professional photographer that grasps angles, lighting and posturing, online photos sometimes come off as dark, grainy and don't present the best image. Digital menu boards have become prevalent at many restaurants, but most establishments are still trying to grasp the most effective way to feature items on large displays.

Dan Burkard and Michelle Carilli, Nashville residents and self-proclaimed food connoisseurs, came up with a solution. The couple created Menu, a platform that brings high-quality photos of menu items straight to customers through digital devices.

After spending five years working in sales for a financial data company, Burkard was burnt out and craved a fresh start. One of the positives, however, of traveling as a salesperson was getting to dine at some of the finest establishments in the U.S. In May, 2019 Burkard and Carilli moved from the Northeast to Nashville. They started a business, Wicked Tasty, that began as an Instagram page featuring tasty food and drink from their favorite Music City restaurants. They also started a Wicked Tasty podcast in the fall of 2019, published a blog and watched their list of followers grow to nearly 13,000.

"Back in the fall of 2019 we were going to test a bunch of social media strategies with the thought that we were going to launch a social media agency specifically for restaurants," Burkard said in a phone interview with Digital Signage Today.

The couple, engaged to be married, were excited to start a service offering photography, videography, social media strategy and marketing services specifically for restaurants. They were set to launch the business in early 2020.

Then the coronavirus swept through the country.

"Plans kind of went out the window," Burkard said. "We decided to start something new."

Noticing more restaurants were shifting to digital menus, Burkard and Carilli began offering professional photography services to beef up restaurants' digital menus. The couple's services, through the Menu platform, eliminates the desire for restaurants to upload a PDF version of their menus that often contain small, hard-to-read listings.

"We decided, let's take photography and incorporate it into a digital menu that makes it more aesthetically pleasing, easy for guests to use and also help restaurants really highlight what makes their food unique and sell more food to every guest who walks through the door," Burkard said.

The couple believed the restaurant industry would bounce back from difficult conditions during months of COVID-19 shutdowns. As restrictions lifted and customers flocked back to their favorite spots, restaurants gave the Menu platform a try to showcase their best items and boost sales.

"We are very much about big picture, little bit of text," Burkard said. "We've built it to almost look like an Instagram feed so as you're scrolling through a menu those pictures are front and center and it really highlights what makes that food unique."

After beta testing the platform in 2020, Menu was fully-launched in June. In less than six months, Burkard and Carilli have sold packages to several restaurants in Nashville, including Peg Leg Porker, AVO, Daddy's Dogs, The Mac Shack and Stock and Barrel.

Sarah Williams, who owns a marketing services company, coordinates menus for Peg Leg Porker. The eatery began using Menu as a beta tester last year and Williams immediately noticed the potential, especially in the highly-competitive Nashville market.

"My thought is it's like when you're in a restaurant and food goes by and it looks really good, that's the equivalent to Menu," Williams said in a phone interview. "I thought the idea, initially, was fantastic and so far, we've had a really good response to it."

Cost for businesses to purchase the platform run from $99 to $349, depending on the package and features.

"One of the best features, besides the photos, is that each menu is put together with a branded look," Williams said. "It's a really inclusive experience. I think it makes the users feel like it's part of a restaurant program as opposed to a secondary platform."

Drink sales could also benefit from the platform. Burkard said alcohol is usually a restaurant's largest expense. Promoting their tastiest cocktails helps those businesses sell more drinks, decreasing expenses. Menu also cuts down on food waste. Since customers can see the item before ordering, they're less likely to send it back when it arrives.

"When you show them the pictures before they order, the guest satisfaction is going to be higher, they're going to enjoy their experience more, enjoy what they ordered more," Burkard said. "It's a win-win for everyone involved."

Going forward, Burkard and Carilli want to distribute Menu to restaurants across the U.S. They're focusing on growing the platform in Nashville, but can see restaurants in other regions scooping up the platform.

"I think we could start regionally with other cities in Tennessee and within the Southeast and then go nationally," Burkard said. "That is our ultimate end goal."

Kevin Damask is the editor of Digital Signage Today. He has more than 15 years of journalism experience, having covered local news for a variety of print and online publications.

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