All of you know how much I adore social media. The connections, the conversations, the possibilities. And when moments like this happen, it is even sweeter:
This story was originally shared on Catherine Favazza.com.
The St. Louis business community now knows all about my family’s hugely successful catering order that coincided with the All-Star Game. Yes, it’s true that my pride in my father’s accomplishments spurred this a bit, but without social media–and Twitter, specifically–his story would never have been told.
When I checked my RSS reader Monday morning, I saw a BusinessWeek article about the economic boost the All-Star Game is bringing to St. Louis. It caught my eye because I’m from St. Louis and because I knew about the event’s boost to my own family’s business. I tweeted:
St. Louis bringing in big bucks with All-Star Game: http://bit.ly/R3O53. (Ex: My dad has the largest catering order of his 30+ yr career.)That message was then re-tweeted by the mayor of St. Louis (follow him: @MayorSlay), without the link to the original story that caught my eye. Soon, a reporter from the St. Louis Business Journal had contacted my family to discuss the details.
This is the new way news happens now. Because of my Tweet, the St. Louis Business Journal reported later that afternoon about my family’s business, Favazza’s Restaurant, received a major subcontract deal for the All-Star Game:
Favazza’s restaurant and catering was called on to provide three days of box lunches as a subcontractor for Sportservice at Busch Stadium and the Edward Jones Dome to meet demand for All-Star Game preparations.
Delaware North’s Sportservice needed a local caterer to help fill food service needs at Busch Stadium for the press and several groups through the St. Louis Cardinals, said John Favazza, part of the restaurant’s family ownership.
Then a few days ago, Sportservice at the Dome asked for help serving 650 police, firefighters and volunteers on duty for the event, Favazza said.
In the end, my parents, brothers, other family members and staff prepared food for 6,700 people, in one of the largest catering orders of my father’s 30+ year career, valued between $45,000 and $50,000.
During the Home Run Derby on Monday night, I tweeted a link to the Business Journal article and Bernie Miklasz, top sportswriter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and a frequent customer of Favazza’s, replied: “@KatieFavazza That means I just had one of your roast beef sandwiches… it was good. thank you!”
I saved a Twitter account for my dad months ago and have been talking to him about using it for the restaurant; now, I have a feeling he might be convinced. To all my St. Louis readers and fans of Italian food, please follow @Favazzas in anticipation of forthcoming Tweets.
Have you had an experience with social media that changed your business? Or someone in social media that heavily influenced you? Share your story!
Related posts:
- Social media and the news
- A piece of art, discovered by social media
- How to be a better social media-er
Kirsten
Thank you for sharing this story, Kristen. It is inspiring to hear how quickly we can connect, and grow, via new mediums.
Carolynn Santaniello