Nice Viral Restaurant Hit, Now Where’s the Money?

"People eat with their eyes before they eat with their tongue" goes the adage. This sentence used to refer to the fact that the visual stimulus of appetite was bigger than what the stomach actually wanted. But in the age of social media, this translates into visual-focused dishes and decor: delicacies such as the Rainbow bagel and the (now) stalwart Cronut and places such as Elan Café in London, with its pastel-themed flower-decked walls and Cha Cha Matcha in New York with its pink-and-green "Instagram wall" are a great way for users to capture heaps of likes. Content abounds on the "anatomy" of a viral restaurant, which, per a report on Fundera, now comprises unique dishes alongside "decorative floor tiles," "pretty plates," and "an exterior feature wall," and marketing agencies now actively specialize in creating marketing campaigns hellbent strong visuals for the optimal instagram presence. Is that really helpful for food businesses though? The short answer is a yes, but... "Al