One Eleven Grill opened last Thursday, but it had the social media community atwitter long before that.
The owners of the new restaurant in Red Deer’s Old Brew Plaza issued hundreds of tweets during the weeks leading up to the launch of their business — teasing followers with cryptic hints about the new eatery and its location.
Details were finally revealed via Twitter on Nov. 1 at 1:11 p.m.
“It worked out really well,” said Patrick Malkin, one of two managing partners at One Eleven Grill.
He estimates that 80 per cent of the restaurant’s customers its first few days were attracted through Twitter.
“Red Deer has got a solid group of Twitter followers, and people are quite active on there.”
Malkin and Mahziar Peyrow, One Eleven Grill’s other managing partner, are big believers in social media promotion.
But Malkin admits their heavy emphasis on Twitter was due in large part to a delay in their telephone service being installed.
“When that happened, we really ramped up our Twitter.”
Located at No. 108, 5301 43rd St. — the former premises of The Med Bar & Grill — One Eleven Grill is a casual dining restaurant that’s suitable for families.
“We also want to be comfortable for guys’ or girls’ night out,” said Malkin.
The menu includes the likes of burgers, pizza, and fish and chips. But it also ventures into more adventurous fare, such as tequila orange prawns, and green bean and feta penne.
Malkin is a Red Seal chef and Peyrow, who has owned several restaurants in the past, is working toward a chef’s designation as well.
Their new restaurant has 111 seats, including space for up to 60 in a semi-private area and an enclosed room that can accommodate 12 to 14 diners.
Current hours are 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week.
Malkin said the name evolved after the partners’ decided to include the number “One” and built on that.
“We came up with One Eleven, and we were like, ‘Hey, this is a number we can do something with.’”
One Eleven Grill’s Twitter address is @OneElevenGrill.
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com