04/16/2026
I’m Anne Shadle, Mayan Cafe’s general manager and co-owner. For last the 19 years since we opened the restaurant, I’ve been the main person in charge of marketing our brand. And yet, I know exactly how it feels to be deeply overwhelmed by this part of the business.
Marketing can feel like sand, slipping through your hands.
It can feel like a mountain, that you’re always climbing, yet you never reach the summit.
And why is this?! Why is marketing so overwhelming?
It’s never done.
You can get your staffing and finances to a point of stability, but with marketing, you always have to be doing it.
And, like a cat chasing its tail, it can feel like you’re never quite grasping the new trends and new platforms and new techniques.
And that level of overwhelm can actually prevent you from diving in, learning a few things and setting reasonable goals for yourself and your business.
But you know, just as well as I do, how crucial this work is to our business’s success.
When I have been able to break marketing down into more manageable steps, I’ve been able to increase our catering sales by 4x over a two year period of time. I’ve launched an expansion of our dining room, increasing sales by 35% in two years. And I’ve made social media posts that see nearly 100,000 views.
So, why don’t you give yourself a gift?
I am teaching a three-part marketing course designed to give you technical tools and strategies to feel empowered to market your business well. It’s called The Restaurant Marketing Intensive - and it’s crazy affordable, thanks to the Kentucky SBDC.
Here’s what you’ll get:
A complete game plan for how you present your business meaningfully.
Your very own personalized toolkit of the words, images, videos, and emotions that tell your restaurant’s story expertly.
Six key strategies for identifying and connecting with your target audience
A breakdown of the 8 top marketing platforms, including best practices for all of them. Plus secret tactics that work specifically on each one. (Most people mess this up!)
An entire module devoted to the art and science of creating restaurant specials, and how they can attract new customers.
The 3 metrics for building smart specials. No more guesswork. This will put you in charge of a ‘specials strategy’ that actually works.
The best part is that anyone doing marketing with or alongside you can join this class. We will meet on zoom every Wednesday from 10am - 11:30am EST, so you can dial in from the comfort of your home or office.
The class begins May 6, 2026 and ends May 20.
REGISTER HERE: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/2026-restaurant-trainings-4794471
Give yourself the gift of investing your time and energy to gain confidence in this area of the business. Marketing isn’t overwhelming when you know what you’re doing.
