The Client

Rainbow Chinese Restaurant

Updated the website copy for Rainbow Chinese restaurant, to optimize online-takeout ordering.

The Task

Wrote all copy on website 2020-2023

Since the website was to be rebuilt & relaunched on a new platform and content management system, I took it as an opportunity to convey the brand voice of the Rainbow family, keeping in touch with clients throughout a restaurant/pandemic shutdown.

Copywriting

Contribution:

Website landing pages, intro,
Signage
Receipts/Confirmation emails
POS copy
All customer communications, except social media
Staff training material
Menu item descriptions
Holiday & Special Event landing pages, microsites
Spanish language microsite

Production

Contribution:

Copy writing/editing menu items for the CRM
Copy writing/editing
Item management
Marketing emails
Social media posts

Product Concept/ Naming

I had the opportunity to bring new menu items to the table, working out ideas over the phone and over a raging hot stove. Here are some examples of products I conceived, the recipies, the names: Firecracker Wontons, Mock Crispy Tiger, Confetti Fried Rice, Ping-Pong Punch, Buddah Noodles.

FIRECRACKER WONTONS

Wontons like this are usually steamed or boiled, for a new spin, they are deep fried and cated with a sauce I call Firecracker Honey, a mixture of pan roasted chilli peppers and clover honey.

MOCK CRISPY TIGER

This dish was popular in its beef variation that was already on the menu, but shines as a vegan preparation. This inspired by a crispy appetizer my favorite Thai restaurant. By using the same cooking technique, a new dish with full-bodies texture and flavor was created.

PING-PONG PUNCH

For Lunar New Year 2023, I was asked to come up with a name for a special cocktail for the new year that was similar to Wonderous/ Wanderer's Punch. Knowing that Ping-pong is popular in China, I came up with Ping-Pong Punch.

Email Campaigns

Subject:

Still celebratin'

Body Copy:

Cheers! Thank you to all that joined us on our busiest day of the year! The Rainbow Holiday dine-in event was a good reminder of what's it's like to have a bustling dining room again. The Wong sisters flew in from out of town during peak snow storm season and pitched in to recreate a dining experience that welcomed back family-style dining, and introduced some elements of fine dining. It was mostly a full house, and a couple tables combined to make a one massive one, with three generations at the table. We did welcome two walk-in guests who had never been here before, and were okay with what the evening could offer in a newly conceived, prix-fixe dinner.

Lunar New Year is January 22nd! It's the Year of the Rabbit. What do we have in store? A jewel box offering of vegetarian-centric dishes that will help you have a new found appreciation of vegetables. Order alone, or as a supplement to your omnivore's diet. The menu will be offered for more than one day, keep watch on our website for details!

New Year, new coupon It's different, but better. It will be available on the first email sent out each month and expires the end of the month. You can now use it both weekdays and weekends, unlike before. Restrictions apply: Present the coupon code at the time of purchase online, or in-person. Good for one-time use, until expiration date. Not available for phone-in orders, custom catering, or any previous transactions.

Subject:

We are not the Rainbow we could be.

Body Copy:It's okay to leave your car.Rainbow restaurant sits on an old block: Nicollet Avenue, a street with a lot of history and vibrancy. We often hear our customers concerns about coming to pick up their food and the safety around it. Some of you are traveling across town to pick up your Rainbow take-out, and you may live in monotone neighborhood and aren't used to seeing such a variety of people walking, biking or standing on the street. This is normal, we have a high WalkScore. We consider the neighborhood as safe as any other, you don't need to be streetsmart, just be aware of your surroundings. We helped make the Eat Street that you know today, and do not plan on moving away. We are here for everyone arriving by bus, bike, scooter, car, and on foot.
The protests of 2020 had us boarding up our windows, and we haven't seen any action, or even threatening action we have since removed the boards. Being located a couple blocks away, just on the other side of Lake street proved to be a huge advantage to our restaurant. Minneapolis, like all urban areas, is a city defined by its neighborhoods and city blocks, it's not all "downtown", which is a common term amongst the suburban dwellers that have little geographic familiarity with the city. When people say they live or work downtown, it's a very small area of just a few blocks, limited to the area of the tallest buildings of large businesses. The main distinguishing features are the skyways. If you don't see skyways, you are not "downtown".
Rainbow restaurant is in the Whittier neighborhood, just south of Downtown. We share the neighborhood with some distinguished institutions: The Hennepin History Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The Children's Theater Company, and Minneapolis College of Art & Design.
Now that we have outlined our location, we wonder why we often get requests for charitable donations of our food from institutions located rather far away, like third and fourth-ring suburbs far away. While we are flattered that our food is recognized far and wide, everyday we look out our door and see the people of our neighborhood in need. Don't get us wrong, we want to be charitable, but we look to be there for our immediate neighbors first.
For Black History Month, We are featuring links to black perspectives, we hope you find them insightful and interesting. All of the writings below are excerpts, you can find the full text in the links provided.Limiting the rainbow: Racial covenants in Minneapolis.

Link to site: mappingprejudice.umn.edu

During the twentieth century, racially-restrictive deeds were a ubiquitous part of real estate transactions. Covenants were embedded in property deeds all over the country to keep people who were not white from buying or even occupying land; their popularity has been well documented in St. Louis; Seattle; Chicago; Hartford, Connecticut; Kansas City and Washington D.C.

In Minneapolis, the first racially-restrictive deed appeared in 1910, when Henry and Leonora Scott sold a property on 35th Avenue South to Nels Anderson. The deed conveyed in that transaction contained what would become a common restriction, stipulating that the "premises shall not at any time be conveyed, mortgaged or leased to any person or persons of Chinese, Japanese, Moorish, Turkish, Negro, Mongolian or African blood or descent."

When this first racially-restrictive deed was written, Minneapolis was not particularly segregated. But covenants changed the landscape of the city. As racially-restrictive deeds spread, African Americans were pushed into a few small areas of the city. And even as the number of black residents continued to climb, ever-larger swaths of the city became entirely white. This laid the groundwork for our contemporary patterns of residential segregation.

Subject:

Sunday is the last chance to order from the special edition menu!

Body Copy:

Cheers! Thank you to all that joined us on our busiest day of the year! The Rainbow Holiday dine-in event was a good reminder of what's it's like to have a bustling dining room again. The Wong sisters flew in from out of town during peak snow storm season and pitched in to recreate a dining experience that welcomed back family-style dining, and introduced some elements of fine dining. It was mostly a full house, and a couple tables combined to make a one massive one, with three generations at the table. We did welcome two walk-in guests who had never been here before, and were okay with what the evening could offer in a newly conceived, prix-fixe dinner.

Lunar New Year is January 22nd! It's the Year of the Rabbit. What do we have in store? A jewel box offering of vegetarian-centric dishes that will help you have a new found appreciation of vegetables. Order alone, or as a supplement to your omnivore's diet. The menu will be offered for more than one day, keep watch on our website for details!

New Year, new coupon It's different, but better. It will be available on the first email sent out each month and expires the end of the month. You can now use it both weekdays and weekends, unlike before. Restrictions apply: Present the coupon code at the time of purchase online, or in-person. Good for one-time use, until expiration date. Not available for phone-in orders, custom catering, or any previous transactions.