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Paul Kahan’s One Off Hospitality launches loyalty program

Guests at the Chicago-based restaurant group can now earn points at any of its restaurants

Bret Thorn, Senior Food Editor

March 28, 2024

2 Min Read
RestaurantHospitality logo in a gray background | RestaurantHospitality

Chicago-based One Off Hospitality, the restaurant group founded by chef Paul Kahan and restaurateur Donnie Madia, has taken a cue from chains and introduced a loyalty program.

One Off Rewards members will get a variety of perks including priority for reservations, private bookings, and special events, as well as merchandise and gift purchases.

The company said the program would also allow them to tailor personalized experiences for members.

“One Off Hospitality has been fortunate enough to build a substantial community of loyal diners who have come to know and trust our family of restaurants over the years,” CEO Karen Browne said in a press release announcing the program. “The opportunity to create a digital experience to further reward our valued guests not only makes sense as a growing restaurant group, but it’s been years in the making and we’re so thrilled with the opportunity to finally lift it off the ground.”

She added that the program would allow her and her team to learn more about their customers as they download the group’s app or sign up for the program online.

“For instance: we’ve learned that today’s diner is much more inclined to order to-go than ever before; whether it’s the remote worker picking up lunch, or folks opting to stay in on the weekend instead of heading out. Not everyone wants to sit in a dining room for every meal, but they also still enjoy having the chef-driven experience. The integration of this app allows us to streamline our culinary offerings outside of our restaurants in a more seamless and guest-friendly way,” she said.

Related:How independent restaurants can adopt loyalty programs

Most chain restaurants now have loyalty programs that allow them to collect data about their customers’ behavior and use it to customize special offers, offering discounts to those who respond well to that, while presenting special access to events, free items, merchandise, and other perks to those who prefer that type of recognition.

One Off Rewards members will initially get one point for every dollar spent at one of the group’s restaurants, which can then be redeemed at any of their restaurants. The number of points they get will increase as guests progress to Bronze, Silver, and Gold tiers based on how much they spend.

Additionally, they get $10 in rewards points for every $150 they spend in any format — dine-in, takeout, private events, gift cards, or merch. They also get $5 in rewards just for signing up, and an additional $10 if they get three members to join.

One Off Hospitality started with Blackbird restaurant in 1997 and now is comprised of Avec, Avec River North, Bar Avec, The Violet Hour, The Publican, Big Star, Publican Quality Meats, Publican Quality Bread, Dove’s Luncheonette, Big Star Wrigleyville, Big Star West Town, Publican Quality Bread Oak Park, and Publican Tavern O'Hare.

Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected] 

About the Author

Bret Thorn

Senior Food Editor, Nation's Restaurant News

Senior Food & Beverage Editor

Bret Thorn is senior food & beverage editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality for Informa’s Restaurants and Food Group, with responsibility for spotting and reporting on food and beverage trends across the country for both publications as well as guiding overall F&B coverage. 

He is the host of a podcast, In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn, which features interviews with chefs, food & beverage authorities and other experts in foodservice operations.

From 2005 to 2008 he also wrote the Kitchen Dish column for The New York Sun, covering restaurant openings and chefs’ career moves in New York City.

He joined Nation’s Restaurant News in 1999 after spending about five years in Thailand, where he wrote articles about business, banking and finance as well as restaurant reviews and food columns for Manager magazine and Asia Times newspaper. He joined Restaurant Hospitality’s staff in 2016 while retaining his position at NRN. 

A magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University in Medford, Mass., with a bachelor’s degree in history, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Thorn also studied traditional French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine in Paris. He spent his junior year of college in China, studying Chinese language, history and culture for a semester each at Nanjing University and Beijing University. While in Beijing, he also worked for ABC News during the protests and ultimate crackdown in and around Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Thorn’s monthly column in Nation’s Restaurant News won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for best staff-written editorial or opinion column.

He served as president of the International Foodservice Editorial Council, or IFEC, in 2005.

Thorn wrote the entry on comfort food in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, 2nd edition, published in 2012. He also wrote a history of plated desserts for the Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, published in 2015.

He was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014.

A Colorado native originally from Denver, Thorn lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Bret Thorn’s areas of expertise include food and beverage trends in restaurants, French cuisine, the cuisines of Asia in general and Thailand in particular, restaurant operations and service trends. 

Bret Thorn’s Experience: 

Nation’s Restaurant News, food & beverage editor, 1999-Present
New York Sun, columnist, 2005-2008 
Asia Times, sub editor, 1995-1997
Manager magazine, senior editor and restaurant critic, 1992-1997
ABC News, runner, May-July, 1989

Education:
Tufts University, BA in history, 1990
Peking University, studied Chinese language, spring, 1989
Nanjing University, studied Chinese language and culture, fall, 1988 
Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine, Cértificat Elémentaire, 1986

Email: [email protected]

Social Media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bret-thorn-468b663/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bret.thorn.52
Twitter: @foodwriterdiary
Instagram: @foodwriterdiary

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