More often than not, when a restaurant is struggling to get butts in the seats--or to get the press that can help bring the butts--it is because no one really gets what the restaurant is doing. If your prices, decor and food all say "upscale fine dining," but your servers are in T-shirts and tennis shoes, I am going to think you are confused, not cheeky. If your atmosphere screams Miami Heat, but your menu reads pot roast (even if that pot roast is whack-delicious), I am not going to remember you next time I need either comfort food or Miami Heat.

Why? Because your brand is off. Can you imagine if Taco Bell tried to be anything but Taco Bell? Like, if one day, Taco Bell's head honcho decided the company needed to start pumping out authentic Oaxacan moles and cochinita pibil, rather than the "melty," "crunchy," comically named Crunchwrap Supreme®. Such specialties made them famous, so it stands to reason Taco Bell's loyal customers would "run for the border."

Taco Bell is what it is: an American-to-the-core fast food joint that uses Mexican favorites as a jumping point for inexplicably crave-worthy bachelor food. That's the Taco Bell brand. It's what the dudes in Taco Bell commercials advertise, and it's what Taco Bell restaurants deliver to the dudes (and the occasional pregnant lady) who frequent the place.
 
Yes, even high-end restaurants can learn from Taco Bell. Be what you are, and go all the way with it. Don't half-ass it by rolling out a few Cajun-inspired specials on an otherwise classic American menu while marketing yourself as the next Emeril Lagasse. For one thing, we don't need another Emeril. For another, I can almost guarantee you'll get more respect and attention from the press and customers if you follow through on your unique brand--from the front door to the menu.

Be one thing.  Be it through and through.  Be it perfect.