By Harold
Some businesses have caught on to this whole Internet thing, with web sites, store locators, downloadable menus, etc. And then there is Cook-Out, a fast-food chain which took the opposite approach — it is impossible to get the simplest bit of information, like hours of operation, or even how to spell its name correctly (Cookout? Cook-Out?). In fact, the closest thing I could find was this page, which didn’t even list the location I went to (on Hillsborough Rd in Durham near the intersection with I-85).
So Cook-Out survives on word-of-mouth marketing. And that’s working like a charm. At Duke, the athletics web site profiles three athletes each week in what it calls a “Blue Devil Snapshot”, and the last of five questions is always “What do you order from Cook-Out?” In three months, without the presence of a Cook-Out on campus, every athlete has given an answer. At UNC, at the holiday concert I just wrote about, the MCs filled some downtime between acts by asking the audience for their favorite Cook-Out milkshake. Again, there’s no Cook-Out in Chapel Hill (as far as I can tell).
So Tuesday night I finally had an opportunity to go (re: Laura was at the basketball game, so I was on my own for dinner). And it’s everything I dreamed it would be. Over 40 milkshakes, $2.35 each. Completely random menu options (the two sides for my burger platter were hushpuppies and chili). The sketchy experience of eating in your car in the middle of a Durham parking lot because there’s no seating. And oh yeah, my burger was great. This place goes immediately in the parthenon of great fast food places like In-N-Out, Chick-Fil-A and other hyphen-laden regional delicacies.
Laura
Harold
