A Detroit Tale Of Coneys & Pizza That Proves Why Collaboration Is Great For Your Biz
I feel like I’ve been writing a lot lately about community and relationships and why not? That’s really what digital marketing and running a business is all about at its core.
So here I’m going to share a social media tale of a collab between two Detroit restaurants that both understand “coopetition” (I’ve used coopetition before but I always mention that I saw the word first in Michael Stelzner’s book Launch). This story would be a great chapter in a book if I were to write one - so pay attention.
Chili Mustard Onions and Pie-Sci are two of our favorite Detroit eateries. You need to give them a try if you live in Metro Detroit or if you’re visiting our awesome city.
The First All Vegan Coney in the D
Chili Mustard Onions is an all vegan coney - the first of its kind! Detroit is known for coney islands and while Lafayette is the “classic” famous joint, I don’t eat there anymore because I’m plant based now and CMO is amazing. Peter is the owner at CMO and his story is worthy of a post all its own… I saw on Facebook a couple years ago that there was a vegan coney coming and I followed the story. I followed the Facebook page and Instagram and liked the posts, engaged with the content and supported the brand even while Peter had to hurdle tons of obstacles that delayed his opening. When he finally opened we went to eat there, and when I walked in Peter looked up from the grill he was working and yelled “DOUG!!! Glad you made it!!!”
I had never met Peter before.
He simply recognized me - immediately. I didn’t reach out and tell him when I was coming, and he was busy. This is a business owner who GETS it. He was building a community online and he was doing it in a genuine way that is to be marveled at. He made me a huge fan even before I tried a bite just by caring about the peeps who were supporting his brand. I’ve been back a bunch of times since and Ally and I have brought clients there to try it after senior photo sessions in downtown Detroit. The food is fantastic and I’m a loyal fan - CMO is a happy place for me. Peter is a music guy too and we just happened to hang out together backstage at a Slayer concert last summer. Peter is my boy.
Here are a couple of past meals I’ve had at CMO. I usually go the burger route when I’m there but everything is great. (just pics I snapped with my iPhone)…
The “Big Mock” - CMO’s version of the Big Mac with chili cheese fries!
Big King Sliders - CMO’s slider version of the Whopper! Again with chili cheese fries…
Mad Scientists of Pie
Pie-Sci is a pizza joint right off the campus of Wayne State University and I had heard about Pie-Sci for a while in the Detroit vegan Facebook group. It’s not an all vegan restaurant but they can make a vegan version of most of their pies, and it’s not just because they remove the meat or the cheese - they use jackfruit for pulled pork, seitan for pepperoni, vegan cheese - you aren’t missing out on items by ordering vegan and the place has a great indie charm with actual beakers all around the place - because they are pie-scientists - get it? Pie-Sci! Again, we’ve been there a LOT with clients, out of town guests - one of our friends from the U.K. was actually there without us during a visit to the U.S. and said it was the best pizza she had in the states! Here are some pizzas we’ve had there…
I think this was the “Pulled Pjork” with jack fruit, house bbq sauce drizzle, red cabbage coleslaw, & pickled white onion
“Salami Kilpatrick” with garlic oil, sesame seed crust, vegan salami, shredded romaine, white onion, tomato, mild pepper rings, oil, vinegar embezzlement drizzle
“Spin Doctors” vegan white pizza with dates, spinach, vegan bacon & vegan cheese
“Jerky Boys” in the front - jerk jack fruit, pineapple, garlic oil, red onion, roasted jalapeño bbq drizzle, vegan cheese & in the back the “Vegan Shark” red sauce, vegan mozzarella, “shark” seitan, mango chunks, red pepper, avocado salsa drizzle
Pie-Sci has been around longer than CMO and we didn’t know the owner, but I thought it was really cool almost a year ago when I saw on Facebook that they were doing a week long collab with CMO, where they would be serving a vegan pizza with CMO’s house made seitan gyro meat. There was no way we were missing that - it made me so happy to see two of my very faves combining forces on a yummy pizza! Here’s the collab pizza, called the “I Can Be Your Gyro, Baby”!
The “I Can Be Your Gyro, Baby” with White Pizza, Follow Your Heart Vegan Mozzarella, seitan, specialty spice blend + tzatziki sauce, onion, tomato, Frank’s Red Hot
A Fateful Night…
A few months later we went to Pie-Sci with more out of town guests……….and it was a really awful experience.
The pizza wasn’t the problem, but it was a bad situation to the point where I was shaken… Without going into detail let’s just say I came out of there thinking I was never going to go back. It was an odd situation that quickly spiraled out of control like I had never seen. I was really upset and really in disbelief. I also knew the owner wasn’t there that night. No chance.
Once the adrenaline wore off and I contemplated my next move I thought back to that collab that I saw on Facebook. And I thought Peter would have some insight since he clearly knows those guys. So before I did anything, before I posted anything or took any action I reached out to Peter and told him what happened. He couldn’t believe it, and he said I had to call Jeremy the owner of Pie Sci. Peter said he’s a great guy and there’s no way he’d be okay with what happened. Peter vouched for Jeremy. And keep in mind this experience was isolated. Very isolated. I loved Pie-Sci - enough so that I still wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt and Peter gave me that opportunity by vouching for me to Jeremy. He told Jeremy that I’m a good customer and a good guy and wouldn’t be B.S.ing him.
Another Small Biz Owner Who Gets It
When I connected with Jeremy through Peter and explained to him what happened he was mortified. He didn’t try to deflect and was genuinely concerned with what happened. He then investigated on his end and his employees admitted that my account was accurate. He assured me that it wouldn’t happen again and told me the specific policies he put in place as a result to make sure of it. He thanked me for not going online and trashing his establishment and invited me back so he could treat us to the experience we had come to expect. He seemed like a real mensch - a good guy - and I was impressed with how he handled it.
We did indeed make it back to Pie-Sci, met Jeremy (he had recognized us - probably from being frequent customers) and he treated us to some awesome pizza. He came over to our table to chat with us, and Ally said when she went up to the counter to get the pizzas when they were ready he mentioned how pleased he was that I had that relationship with Peter and how that helped us connect and address what happened. It felt good to be back. All is well and yes, we still highly recommend Pie-Sci!
The Lesson…
Now, CMO and Pie-Sci are indeed competitors. Sure one’s a coney and one’s a pizza place and they aren’t on the same block, or even in the same neighborhood downtown really. But - if someone from the suburbs is driving downtown for the day they are likely going to get a bite to eat while they are down there. ONE bite to eat. And if they are a vegan there’s a good chance that it could come down to these two establishments. In that way they are both competing for that bite.
But they don’t see it that way. They see the bigger picture. They see a community of local eateries who elevate the entire local food scene by kicking butt. By serving up incredible food and having each other’s backs. By giving Detroit and each other a good look and a good reputation. They care about it - a lot. And because they do they help to grow each other’s communities, and they’re both using digital marketing on social media to do it. They don’t see competition as each of them trying to get the same piece of the same pie - they see it as coopetition - collaborating to make the pie bigger and better so there’s more of it for each of them. And that’s smart. That’s the moral of this story. That’s what YOU should be doing if you’re a small business owner, online AND offline.
You should be building real relationships with your community - and that includes your customers AND your competition! The story above proves it on several levels, and I hope you take it to heart. Do you have a similar story? Share it!
Oh and hey, while you’re here check out my podcast - it’s the Doug & Ally Morning Show podcast available on Anchor.fm, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Overcast, RadioPublic, PocketCasts, and Breaker! Not a digital marketing podcast, but it’s sure fun! Hope you like it - please share if you do!
M10 Social is owned by Doug Cohen in West Bloomfield, MI and provides social media training and digital marketing services from the Frameable Faces Photography studio Doug owns with his wife Ally. He can be reached there at tel:248-790-7317, by mobile at tel:248-346-4121 or via email at mailto:doug@frameablefaces.com.
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