I emcee the Monthly Men’s Breakfast at the my church, Grace Presbyterian Church of Kernersville (GPC).  We have a pancake breakfast, then some segue (singing, humor) into a talk from a guest speaker.   Our February meeting followed on the heels of the Denny’s Restaurant media stunt of a free breakfast. I wrote this little piece and included it in the email I sent the men of the church to remind them of the upcoming  event.

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DENNY’S COPIES GPC STRATEGY OF FREE BREAKFAST
Feb. 4, 2009
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On Tuesday, February 2, Denny’s Restaurant offered the public a free breakfast meal. Across the country, people formed lines to get into the diners to have a “Grand Slam,” Denny’s breakfast entree comprised of two pancakes, two eggs, two sausages, and two strips of bacon. CEO Thomas Lenny declared the campaign a success, “We have reintroduced Denny’s to the American public.”

THE SOURCE OF THE IDEA
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When asked about the origin of the no-charge breakfast, Lenny responded,
“We’ve known for some time that certain segments of the population, men in particular, respond to free breakfast. We see the success of another organization, Grace Presbyterian Church (GPC) in Kernersville, who has been giving away free breakfasts to men on the first Saturday of the month for years.”

EGGS SOFTEN THE BLOW
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While CEO Lenny cited GPC as the inspiration of the no-charge Pancake Breakfast, he admitted he doubted whether Denny’s pancakes could equally inspire the public. “We obviously don’t have access to the famous Doug Jewell pancake recipe. Despite our noble attempts to match the GPC experience, we know the reality of our situation. Our hope was that the addition of two eggs would help ease the disappointment.”

SPORTS-THEME HOMERUN
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What else can a restaurant with a lesser pancake recipe do to gain attention? “We saw sports as an untapped way to connect with men, thus the name ‘Grand Slam’ for the breakfast meal.” responded Lenny. “Grace hasn’t yet figured out how to make the most of the sport theme, as witnessed by the recent turnout of their Super Bowl Event.” CEO Lenny continued, “I think Tuesday’s turnout demonstrates that Denny’s now has the Sports-Themed Breakfast market pretty much locked up.”

GPC ISSUES RESPONSE
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In response to statements made by Denny’s CEO Thomas Lenny, Grace Presbyterian Church of Kernersville issued the following statement:
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Grace Presbyterian Church (GPC) continues its commitment to offer men the best in no-charge breakfast experiences. Moreover, GPC finds the notion of attracting men with Sport’s Themed Breakfasts offensive and degrading to men. It is common knowledge that not all men enjoy sports equally. Therefore, a sports-themed breakfast would be inappropriate, stereotypical, and would privilege the segment of the population with intimate knowledge of sport vocabularies.

GPC would like to invite the public to the Monthly Men’s Breakfast, this Saturday, Feb 7th. GPC is offering its free “Breakfast of Doom” to all men from 8-9am. The “Breakfast of Doom” is molten syrup on a smoldering mountain of pancakes, with unlimited side of “rings of power,” aka sausages patties. Milk, Juice and Coffee are also provided free of charge. This month’s “Quest Speaker” is Don Bechtold. Come join our Fellowship.
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