As a consumer who has no knowledge about any restaurants at salt lake city i have one thing to do. research. I went to google because i can check out my options there and i searched up “restaurants at metropolitan salt lake city’. I clicked on the first one that popped up called “Avenues proper” and went straight to the menu to see if they had anything i would enjoy. I also noticed for this restaurant you have to reserve a table meaning you cant just go in. I then went to reviews and notice people complaining about the price of the food and quality of it and even saying “i do not recommend it”. This would make anyone not go to this restaurant

me seeing this for the first time, i wouldn’t want to go there. I continued searching as i found my next place called “the cooper onion” which i did find things on the menu intresting. This is the restaurant i would try, the reviews were really supportive making a consumer comfortably accepted to try it. i was looking for a nice cozy restaurant and this played a factor into my decision. also reviews, as a business you dont want bad reviews which could lose you incoming consumers.

Looking into this helped me understand more as a consumer in what im looking for. My preferences will be different than anyone else because every consumer has a different price range, different taste of foods, setting they would enjoy. I realized how much target advertising online helps and can help your business bring in new costumers. This is a new society where people look up information online which plays a huge factor in if im buying your products.

Finding an Italian restaurant in Salt Lake City without any previous knowledge of the area proved an interesting challenge. Being that it isn’t my current location, I had no targeted ads to work with and had no connections to receive recommendations from. I had to start my search from scratch.

I started by doing a broad search on google to view my options. Googles list of recommendations proved useful but had too many options and become a little overwhelming. I ended up on a food bloggers website called ‘female foodie’. She listed 12 of the best Italian restaurants in Salt Lake City. I used her suggestions to narrow down my list of interests and then googled the menus and ratings of the places that stood out to me most. I ended up having to decide between Per Noi Trattoria, Sicilia Mia, and Settebello’s. Each restaurant offered different perks to their advantage, influencing my decision.

Per Noi Trattoria fell 9^th on the food bloggers list and had a google rating of 4.4 which is relatively good. The place had a nice aesthetic, with reviews comparing their food to the options found in Rome. They had a broad menu and tasty looking food featured in photos online. They offered good prices but had no alcohol menu.

The next one was Sicilia Mia. It was 5^th on her list and had a 4.6 rating on google. It was also the 10^th option on trip advisors list of recommended restaurants. When ordering Carbonara they offer the experience of it being served and tossed in a giant parmesan wheel at your table. It’s a fun and interesting experience when dining out with others. They had a large menu of options to choose from with solid pricing. They also had a classy atmosphere and an alcohol selection of different wines and beers to choose from.

The last one on my list was Settebello’s. It scored 3^rd on her list of recommendations and had a google rating of 4.5. They too, had a large menu and good prices. The restaurant had a nice outside décor and a homey feel for the seating inside. They had the added perk of a gelato shop next door if we weren’t too full after dinner.

I ended up choosing Sicilia Mia as the place to go. They offered a broad menu, had good ratings and an alcohol menu. One of the things that came highly commended in people’s reviews was the service they offered. That has the ability to either make or break an experience. They were also featured in an article in The Salt Lake Tribune which speaks good things.

While researching I realized how much targeted ads and personal recommendations can play a role in the consumer decision-making process. When thinking of going out for dinner I will generally go for places that I’ve seen advertised and had bookmarked for future reference or had already heard about from others.  When picking which restaurant to go to today, personal preferences played the biggest factor in my decision. It was interesting to see and decide on a place without any external biases. I chose the restaurant offering the factors that I liked and was best suited for my needs.

People’s ultimate decision would rely on personal factors. I was looking for a place for a girl’s night out and ultimately chose a place that offered a classy and intimate atmosphere, with a variety of options for everyone, along with a drink menu. Others may be looking for a more causal environment, a kid-friendly menu, or an option for home delivery.

When searching for an appealing Italian restaurant in Salt Lake City, my approach was to begin by attempting to search for options online that might fit my needs. Because I was not familiar with the area, I turned to Bing Maps, although I know it could also have incomplete information. Regardless of how much I might enjoy a restaurant, if it is not available on Bing Maps I will not be able to consider it as an alternative. My choice of a restaurant, therefore, does not depend only on my “preferences.”

Eventually, I settled upon Tuscany (2832 E 6200 S) although Primo (4699 Highland Drive) and Olive Garden (2272 S 1300 E) were both close runners-up. I eventually settled upon Tuscany because of its attractive ambiance, positive reviews, and early opening time. Tuscany’s website featured an easy to find menu with a relatively short list of tasty looking items, which helped me avoid decision fatigue. Olive Garden is a chain that I have been to numerous times and would have been a similarly easy choice, but today I preferred the novelty of a local option. Tuscany seems like a middle ground between the reliable but uninteresting Olive Garden and the local and unfamiliar Primo. Although I suspect it may have smaller portions and perhaps worse prices than the other options, today I think I would prefer to make that sacrifice.

The aspect of Tuscany which finally pushed me over the edge and confirmed that I would be selecting it as my choice is its ambiance! From its website I could get a sense of the menu and general aesthetic, but once I viewed the photographs available on TripAdvisor my mind was set. The restaurant is situated in an old vine-covered building with a sharply steeped roof. The dishes seem to be portioned conservatively, but are presented astonishingly well on plates designed to appeal to the eyes as much as the tongue. Sure, the appetizers might cost $20 each, but their visual appeal seems to justify that price. Overall, if I were to visit Tuscany I do not expect to leave feeling entirely full and satisfied, but rather yearning for an opportunity to return and experience the restaurant for a second time.

      At the beginning of my buyer decision-making process, the problem I needed to fix was finding a restaurant that I could see myself eating at. Given specific criteria, the restaurant had to be in Salt Lake City, Utah, which was a place that I had never visited. I have always loved Italian food so it was important that even though I couldn’t try the food it had to look good. 

     After realizing what I had to look for in a restaurant, I took to Google to research and narrow down my options. I came across quite a few, “Cafe Molise”, “Olive Garden” and “Stanza Italian Bistro and Wine Bar.” These stood out to me specifically because they didn’t seem too expensive, in this scenario I would most likely be going with friends and paying. Due to this, I didn’t want the restaurant to be out of budget. When I went onto each of their websites I saw the interior of these restaurants looked cozy, atmosphere is important to me when it comes to eating out. On the maps, “Stanza Italian Bistro and Wine Bar” and “Cafe Molise” were close to each other meaning I could get to the other one easily. 

    When I came to the realization that these were my top three choices I had to narrow them down. Cafe Molise had a beautiful interior and exterior which reminded me of restaurants in my hometown, Stanza Italian Bistro and Wine Bar was equally as beautiful but the prices were double compared to Cafe Molise. Then Olive Garden while I’m sure the taste of the food wouldn’t differ from other ones I have gone to meant that I would like it, it also wasn’t anything new or exciting. Cafe Molise would be my pick if I were on a trip to Salt Lake City, Utah. This is because the restaurant’s prices are fair, the ambiance of the establishment was cozy and inviting, and because the other restaurants were lacking in other aspects making me choose this cafe as my first choice.

At the end of this process I realized that while the buyer decision-making process isn’t always easy, it is very normal before making a purchase or picking a restaurant to eat at to subconsciously go through these steps in your head. Someone making comparisons in their mind is very normal behavior and as I was researching I found myself jumping to conclusions like, “This restaurant is too expensive” or “The outside of this place doesn’t seem appealing.” The conclusions made themselves just by looking at photos. If the other consumer was not able to “research” the restaurant and only heard by word of mouth their opinion may change based on that. There are many aspects that go into what the consumer is thinking and what they will end up purchasing.

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