There is some dispute over whether the phrase “power breakfast” came into being in Washington, D.C., during the 1960s or in New York City during the 1970s. Regardless of its origins, over the course of decades, the power breakfast has spread throughout the country. Hotel restaurants are often the venues of choice for said meal, with business associates meeting colleagues from out of town.

A power breakfast is defined as a meeting of influential people conducting business while eating their first meal of the day. Who’s doing the power dining depends on the locale. In Beverly Hills, movie moguls and hopeful starlets may be nibbling on egg-white omelets and fruit plates. In Washington, politicians and lobbyists are likely engaged in intense conversation, with efficient service and simple elegance expected but remaining in the background.

In the Midwest, a place to power breakfast is the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, says Troy Clarke, director of F&B. The historic hotel, which has been around since 1893, is a local institution and the place for power breakfasts in the city. Clarke estimates that about 40 percent of the power diners are local business leaders, judges, lawyers, and politicians. About 60 percent are hotel guests, a local-to-guest ratio fairly typical in hotels offering power breakfasts.

The menu at the Café at the Pfister is designed with its audience fully in mind, the theory being that Midwesterners generally aren’t willing to spend $25 on breakfast as a New Yorker in a similar hotel setting might be.

“Milwaukee is all about value in terms of price point,” Clarke says. That’s why the average tab for a full breakfast is only $12.94. There’s a lot of eating to be done for the money. There are entrées appealing to everyone from healthy eaters to the indulgent, many dished out with a sense of good humor. There’s the Napoleon Complex, for example, a Belgian waffle short stack topped with strawberry compote, Chantilly cream, and chocolate sauce. Texas-Style French Toast is coated with cornflakes, powdered sugar, and a wild berry compote. Pork Three Ways features braised pork belly, chorizo sweet potato hash, and bacon served with eggs.

Not all of the Pfister’s breakfasts are pfattening (sic), however. The chef whips up homemade granola, while the Well Spa menu features items such as organic egg white omelets made with local vegetables and Wisconsin Swiss cheese.

DESTINATION BREAKFAST
One way to establish a niche as a destination breakfast venue is to scrap the buffet and go to an à la carte menu. The meal period becomes a mini-event, attracting non-guests and inviting guests to stay a while rather than merely gulping and going. The Pfister’s breakfast menu is à la carte; there is no buffet.

“It’s always been that way,” says Clarke. “First, there’s no place to put [a buffet], and, secondly, buffets aren’t always cost-effective. You need a minimal number of guests to make a buffet profitable. With an à la carte menu, we can ensure consistency in terms of profit, and our guests experience consistency in terms of quality and items served.”

The Pfister also displays originality in its marketing efforts. When Heinemann’s, a local breakfast institution, closed its doors earlier this year, the Pfister reached out to the restaurant’s clientele by honoring Heinemann’s gift cards. It also developed a poll to assess the most popular breakfast items served at Heinemann’s. The winners, including baked oatmeal and grilled coffee cake, found a home on the Pfister’s breakfast menu.

Clarke also is experimenting with Facebook pages for the Pfister’s F&B options, such as afternoon tea, cocktail hour, and breakfast. In this way, Clarke believes the hotel can reach a younger crowd. “We are an older hotel, so younger people don’t automatically come here,” he notes. “Our diners have traditionally been in their 40s and 50s.”

By using social media and freshening the look of the dining outlets (the Café’s new décor will debut in October), Clarke is reaching new customers and seeing the average age of guests going down while profits are going up. “In order to create a successful power breakfast, you have to know who the power players are and then appeal to them,” he says.

Laura Powell has covered the travel industry for nearly 20 years. She appears on television stations across the country as a travel expert and blogs at www.dailysuitcase.com