THE CHALLENGE
The Hare & The Hound launched as a new concept in 2021, not a rebrand. That meant there was no legacy website, no email list, no content library, and no historical SEO momentum.
They needed:
- A visual identity and website that could capture the feel of a modern Irish pub—elevated but approachable.
- A way to turn casual visitors into fans they could reach again: email, specials, events, and seasonal menus.
- Strong local and organic SEO so people searching for food, drinks, gluten-free and vegetarian options, and events in Putnam could find them.
- Tools to collect reviews and social proof quickly to compete with established restaurants in the area.
- A digital path to grow catering and events, not just dine-in traffic.
- A way to attract and qualify job applicants as the restaurant got busier.
In other words, they needed more than a nice menu page. They needed a full growth engine.
THE MISSION
Help The Hare & The Hound go from “new restaurant on Main Street” to a recognizable brand with:
- A cohesive identity and website.
- A growing email list of highly engaged followers.
- Strong organic visibility for core menus and special offerings.
- A steady pipeline of catering/event requests.
- A reliable way to attract potential employees.
All while keeping the experience fun, on-brand, and consistent with the restaurant’s Irish pub personality.
POWERS DEPLOYED
For The Hare & The Hound, we combined The Identity, The Architect, and The Oracle—branding, web design, and ongoing SEO—with a healthy dose of marketing creativity.
On the brand and website side, we:
- Took the logo they had created and expanded it into a complete brand identity system across the website, menus, graphics, and in-restaurant displays, so everything from the digital menus to physical signage feels cohesive.
- Designed and developed a WordPress website that showcases their food menu, drink menu, gluten-free and vegetarian options, and catering offerings in a way that feels like an extension of the pub itself—warm, welcoming, and easy to navigate.
- Built out dedicated sections for menus, catering, events, and contact, with clear information on how to book the restaurant, request catering, or get in touch for special occasions.
- Created custom graphics, takeout menus, social media visuals, and in-restaurant displays to keep the brand consistent and recognizable both online and offline.
- Developed a playful “Team Hare vs. Team Hound” CTA, where visitors choose a side and join the email list—turning list building into a brand moment instead of a boring “subscribe” form.
- Grew that email list to over 1,500 people, giving the restaurant a direct channel to promote specials, events, new menus, and catering offerings.
- Implemented ongoing organic SEO to support their key pages—food and drink menus, gluten-free and vegetarian options, catering, and events—so the site could capture high-intent searches related to dining and drinks in Putnam and the surrounding area.
- Optimized the restaurant’s Google Business Profile (with AI assistance to keep posts, descriptions, and updates fresh and on-brand), helping them show up prominently in local map and “near me” results.
- Built and refined a review strategy, including QR codes in-restaurant so guests can easily leave a review before they leave the table, accelerating the pace of feedback and social proof.
- Helped build up their catering and events business through targeted SEO and dedicated catering/event content, aligning the website with how people search for event catering and private functions.
- Assisted with hiring marketing, including messaging and online application flows that make it easy for potential employees to apply as the restaurant grows.
THE HEROIC VICTORY
With the brand, website, and growth systems in place, The Hare & The Hound has seen results that go far beyond “people can see our menu online.”
For a restaurant that launched in 2021, those numbers reflect not just interest, but a brand that people can find, engage with, and actively interact with online.
WHY IT WORKED
This worked because every piece of the digital ecosystem was designed to support a specific outcome:
- Brand identity and website → make the pub memorable and easy to understand at a glance.
- “Team Hare vs. Team Hound” → turn traffic into an email audience with a bit of personality baked in.
- Organic SEO and local optimization → make sure people searching for food, drinks, menus, and catering in Putnam actually find The Hare & The Hound.
- Review strategy → build trust fast in a competitive local market.
- Catering and events content → open up new revenue lines beyond day-to-day service.
- Hiring funnel → help the restaurant keep up with its own success by attracting applicants online.
Instead of treating the website as a digital menu and nothing more, we treated it as the central hub for fan-building, bookings, catering, reviews, and hiring—and built systems to support each.
ONGOING IMPACT
The Hare & The Hound now has a brand and web presence that can grow with them. The email list continues to climb, organic traffic remains a major driver of new visitors, catering and events inquiries are increasing, and the online job application keeps a steady flow of potential hires coming in.
The restaurant is still the main event. But now, the website, SEO, email list, graphics, and review strategy all work together behind the scenes to keep the pub full, the events calendar busy, and the hiring pipeline active.
