It is not uncommon to see State Street restaurants come and go quickly—Larry B's and Moe's were both victims of low revenue, and left their spots on the 100 block of the street soon after they came.
Real Chili, located on the corner of State and Broom streets, has called State Street home for just over a year. The Real Chili in Milwaukee serves only one type of chili. However, the Madison Real Chili, 449 State St., was forced to take extra measures to generate enough money to stay on Madison's most popular thoroughfare.
Real Chili owner Aaron Upton found the university crowd, unfamiliar with his restaurant's history and product, needed extra incentives to visit his restaurant.
""There are a lot of restaurants around here that are very strong, from the big chains to the small local places,"" Upton said, owner of Real Chili. ""It's very competitive and you have to come in and create a name for yourself. And if you can't do that you're not going to succeed.""
On Sept. 9, Real Chili introduced seven new chilis, including a Thai chili, a pork chili and a new vegetarian chili. In Milwauk- ee, the history is enough to promote the restaurant.
""It's been around forever and ever. If you asked anybody in Milwaukee, they could tell you where it is,"" he said.
In order to appeal to UW-Madison students, Upton said he lowered prices. He claims customers get ""twice as much meat"" in a bowl of chili as compared to a Chipotle burrito.
It is not difficult for some restaurants to appeal to the college crowd; unique foods draw many customers.
Ian Gurfield, owner and founder of Ian's Pizza, which has two downtown Madison locations, said the young, college demographic fit the criteria he wanted.
Other restaurants such as Teddywedgers, 101 State St., has such unique history that a demographic simply found them.
Meat pasties, the primary dish at Teddywedgers, are well-known because they are a staple in history, according to Nick Thomson, a Teddywedgers employee. He also said Cornish lead miners baked meat pasties in the morning because they would stay warm throughout the day. Miners could eat them while down in the mines.
Upton said Real Chili's history is well-known in Milwaukee; the Madison demographic has yet to learn the restaurant's past. For now, Upton will stick with his innovative plan in order to please customers.
""Here we're kind of the new kid on the block. I have a passion for Chili,"" he said. ""I hope they're leaving happier.""
