Recession dining deals abound
July 30, 2009
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| Taking a break: Courtney Woolery and Lisa Mouallem enjoy happy hour at Palio D’Asti on Tuesday. (Cindy Chew/The Examiner) |
SAN FRANCISCO — For $37, diners at Palio D’Asti can feast on a three-course meal featuring various antipasti, salads and Italian pasta dishes.
That multidish deal has been a staple for years at the upscale Italian restaurant in the Financial District, but it’s been sweetened in recent months by an extra incentive: $1 martinis. And the results are paying off.
Like several other high-end establishments around San Francisco, Palio D’Asti is turning to drink specials and happy hour deals — usually the domain of local pubs and dive bars — as a way to entice reticent customers to eat out during what has proven to be a harsh economic climate.
“We’re in a recession,” Palio D’Asti owner and chef Dan Scherotter said. “We want people to come in and try the food, and a $1 martini is quite the inducement for that.”
The drink special, which is available after 5 p.m., was introduced two months ago, and business has been buzzing ever since, said Scherotter, whose restaurant is located at 640 Sacramento St. near Montgomery Street.
He said he first noticed the appeal of drink specials late last year, when happy hour sales at Palio D’Asti bolted up 150 percent despite the restaurant offering the same discounts it had featured for years.
“It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what’s going on,” Scherotter said. “People need some extra motivation to dine out nowadays. We’re not going to keep doing the same thing if it’s not getting people out of their homes.”
Palio D’Asti will be offering the $1 martini special for the rest of the summer.
Scherotter, however, is not the only restaurateur bucking high-end dining norms. Yoshi’s, a jazz bar and sushi restaurant on Fillmore Street, started a 5 p.m. happy hour about three months ago with discounted beer, wine and cocktails, and a late-night sushi special, according to marketing coordinator Erik Siebert.
“We felt we needed to add some extra incentive for our customers to come out during these tough times,” he said. “And so far, we’re absolutely seeing positive results.”
Other eateries and bars are following the trend. Jardiniere in Hayes Valley now offers wine specials on Monday nights; La Folie, a French restaurant on Polk Street, opened an informal cocktail lounge three months ago; and RN74, a SoMa wine bar, recently began serving late-night drink deals.
“Given the cutbacks in people’s incomes, high-end dining has been hit pretty hard,” said Kevin Westlye, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association. “I’ve really seen a push at these places to pursue different alternatives.”
The price is right
Restaurants and bars offering drink specials include:
Name: Location:
La Folie 2316 Polk St.
Jardiniere 300 Grove St.
RN74
Millennium
Tower 301 Mission St.
Palio D’Asti 640 Sacramento St.
Yoshi’s 1330 Fillmore St.
wreisman@sfexaminer.com
