Buy one entree, get the second free. All-you-can-eat buffets for $10. Three-course dinners for $20. They’re the new versions of a happy meal — a wallet-friendly deal that satisfies your appetite.
The economic downturn, coupled with rising food and gas prices, has prompted customers to look for ways to stretch their dollar. Meanwhile, Chicago restaurant owners are making hard-to-resist offers to get customers in the door.
More than one-third of consumers say they are eating or buying dinners out less frequently — mainly to save money — compared to a year ago, according to Technomic, a food service consultant based in Chicago. While dining out at full-service restaurants has been declining for years, the demand for using restaurants overall is stagnant, said Harry Balzer, vice president of the NPD Group, a market research company. People are moving away from high-priced restaurants and toward fast-food restaurants because they’re cheaper and convenient, he said. Of all meals bought at restaurants, 77 percent are from quick-service places, he said.
“It’s not that you’re not using a restaurant. We haven’t reached that point yet. I’m afraid we’re getting close to it,” said Balzer, who studies eating habits.
So the question becomes: How do Americans manage their food budgets, especially if they don’t want to cook?
“Look for good deals, that’s No. 1. A meal at a fast-food restaurant is always less expensive than at a full-service restaurant. Breakfast is always cheaper than supper. Take-out is less expensive than on-premise and even when you do eat on-premise, buy fewer things,” Balzer said.
There are ways to lower your restaurant bill. The first item to go is the side or drink, Balzer said. “If you go out to eat, focus on the main dish; everything else can be dropped,” he said.
Kim Pongpaet, 36, of Uptown said she hasn’t stopped dining out entirely but has cut back on fine dining because of prices. Now she relies heavily on buying discounted gift certificates online to save money on the bill. And she keeps her eyes open for dinner promotions.
“I have noticed especially in our area there’s quite a few places off of Broadway in Uptown offering daily specials or daily deals,” said Pongpaet, a sales and marketing coordinator. “The quality and quantity of food you’re getting for that price is a good reason to go.”
She also looks for savings on alcohol with her meal. “I’ll go out of my way to find a BYOB so I can come in with my preferred wine and save myself $20 to $30 off the bill. I avoid places that charge a ridiculous corkage fee,” she said.
While diners are tightening their belts, restaurants are clamoring to fill their stomachs.
“When consumers are looking for value and the advertising is right under their nose, you wind up gravitating toward what you think is a better meal and better value,” said Darren Tristano, Technomic executive vice president.
He cautions restaurant owners to be careful about raising prices because of the risk of alienating customers. Instead, he said restaurants are offering more items and smaller portions on menus at cheaper prices. Happy hour menus also seem to be driving business, he said.
Instead of raising prices, some restaurants in New York are using less expensive items. They’re substituting shiitake mushrooms for morels, for example, or using lump crab meat rather than jumbo lump crab meat for a chilled tomato soup, the New York Times reported.
Some Chicago establishments are making palatable deals by offering more food at a cheap price.
To bring in business and save customers money, Stanley’s in Lincoln Park is advertising its Monday night buffet using the slogan “Eat like a king without feeling the $ting.” Patrons pay $10 to pile plates full of barbecue pork ribs, barbecue and fried chicken, Italian beef and sausage, homemade pizza, Chicago-style hot dogs, banana pudding and cookies.
Other restaurants are offering coupons to lure business.
If you dine at Gioco in the South Loop Sunday through Thursday until Nov. 18 and spend $20 per person, you’ll get a $50 gift certificate to Opera, which is down the street, for dinner Sunday through Thursday. Plus, Marche and Opera have three-course prix fixe dinner deals during the week for $28.95. All three restaurants are part of the KDK group.
Other restaurateurs have been bundling courses together to give diners a value meal.
On Mondays and Tuesdays for roughly the past four years, Deleece in Wrigleyville has offered a three-course meal for $20. Owner Lynne Wallack said recently it has become more popular because she believes people are searching for deals.
She’s also advertising the same offer for Sundays and Wednesdays, as well as half-price sushi on Tuesdays at her second restaurant, Shochu, also in Wrigleyville.
“We get the sense that everyone’s out there looking for a deal and if you’re not offering deals, they’re going to go somewhere else,” Wallack said.
So far, business at Deleece has stayed relatively strong with sales down only five percent overall compared to last year, she said. She said she’s trying to control costs in labor as opposed to the food itself.
“I don’t want to skimp.” Wallack said. “I don’t want to cut portions because my customers notice those things.”
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$558 billion
Expected restaurant industry sales in 2008
4.4%
Estimated increase in restaurant sales, 2008
53%
of adults say restaurants are an essential part of their lifestyle
29 percent
Consumers say they sometimes make a meal out of appetizers
24 percent
Dine-in consumers ordered a dessert on their most recent dinner occasion
58 percent
Consumers who want to be able to substitute or choose a side dish
$1.5 billion
Restaurant-industry sales on a typical day in 2008
133 million
Food service patrons on a typical day in 2008
19%
Consumers ate their most recent away-from-home dinner at 8 p.m. or later
$156.8 billion
Projected sales of quick-service restaurants in 2008
$187.4 billion
Projected sales of full-service restaurants in 2008
35%
Consumers said they are eating or buying dinners out less frequently than one year ago. Of those:
77%
Are cutting back to save money
59%
Said they have less money to spend
46%
Cited the price of restaurant meals
$18.3B
Restaurant sales volume expected in Illinois in 2008
48%
Consumer food budget spent in restaurants
5.8
Average times a week Americans buy a restaurant meal or snack
$1,078
Annual spending on food away from home per person
63 percent
Consumers willing to pay more for dinner than for lunch
55 percent
Consumers say they are trying to eat dinner more frequently at home to save money
Sources: Technomics, National Restaurant Association
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lvivanco@tribune.com
