Discount dining draws a crowd

The Baltimore Sun

Within two weeks after Restaurant Week ended last year, Nate Beachler started seeing patrons who'd been lured in by the earlier discounts come back for another bite at Oceanaire Seafood Room.

"Maybe they waited for another paycheck," said Beachler, general manager and operating partner of the Harbor East restaurant that opened in November 2005. "For us, it was an incredible marketing tool. We've found that some people come in every single week after they had a chance to experience the restaurant."

This year, the weekend nights were booking up two weeks before the restaurant even started promoting the three-course, $30.07 dinner deals that more than 80 area restaurants are offering next week. Some also feature a lunch version for $20.07.

"We're so busy that we decided to extend Restaurant Week for another week so we can accommodate everybody who wants to come," Beachler said. "We want to make sure that everyone who comes has a great experience. We're not trying to pack tables in."

In fact, the popularity of last year's event prompted the seafood eatery to make the Restaurant Week offering available year-round between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The event, which made its debut last year with more than 60 restaurants participating, was organized by the Downtown Partnership and the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association after they saw the success of similar events in other cities.

"This would be an event that D.C. people would drive into Baltimore for, as well as locals," said Nancy Hinds, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association. "It's the chance for us to showcase our restaurants. People don't always appreciate what they have in their backyard."

Dennis Marzella, vice president of research and brand strategy for Florida-based Quantified Marketing Group, a restaurant consulting firm, said it's not clear how much repeat business the events draw.

"I don't think the industry is sophisticated enough to measure that," he said. "But the main thing is that it builds traffic, and if it's a good experience, people keep coming back again and again."

Some area restaurants say they keep loose tabs on the repeat business.

"We probably get 10 percent repeat business within the 90 days after Restaurant Week," said David Sadeghi, the chief operating officer of Big Steaks LLC, which has four restaurants participating in the local event, including Blue Sea Grill, Babalu Grill, and Ruth's Chris Steak House in Baltimore and Pikesville. "We definitely enjoy the 90 days after Restaurant Week."

By the time the promotional week is done, Sadeghi said he expects to have served an additional 1,500 to 2,000 customers altogether at the four restaurants.

He reports a business spike of 35 to 40 percent on the weekdays and between 10 and 15 percent on the weekends.

"Restaurants appreciate them," Michael Evitts, a spokesman for the Downtown Partnership, said of the promotions. "They tend to attract new business at a slow time of year. In some ways this is a more sophisticated and upscale version of luring dorm kids to your party with pizza and beer."

It's all part of a more general tourism trend, Marzella said.

"More and more tourists are planning their vacations around culinary interests," he said. "It behooves the city to create an event like Restaurant Week because it brings people to the city. Everyone is looking for excitement. They're looking for experiences. It gives the restaurants a chance to shine."

More than 26 cities now have events similar to Baltimore's, Marzella said. Among them are: New York, Boston, Washington, Philadelphia, San Diego, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Denver.

New York City's is considered the veteran of the concept, dating to 1992 when the first restaurant week occurred at the same time as the Democratic National convention, according to Tracy Nieporent, partner of Myriad Restaurant Group and chairman of the restaurant committee for NYC & Co., the city's tourism marketing group.

At 16-year-old Ciao Bella Restaurant in Little Italy, Restaurant Week was so successful last year that it was extended to about a month, and the same thing may happen this year, said Tony Gambino, owner and chef.

"We plan on continuing it as long as we have a call for it," he said. "The neighborhood is excited. For anyone who wants to come to Baltimore to eat, they're in for a good time."

june.arney@baltsun.com

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