“Our Midday Menu – a little more than lunch and a little less than dinner – is available between lunch and dinner service (2:30-5pm). We’re in an area where we get a lot of walk-in business from tourists, shoppers, local business people, and theatergoers who want something more substantial than a snack in the afternoon. The average check is $25 because we’ve found people order a glass of wine in the middle of the afternoon.”
Ellen Yin, owner, Fork, Philadelphia, PA

“We decided to open for lunch one day a week – Friday – with a three-course $35 set menu, and optional wine pairing for $25. Response has been tremendous, and we’ve seen an increase in the last few months. Friday lunch gives people a chance to jumpstart their weekend. It’s also a way for people to treat themselves to a good meal, and to try Rover’s at a reasonable price, as our average dinner check is $99/person.”
Thierry Rautureau, chef/owner, Rover’s, Seattle, WA

“When we repositioned the restaurant recently, we created a new menu, cutting prices 15%, and our check average naturally dropped. So we decided to stay open seven days a week, adding Sunday dinner. We tried a smaller, lower-priced menu at first, but because we’d just had some good reviews, customers wanted to eat what they’d been reading about and asked that the full menu be available. We’re doing 120-130 covers Sunday nights, which is adding 8.5% to our gross. Many Sunday customers are employees from other restaurants, who are off that day.”
Chris Cannon, owner, Convivio, New York, NY