Providence restaurant gift certificate

Operators of upscale restaurants are plotting ways to lure recession-wary customers who are reluctant to spend more on dining out during the holiday season, including New Year's Eve.

Employing techniques ranging from various kinds of discounting to promotions of frequent-diner programs, the proprietors of fine-dining and upscale restaurants are hoping to fill seats that are at risk of sitting empty, as customers envision bills for Christmas purchases or avoid going out in nasty weather.

Just a few weeks before New Year's Eve, few operators would predict how they would fare in celebratory bookings. Several, however, were hopeful that keeping prices lower this year would pay off with higher volumes.

Quite a few operators plan to offer their regular menus instead of fixed-price packages, and those featuring packages are pricing them lower than last year's.

Goodfellow's in Minneapolis is pricing its New Year's Eve five-course wine dinner at $100, compared with $120 last year, said general manager John Day. Reservations have been coming in a little slower than usual, he added.

For those who would rather ring in the New Year at home, Freddy's Rib House in Chicago is offering carryout and already has received more than 100 inquiries. Last year Freddy's was full early in the evening but not for the midnight hour, and owners expect those trends to be about the same this year.

The 7 p.m. seating at the Ruth's Chris Steak House in the northern Chicago suburb of Northbrook, Ill., already is filled, but the later seating was still open, general manager Charles Tierney said. He reported that no one who made a reservation long in advance had canceled.

Many late-night party goers in Miami Beach are expected to go to Astor Place for its New Year's Eve party priced at $75 for an open bar all night, featuring premium liquors, good-quality Champagnes and a deejay. That price is about half of what it was last year, said Drew Peterson, Astor Place's director of operations.

He said Astor Place would be able to offer an open bar because the liquor companies are offering discounts to operators.

"Miami Beach is a kind of escape; everyone is in mourning, but it's time to go out," said Peterson, who expects a good turnout at both Astor Place and Bambu, which is co-owned by actress Cameron Diaz.

Holiday gift certificate sales are expected to start paying off in January and February. Twenty-unit restaurant company C.A. Muer Corp. of Southfield, Mich., for instance, so far has sold about $250,000 worth of gift certificates as Christmas gifts, promoted in newspaper and business journal ads. "There's about a 10-percent slippage [nonredemption] rate, and that pays for the advertising," noted Ron Hoffman, C.A. Muer's director of marketing.

Some companies are giving free gift certificates to selected customers. Top of the Hub in Boston gave away 52,000 gift certificates worth $25 each for use last November and is repeating that promotion on a more limited scale for January. "We're happy with the results," said Raphael Oliver, the penthouse restaurant's general manager.

"Generally, we don't discount or coupon, but the way things are today, things change,." Oliver said. "We coached the staff that these coupons would be coming in, so, hopefully, they went the extra mile to make some new friends for the restaurant."

The Palm, which just opened its 25th high-end steakhouse, is doing a major mailing to its frequent guest data base of "holiday cards," offering $20 off once a month for the months of January, February and March, spokesman Jeff Phillips said. Special loyalty club members are being offered $25 oft.

Zealous in Chicago is doing more neighborhood marketing since moving from the suburbs to the city last year. "It's not like years ago when you waited for business to come in," said Michael Taus, chef-owner. "We're all working harder and going out to get business."

Le Titi de Paris in Arlington Heights, Ill., is building a February discount promotion around its 30th anniversary by doing a "customer appreciation" menu of 30 percent off regular prices on weeknights before 6:30 p.m. The suburban French fine-dining restaurant does anniversary promotions every February.

Other special menus with discounted prices will be featured after the holidays at three Rocky's restaurants in Detroit's northwestern suburbs, which will tout a "Winter Foods Spectacular." Customers will receive $8 off a dinner for two and $5 off a lunch for two.

"Some high-end restaurant owners who don't believe in any kind of discounting are instead offering special themed menus this winter. Examples are Chez Henri in Boston, with a Latin series that showcases a different country each week; Maison Robert in Boston with a Feast of Three Kings singles dinner Jan. 15 and a Norwegian winter festival Jan. 25; and Raphael Bar-Risto in Providence, R.I. with a musical dinner Feb. 26 and special guest Fred Plotkin, cookbook author and opera expert.

Many New York City restaurants are participating in a continuation of the city-sponsored "I love New York" promotion that began shortly after Sept. 11. "The whole city was motivated to go out," said Tony Fortuna, proprietor of Lenox Room on the Upper East Side. He will offer lunch for $20.02 and dinner for $30.02 for 10 days in late January and early February. About 25 percent of customers ordered off the discounted menu in November, he said.

"Everybody has to make a sacrifice," Fortuna said. "We've had some pretty nice years the last couple of years."