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Business & Tech

Mixed Results for Restaurant Week 2010

Local diners are pleased with the great deals, but restauranteurs express differing opinions about the 2nd annual promotion.

Restaurant Week 2010 in Westfield finally came to a close on March 4 after being extended an extra week due to the blizzard that blanketed much of New Jersey in several feet of snow. The promotion, which began on February 21, was the follow-up to the town's inaugural event held last fall.

This year's culinary celebration featured 23 Westfield establishments, several of which had also participated last year. Most restaurants offered a two-course lunch menu for the low, low price of $10—a veritable steal for customers—, as well as a two-course dinner for $20. Some restaurants, such as Splash of Thai,  went even further than that and featured a three-course lunch for $10. The price structure was reduced from 2009's Restaurant Week offerings in order to attract diners who are more cost-conscious than ever.

Local residents and those of surrounding towns took advantage of the prix-fixe deals, but feedback was mixed from restaurant owners. Some saw no change in business, some struggled to find the slim margin of profit resulting from slashed prices, and others reported definite increases in traffic—particularly during lunchtime.

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Timothy Boyle, owner of 16 Prospect Wine Bar & Bistro, and Sonny Acquaviva, owner of Acquaviva della fonti, are two return participants to the event who reported positive experience both years.

"Restaurant Week 2010 went well," Boyle said. "We like doing it. It exposes us to people who might not normally come in. The weather was more difficult this year than last, but overall I think traffic was about the same both years. It's a great deal, especially the $10 lunch. Our entrees start at $10, so from a customer perspective it's a great opportunity because you get two courses. Restaurant Week has definitely helped pick up our lunch business, as well."

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Acquaviva added, "I do think we had more customers come in because of the promotion, although there wasn't much difference between this year and last year—even with the reduced prices. We saw a boost in traffic for lunch especially."

Lisa Bertone-Marvin, owner of Rockn' Joe Coffeehouse + Bistro, felt business actually improved from last year and credited the up-tick to lower prices and more exposure and awareness of the event. Rockn' Joe's Restaurant Week special featured a two-course lunch with latte for $10, and a three-course dinner for $15.

"This year's Restaurant Week was great," commented Bertone-Marvin. "We had a lot of people come in asking to see our Restaurant Week menus, and it was a very good two weeks for us as a result. Our lunch business is always strong, but it definitely was even bigger and busier than usual. The best thing about it is we saw a lot of new faces, which is 100 times better this go-around. Last year, people didn't seem to know about Restaurant Week. This time, people were asking specifically for it. There seemed to be a lot more awareness this time around."

Some past participants, especially higher-end restauranteurs, who did not feel the promotion benefitted their business elected not to join the promotion again. Xocolatz Restaurant & Grill had a similar experience this year, but for the exact opposite reason. The popular establishment offered a 3-course dinner special for $20.

"Actually for us, Restaurant Week has been both a bad and a good thing," said Dee Murley, manager of Xocolatz. "It didn't do us any great favors. Our lunches are priced under $10 anyway, so we were struggling to give away a lot of food for under $10. People seemed to be going to the expensive restaurants and trying that for Restaurant Week, instead of coming here. But hopefully they'll try those places out and realize that they can get the same deal every day at Xocolatz. Also, we were also not supposed to be scheduled to run the promotion on the weekend or to extend it another week after the snowstorm, but we were mistakenly included in it. We had customers who turned out asking for the promotion after we had ended it, and we honored it anyway. For people who want to save money anyway, we hope they will just come to Xocolatz. The deals are everyday here, so Restaurant Week doesn't really apply to us."

Cool Vines, a wine merchant featuring off-the-beaten path brands, found a way to generate more buzz about its "Restaurant Row"-themed wines by offering a 10-percent discount in conjunction with Westfield's  Restaurant Week event.

"At Cool Vines, we have something in the store called "Restaurant Row," in which we feature wines that pair well with the cuisine of specific restaurants in the area," said Damon O'Gara, manager. "We rotate it regularly, and I think Restaurant Week helped to promote that for us in particular. We saw a good amount of traffic. A significant part of our business is determined by the weather, and last week was horrible due to the weather. The town was wonderful in extending Restaurant Week. It would have been a shame if customers couldn't really take advantage of the event. Last Saturday the store was extremely busy, and I believe a lot of this traffic is especially because of Restaurant Week."

Regardless of whether or not their businesses flourished, virtually all restauranteurs polled were pleased to support the town-wide event and were eager to help attract customers and bring more business to Westfield. Diners were universally satisfied as well, especially with the week-long extension. Many cited that they were given "a lot of food for not a lot of money," and that they did visit restaurants they "normally would not have" or "more often than" they would have.

The numbers are still being crunched as to whether or not the promotion will net out positively, but one thing's for sure: Restaurant Week 2010 certainly gave locals a delicious, affordable reason to dig out from the snow and dine out.

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