Fine-dining establishments put the recession on their menus

ByABC News
February 5, 2009, 9:09 PM

— -- A down day on Wall Street may make many people see red, but not at New York's Trinity Place restaurant.

The upscale restaurant and bar in the Financial District is offering a "Market Tanked? Get Tanked!" promotion with all drinks for $3 from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. whenever the market finishes in the red. "It has created a bit of fun at the bar," says Jason O'Brien, a managing partner at Trinity Place. "I wouldn't say (customers are) desperate to get a drink for $3, but they definitely appreciate it."

Information technology manager Robert Azapinto and his co-workers at nearby Royal Bank of Canada do. "We watch the market every afternoon before 4 o'clock," Azapinto says. "If it's red, we all come over. We're sitting there hoping it goes down so we can take advantage of it."

Trinity Place is one of many dining establishments across the country to launch a recession-related marketing gimmick to help customers and their own businesses during tough economic times.

Pops for Champagne, a Champagne bar and club in Chicago, runs a "Penny a Point" promotion pegged to the stock market. One cent is deducted from a guest's tab for every point gain on the Dow Jones Industrial Average on the days when it rises. If the Dow is up 100 points, each guest receives a dollar off their bill.

Cru, a one-Michelin-star restaurant in New York, launched "The New Deal Menu" after experiencing a 30% to 40% drop-off in business since September. Diners arriving before 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday can enjoy a three-course, prix-fixe menu for $49 instead of the regular $84. Options include the signature fluke crudo for an appetizer and filet of tile bass for an entree.

"We were not very busy in the earlier part of the evening, so we thought we could offer kind of a recession special to try to bring people in that may normally not dine here," says Cru executive chef and partner Shea Gallante, whose seasonal tasting menu goes for $125.

Gallante estimates that 25% to 30% of his early-bird clients order the special. Some are regulars whose pockets aren't as deep as they once were, some are new and others aren't feeling the pinch at all.