As some luxury restaurants close, others cut prices; three-course dinners for $20
According to a news report from online.wsj.com, “A chill went through the restaurant industry last week when a top New York restaurateur, Stephen Hanson, announced that he was closing several of his once-packed and highly successful restaurants in New York and Chicago. It was the latest in a string of bad news for the business. Confronting a wave of high-profile closings at top eateries, restaurants are bracing for a tough year — and taking new steps to try to survive.”
“Fine dining sales, which totaled about $7 billion last year, are expected to plummet 12% to 15% in 2009, says Joe Pawlak, vice president of Technomic, a Chicago restaurant industry consultant. In New York, the Rainbow Grill above Rockefeller Center announced last week that it will stop serving dinner, and will offer only drinks and appetizers. Taurus, an Atlanta steakhouse that had earned accolades in the local press, closed two weeks earlier. In San Francisco, Rubicon, a top-rated restaurant co-owned by New York restaurateur Drew Nieporent, closed in August,” said the story.

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