Business is Good at Nation's Most Exclusive Restaurants
Bloomberg has a story that says business is still good at some of the nation's most exclusive restaurants. The article also discusses the prices at the restaurants. Here's some highlights:
Masa, a sushi restaurant in New York City, has a prix-fixe menu of $450 per person
The French Laundry in Napa Valley - $240 for nine-course tasting menu. (photo on right)
Joel Robuchon - French resturant in Las Vegas has a black-truffle menu for $500 per person and a 16-course tasting menu for $385.
Alinea in Chicago - $145 for a 12-course tasting menu, or $225 for 26 courses
Guy Savoy at Ceasers Palace - four-course menu for $190 and a prestige menu for $290
Veda Nishikawa, business manager for Masa, told Bloomberg they have people that come twice a week and that for people with high enough incomes the cost of a $600 dinner won't set them back.
For those with high incomes, "$600 is not going to change your life... It's really like someone owning a Mercedes Benz and worrying about the price of gasoline," said Nishikawa, who's working with Takayama to open a Las Vegas restaurant called Shaboo, where prix-fixe dinners will cost "more than at Masa."
Representatives from Quintessentially, an international concierge service where annual U.S. memberships start at $1,800, said they haven't seen a reduction in high-end dining requests.
"I have not had anyone that used to book expensive restaurants tell me they'd do a mid-range restaurant or something like that," said Natalie Fisher, a Los Angeles-based account manager.
These establishments are doing well but the recession is still being felt. Guy Savoy in Ceasers Place reported customers cutting back on ordering the most expensive wines - the beverage bill has fallen to "$100 per table, down from $175 in 2007." The article also says it is taking longer for the restaurants to fill up their books. Bloomberg said, "Bloomberg News was able to secure same-day or same week- reservations at every restaurant discussed in this article."
