Heightened competition in Vancouver’s restaurant scene virtually compels restaurateurs to take part in Tourism Vancouver’s ninth annual Dine Out Vancouver promotion – the largest one ever.
More than 210 restaurants will be involved in the January 24 to February 6 event, during which diners can buy a fixed-price meal that includes an appetizer, a main course and a dessert for $18, $28 or $38.
“You can’t rest on your laurels, because there are too many great restaurants in this city,” said Patrick Corsi, who co-owns two Q4 locations, which are taking part in the Dine Out Vancouver promotion. “There’s so much competition that you have to give the consumer a reason to come to your place and not the place next door.”
Dine Out Vancouver isn’t resting on its laurels either.
The festival is expanding to include, for the first time, events such as:
- Act 1, Eat 1, which offers diners the chance to watch an Arts Club Theatre Co. performance and have dinner at a restaurant such as the Red Door Pan Asian Grill;
- the Secret Supper Soirée, which takes diners to a secret non-restaurant location that could be a Yaletown condo penthouse or a Shaughnessy mansion dining room; and
- Dinner in the Dark, which provides diners with an eight-course meal paired with wine and served at communal tables in Culinary Capers Catering’s commercial kitchen.
The annual event is aimed at getting Vancouverites to dine out in what is customarily a slow season. Given that restaurateurs are wrestling with numerous challenges they didn’t have last year, the festival is arguably more important this year than ever.
The harmonized sales tax (HST) has increased the cost of restaurant meals. Other obstacles include lower alcohol sales thanks to stiffer penalties for anyone caught driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.05% and a 2.9% hike in payroll taxes, which kicked in on January 1.
“It’s all about getting people in the door,” Corsi said. “If it means we have to do a $10 pasta night, a Groupon daily deal or Dine Out Vancouver, then that’s what we do. Once people are here, then it’s our job to sell them that glass of wine or a salad.”
Discount websites such as Groupon, Living Social, Grooster, Steal The Deal and Indulge Living appear to be popping up daily (see “Retailers down on daily digital deals” – issue 1107; January 11-17).
They all offer customers the chance to buy a meal at a steep discount on the condition that they redeem their purchase within a specified time.
Vancouver-based Letsgofordinner.com pioneered the concept in 2006. Back then, what was a six-year-old business focused primarily on helping restaurants with marketing. It has since grown from 20 restaurant clients a year ago to 40 today. It differs from the daily-deal websites because consumers can buy half-price meals any time at any of Letsgofordinner.com’s client restaurants.
Owner Craig Baker has not added to his five staff in the past year, but he might later this year when he expands his business to include retail stores and service businesses such as hair salons.
He believes the daily-deal website trend has worked in his favour.
Early customers were often the same people who used Entertainment Publications LLC’s popular Entertainment Book of coupons to get special deals on restaurant meals and other products.
“When we started, people were skeptical,” Baker said. “They asked, ‘How can I be sure that I will get 50% off? Is this real?’ Now, they accept it because they are used to the daily-deal sites. So, it’s been a good thing.”
The lion’s share of Baker’s customers pay a $15 annual fee and get 50% off restaurant meals when they present their card. Others, who pay no membership fee, get a card that entitles them to 40% off meals.
Letsgofordinner.com members buy all-discounted meals through the company’s website. They then have up to six months to redeem those purchases.
But partnering with discount websites has its down side. Keg Restaurants Ltd. owner David Aisenstat told Business in Vancouver that discounting can harm a brand.
His restaurants take part in the Dine Out Vancouver promotion but otherwise don’t offer patrons discounted meals.
“We don’t do anything like that, period,” Aisenstat said. “We charge what we need to charge. If we could sell something at a discount that would be our price. We rely on the strength of our brand and on our guest experience for our customers.”