Hell's Kitchen Chef Sees Profits Fry

Gracious habits left with George W. Bush

(NEWSER) - It used to be that one could go out for dinner with friends, eat, drink, and still be quite merry about splitting the tab. These days, however, the moment the bill arrives is the tense moment of truth: Who made do with PBR while the other slammed martinis, and who's going to pay what? “The first thing that happens is we all go for our glasses,’’ says one diner. “The nonchalance is gone. It becomes the dreaded moment.’’ More»

Jose Andres' Bazaar in LA rakes it in while others falter

(NEWSER) - Chef José Andrés’ newish Los Angeles restaurant, Bazaar, is all the things fine dining didn’t used to be—in a hotel, bar-centric, and focused entirely on small plates. It's also one thing few and fewer restaurants are now: profitable. It's the future, Katy McLaughlin predicts, for several reasons. First, the tapas menu is “a clever way around consumers' psychological barriers to restaurant spending,” McLaughlin writes. The relatively cheap small plates still bring the average check to $96.44. More»

(NEWSER) - Just a year ago, 25% of the country's highest-grossing restaurants were in Las Vegas—where diners ran up $15,000 checks and tipped waiters with wads of C-notes. But now restaurants are closing, new construction languishes half-finished, and more than 5,000 food industry workers have lost their jobs. "It was gold, and suddenly it became fool’s gold," one restaurateur tells the New York Times. More»

Restaurants take hit as customers opt for cheaper grub

(NEWSER) - Cash-conscious consumers who’d rather not cook are increasingly ditching restaurant dinners in favor of grocery stores’ prepared meals, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. At some stores, prepared-food sales have jumped 7% to 10%, says an industry consultant. For their part, supermarkets are hawking a bigger and better selection of such offerings. “We're saying, 'We're cooking so you don't have to,'” says a supermarket exec. More»

Upper crust forced to adjust as struggling clubs aim for the common touch

(NEWSER) - Struggling country clubs have decided to ditch their exclusiveness to stave off extinction, the Washington Post reports, slashing fees and opening facilities to the public. Long-standing members often sniff as dress codes vanish, nachos replace filet mignon on menus, pickup trucks appear in parking spots, and the public floods in—but directors say it's the only way to stay afloat amid tough economic times and changing demographics. More»