Bad news trumps good
Posted on July 3rd, 2009 – 5:59 PMBy Bill Ward
So I was all set to do a post about the latest Minneapolis restaurant to waive corkage fees: Morton’s the Steakhouse. “All you have to do is ask,” a manager told me Wednesday night.
Well, the deal’s off. Everything’s off at Morton’s, which closed on Thursday. In the process, we lost not only a great no-corkage opportunity but also the Twin Cities’ best cheeseburger. (If you told me they used ground New York strip for this killer burger, I would not be in the least surprised.)
A dramatic dropoff in corporate business had been nailing Morton’s, a source told me. At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, about 10 percent of the tables were occupied.
It’s a totally different climate out there, folks, and that’s all the more reason that more restaurants should do what Morton’s had done with its corkage fees, even if it was too little, too late.
Restaurants are struggling mightily and need to get more customers in seats. Some of them have tumbled to the fact that one way to do that is to make their places more friendly to those who want to bring in wine that’s not on their list. Customers who want to take advantage of that should offer a pour for their server and/or the chef, and perhaps buy a glass or bottle from the restaurant.
A ton of eateries already have deals going (see the link for half-price wine nights on the right-hand side of this page). And we’re going to see more reduced or waived corkage fees, and more alliances beween restaurants and retailers such as the France44-Crave and Cellars-Lake Elmo Inn deals I’ve written about.
Can’t happen soon enough, I say. I’m just sorry I never got a chance to tote an A. Rafanelli zin to Morton’s to have with that burger. Homer Simpson yummy sounds would definitely have ensued.
5 Responses to "Bad news trumps good"
The problem with these alliances between retailers and restaurants is that many of us don’t like drinking “young” red wines. We prefer our red and some of our whites wines with some age. For example, right now we are drinking some of our preferred Bordeaux, Burgundies and California reds from the middle 90’s rather than the last released vintage.
I am not surprised that Morton’s was the first to go down in the Twin Cities. While I liked their food their wine list was outrageously overpriced and low end selections were poor. My favorite overprice wine was the 2001 Insignia for $325 (prior to tax/tip). I brought in the same bottle and paid the $25 corkage and walked out under $120 with a bonus tip to the server.
They also were the hardest to work with in town when it came to bringing in wine for corporate events. Having to call Corporate to get the ok and then coming back with a $25 corkage and no discount on food for a volume event does not cut it in this market.
While I enjoyed dining there I will have no problem finding less expensive dining options at a fraction of the price such as Broder’s Pasta Bar and Heidi’s.
I hear ya, John. These restaurants, even the high-end ones, need to wake up on this topic, bith the prices and the fees.
A couple that have done so in Minneapolis: Corner Table has a $1/bottle corkage fee on Thursdays, and FireLake has waived corkage on Sundays.
Bill,
Thanks for the heads up on Corner Table. I have to try it sooner than later.
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