Free food!

[senseandsensibility]

Yesterday the hubby and I went out to lunch. We'd just received a flyer about a restaurant just opening up in our area, not a chain. It included a menu, and it looked good and reasonable, so we decided to check it out.

When we walked up, we noticed a sign saying "Open Monday", but they were obviously open. An employee was standing outside and said that we could only order appetizers or dessert, not both. We were kind of caught off guard, and wondered if we should leave.

Then she sprung it on us. Because they weren't really open yet, and "might make mistakes", the bill would be "complimentary." That is, everything except alcoholic drinks. (Well, you can't have everything!)

We scurried in before they could change their mind, had a great lunch, and left a twenty dollar tip for a zero dollar bill.
Has anyone ever heard of this before?

[undeterred]

1. there was a Chinese restaurant in my neighborhood that opened with

an all you can eat (off one plate) buffet for $2- I heard that tons of homeless people showed up so I doubt they got many tips though!

[senseandsensibility]

2. Yeah, this was kind of a hush-hush thing

They sprung it on you as you entered. The surprise factor was cool! It was kind of an upscale crowd, but I don't think they'd have gotten rid of anyone if the drinks had been free!

[yewberry]

3. It's called a "soft open."

And sometimes "family night" because they may be invite-only.

New restaurants will often open one or two nights before their official opening date to work out kinks in recipes, production, etc. They are often discounted for that reason.

The last soft open I did was HORRIBLE...late food, missing food, confusion over table assignments (one poor table sat for twenty minutes before anyone realized that they hadn't been helped--pretty much my fault :banghead:)hosting nightmare scenarios, shortages.

Glad you found a good one!