When household revenue is down, certain sacrifices are made especially things considered luxuries` like traveling, going to the movies and eating out.
Restaurants around Schenectady County are fighting that trend and doing what they can to beat the effects of the recession.
`We’re just trying to hold on,` said Deanna Smith, an owner of Pasquariello’s Restaurant in Scotia.
She said that in these tough financial times, fewer people are coming in to the restaurant and they’re ordering cheaper items and not as many of them. She said Pasquariello’s hasn’t tried to do anything differently to lure customers in ` they’ve always had specials and they haven’t changed their menu at all.
Kathleen Olesko, an owner of City Squire in Niskayuna, also hasn’t tried to do anything different in terms of business tactics to bring customers into Union Street tavern.
`We try to keep [our meal prices] low anyway. We try to keep everything within a reasonable cost,` said Olesko.
Similar to Pasquariello’s, her restaurant has always offered specials to customers, like wing specials on Sundays.
`Keeping everything at a medium price keeps our business going,` said Olesko.
She said that things are generally slow in the summer for her restaurant, recession or not, because people leave town, but she has noticed that some of her regular customers are coming in less.
`There are a few regulars that we had that would come in four to five times a week, and now they’re only coming in couple times a week,` said Olesko, but she noted that she wouldn’t really be able to tell if there have been any changes until fall rolls around. That’s when college students in the area come back and people aren’t going on vacations as frequently.
In terms of buying patterns, she’s noticed that there are some people who are buying less food.
`They’re having one appetizer and splitting it as opposed to two appetizers,` said Olesko.
Two restaurants in Rotterdam have also felt the pinch of the recession, but are trying different offers to bring in diners, both new and old.
`We’ve put together a stimulus package menu on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday,` said Peter Guidarelli, owner of Roman Villa Italian Restaurant.
He said the restaurant offers 15 dinners for $9.99 on those nights.
`We have a menu that really caters to the Rotterdam and Schenectady residents,` said Guidarelli.
`It’s good food. It’s not fancy. We’re seeing more families coming in for pizza because it’s a great meal that you can get at a great price. You can feed a family of four for 25 bucks with a 12-cut pizza and a few toppings,` said Guidarelli.
To lure customers in he has also `given a fresh look` to the restaurant by residing the exterior of the building and putting in new flooring.
`It’s trying to find a reason for people to come out, and people need a break form the news of the economy and the best way to do that is to give them great food at a great price,` said Guidarelli.
Other methods Guidarelli is working with to bring customers include live entertainment on Wednesday and Thursday nights, as well as free pizza at happy hour Wednesday through Friday.
He and other Rotterdam restaurant owners work together to help each other out by referring customers to one another when they can’t accommodate their needs.
`We’ve always had a good neighborly relationship,` said Evan Christou, owner of Tops Grill, Bakery and Bar.
`In ways we compete, but in many ways we are in the same boat rowing in the same direction,` said Christou, who added that they share a good percentage of customers who will go to Tops one night and then Roman Villa the next.
At Tops, they came up with a `recession buster` menu, with different items on it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
`Our recession buster breakfast includes coffee and a hot breakfast ` a couple different things for the customer to choose for $3.69 plus tax,` said Christou.
He said they have four to five lunch items daily that include a salad or soup or sandwich or combination of any two for $5.99. Dinner goes for $9.99 and includes a soup, salad, entrEe, starch and vegetable.
`One of our attractions here is the variety,` said Christou. `We have something that meets everyone’s budget, and we’re very sensitive to not only what’s going on with our business but to what’s going on in the individual homes of our customers.`
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