Restaurant wants customers to spend a minimum amount and customers are not amused
A steak restaurant has incurred the wrath of many by setting a minimum amount that guests must spend there—namely, an amount of around eighty euros. Justified, or complete nonsense?
It concerns an American restaurant chain, Steak48, where, at two locations, a sign has recently appeared outside stating that you must spend at least one hundred dollars per person on food and drinks, that this excludes tax and tip, and that this will ensure you have a really good time there. Ha!
What is excessive?
Steak48 already had a dress code banning “excessively distressed” clothing, as well as visible underwear. That alone prompted a few witty reactions on social media, but this latest rule requiring a minimum spend has really rubbed many people the wrong way.
A little soup and a glass of water, please
We also wondered: why would you want to be required to spend one hundred dollars at a restaurant chain? Surely there are plenty of other fun local neighborhood places where you will be welcomed with open arms? And is Steak48 really so blind when it comes to hospitality? Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that in America it is more common than here to order only an appetizer at a restaurant, and that the Steak48 locations in Chicago and Philadelphia had had enough of that.
Living it up
Of course, with this article we are not saying that spending around one hundred euros (or much more) on a dinner is inherently excessive; quite the contrary! We are happy to pay what a special meal and a wonderful ambiance are worth. But the obligation—that is what feels so inhospitable. Especially when they frame it as though this is the minimum needed to give yourself a fun evening. Spent $99? Terrible night…
In short: you might have spent that money at the restaurant anyway, gladly. But the fact that it is mandatory? It will not bother the businesspeople pulling out the corporate credit card one bit. But we think it will drive others away.
Also read:
- Fortunately! Paying €7.50 for an access test for café and restaurant visits is off the table
- How to cook the perfect steak
- 7 of the most beautiful restaurants in the world
Image: Steak48, source: Bored Panda
