Heads, you win; tails, you pay up
Basil's new owner is trying
Date published: 1/24/2008
BY CATHY JETT
The new owner of a popular downtown Fredericksburg restaurant has diners flipping over their dinners.
And not just because the renovated space has a chef who's tweaking the menu.
Every Tuesday between 5 and 8 p.m., the waitresses at Basil's Bistro bring a newly minted presidential dollar along with a customer's bill. As the gold coin goes spinning in the air, the customer calls out "heads" or "tails." If the guess is correct, the restaurant picks up the tab.
"Tuesdays are normally very slow, and we just expanded our hours to 8 p.m.," said Chrissy Jones, who bought the small eatery at 909 Caroline St. last November. "I was trying to come up with a way to get people to come in."
Her inspiration for the promotion, which began last week, was a restaurant in Santa Barbara, Calif., that used the same concept to attract customers on its traditionally slow Monday nights. She went there with a group of 15 people once, and they were lucky enough to win the toss.
"I remembered being a happy customer then, and thought, 'What the heck?'" Jones said.
Chuck and Diane Hoffman, who live on Caroline Street, found out about the deal when it launched last week. They thought it was a fun idea, but stopped by for dinner on Tuesday this week mainly because they want to encourage places like Basil's to stay open later.
"We like to walk downtown to eat out at least once a week," Diane Hoffman said. "We think [Jones] is a great addition to downtown and we hope she succeeds."
Maxine and Ed Smith, who are vendors in a downtown antiques store, usually go to Basil's for lunch and then take home a loaf of Italian bread. Last Tuesday, they also came in for dinner.
"There's been a noticeable difference in the food," Maxine Smith said. "It was good before, but now it's better."
Neither couple won a free dinner, but they weren't discouraged.
"Some day " Chuck Hoffman said good-humoredly.
"Flip for Your Dinner Tuesday" is only one of a number of changes Jones has made or has in the works for Basil's. The restaurant has been cleaned up, repainted and redecorated, and Jones has hired James Thompson, the former chef at Brock's Riverside Grill on Sophia Street.
Date published: 1/24/2008
Most recent reader comments:
A downtown resturant that dosen't close at 6 pm?
(posted by
Einstein
, Jan. 24, 2008 12:32 pm)
that is some innovative business strategy. Let's hope it becomes a trend.
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