The wheel’s already been invented, restaurant owners just need to ride it

Written by Cindy Nevitt Friday, April 27, 2012 01:00 am

Since 70 percent of Americans drink alcohol, we can assume seven out of 10 adult visitors to Ocean City are inclined to imbibe. But due to archaic thinking, they can’t do so freely. Public consumption of alcohol here is a big no-no since a 1984 ordinance prohibited it, and it’s a bigger drain on the economy as carloads of happy hour habitués head out of town every day at sundown.

In the interest of balanced reporting, I attended both the pro and no BYOB public informational sessions held last week. The pro group is very low-key, approaching what is proving to be the biggest decision Ocean City voters have ever faced with a lack of lawn signs, hysteria and rhetoric. The no side has more than made up for the pro side’s restraint and decorum, relying on fear, distorted perceptions and revisionist history to “preserve” Ocean City.

The ignorance of many voters on this issue is understandable and, to a point, excusable. They are depending upon the expertise of the organizers of both camps to disseminate information, not inflammatory mumbo jumbo. There is no excuse, however, for those restaurant owners who are playing helpless and pretending they have no choice in the matter.

Instead of manning up and taking responsibility for their decision to oppose BYOB, some restaurant owners are engaging in irrational thought processes. They whine that their table turnover rate will suffer while a couple lingers over a bottle of wine. You have to believe the bottle is bottomless for that to happen.

They quake at the imagined image of 20-somethings wheeling in barrels of beer and terrorizing their civilized clientele. Right. Because it is the established habit of college kids to dine out en masse in public instead of staying home and quaffing cheap brewski from a keg in someone’s back yard.

They fret about inebriated customers causing a scene. Seriously, what restaurant customer is going to tote enough beer or wine into a restaurant to get blotto? But, the question should be: what restaurant owner is going to permit that?

For argument’s sake, let’s say someone is a lightweight and gets sloppy on a glass of pinot grigio. Who will police this public nuisance, they ask? I’m thinking the police. Do these restaurant owners honestly believe we don’t have enough cops in this town year-round that one couldn’t be dragged away from a doughnut run to cuff the occasional drunk?

One of their biggest stumbling blocks to BYOB is their unwillingness to tell customers they choose not to allow the practice in their restaurants. They want to know: how will they explain their decision to say “no” to brown bagging? I’m thinking the same way they tell their kids not to do crack cocaine. If you think it’s wrong, you say so and you stand behind your decision. You don’t prevent everyone else from doing it just because you don’t want to look like a bad guy.

All of this got me to thinking about a story I wrote about 10 years ago when I was food editor at The Press of Atlantic City. Table turnover has been a problem at the shore in the summer since the first fried seafood combo was served. Other restaurant owners have already invented the wheel of moving patrons along. All Ocean City’s restaurant owners have to do is ride that wheel.

Here are 10 ways how:

1) Establish a time limit and let patrons know when they make reservations how much time has been allotted for them to dine. Remind them once they arrive and are seated.

2) Pick up the pace in the kitchen, and the pace will correspondingly be picked up in the dining room.

3) Print the restaurant’s after-dinner policy on the menu. Here’s how one restaurant owner in another shore town worded his notice: “Due to limited seating, we regret that we are unable to accommodate those who wish to remain seated at their table for an extended period of time after payment of check.”

4) Don’t serve coffee or dessert, the real culprits in encouraging patrons to linger.

5) If you do offer after-dinner items, invite patrons to move outside to the patio or another location to enjoy them, freeing up their table.

6) Don’t offer a third cup of coffee, and instruct the wait staff to stop asking, “Is there anything else I can get you?”

7) Clean the table of utensils, etc., that are not being used.

8) Serve a pre-made salad instead of time-consuming, labor-intensive appetizers.

9) Drop the check on the table before the customer asks for it.

10) Be honest, and put on the charm. Explain the table is needed, and gesture to waiting customers. “Quite a few people are waiting for this table,” is the way one restaurant owner phrases his request. “Would you be kind enough to hurry a bit?’

Bon appétit! And cheers!

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