A new era

The ground has shifted under our feet. Any restaurateur who doesn’t recognize this and act fast may be left with empty dining rooms– and eventually a Closed sign on the door. Last Sunday, I spoke at a Massachusetts Restaurant Association seminar at the  New England Foodservice and Lodging Expo. After Charles Perkins of the Boston Restaurant Group, who is not only a restaurant realtor but an expert on how the business runs, laid out some pretty grim statistics, I tried to reassure the nervous-looking participants.

I don’t think Americans are going to give up their restaurant habit, honed over more than a decade when dining out became our entertainment. But the era of “chef as god” is probably going to take a backseat to the front of the house. In other words, service rules. Either you make the customer feel special and well-cared for, or he or she is going elsewhere.

Steve diFillippo, owner of three Davio’s and Avila, echoed that sentiment on a panel the next day.  DiFillippo, no slouch in the art of wooing diners, said: “We  heart every customer that comes in.”  That’s the mantra for 2009. Less attitude, more love.