I spoke with a family member this weekend about the Saturday cooking shows, cookbooks, kitchen equipment and other post-holiday issues relating to food. Her husband is retired and they enjoy dining out. Typically, they avoid the packed dinner houses on Friday and Saturday nights. They prefer to go to restaurants on Sunday and Thursday evenings.

In her neighborhood, the two fantastic steak houses have closed in 2008. Since they enjoy steak when dining out, this is a disappointment. She asked me for some suggestions on steak oriented restaurant chains. As I recited the list of steak concepts, she stopped me several times to mention recent coupons for 2-for-1 meal offers. I asked if her two favorite spots had offered coupons. She said they both sent coupons toward the end - just before they closed.

Our local chapter of HFTP meets for dinner every month. At this month's meeting, I spent the meal with two women. One of the women dines out frequently mid-week due to long hours at work. A very successful local restaurant group opened a new location in her area about two years ago. I asked her how they are doing in the location near her home. She said they have lowered the menu prices and the quality has slipped from the excellent first year. "I wish they would charge a little more and improve the quality."

I tried to see if she was more likely to dine in a restaurant or go with a take-out order on work nights. She absolutely prefers to dine in the restaurant. Cleaning dishes, cold food and lack of ambiance taint her take-out experiences. She likes to cook when she has the time so most restaurants won't see her from Friday through Sunday. Mid-week is when she likes to go and try new menu items and taste new wines.

The local strip mall near my house has three businesses who have closed their doors. A gas station, a nail care salon and a casual dining restaurant have decided to find greener pastures elsewhere. On three occasions, I tried the casual dining spot for brief meals with business associates. We found the mid-week experiences very disappointing and on two occasions the waitress mentioned the chef was not on duty.

She wanted us to try again on the following evening since she does not work weekends. On our third try, we waited until the evening when the chef could be expected in the kitchen. On this final attempt to enjoy a mid-week meal at this restaurant, we were sold a special by our waitress. All of us ordered the highly recommended special. The completely mediocre rehashed entree insured none of us would ever step foot in this restaurant again.

So who is dining out mid-week in your operation? Do you serve seniors looking for a quieter meal, hard working executives who leave work too late to cook a meal, business associates discussing a new project or coupon shoppers taking advantage...

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After doing some research, I have discovered a few chain restaurants that I'd like to be given the opportunity to bid on.  My company does more bid and spec work with institutional accounts but they have brought me on board to try and dip into the retail accounts.  While doing my research, I have been able to find contact names and numbers that I'd like to call and introduce myself.  Of course, nature of the beast...

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