• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, August 13, 2010

Zagat Survey is launching Zagat Exclusives, an online program offering consumers group deals on dining at Zagat-rated restaurants.

Zagat Exclusives will launch in New York City in September and quickly roll out to other metro areas, including Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco, according to the company.

Powered by group buying site DealOn.com, the offers will be available through that site and DealOn's syndicated network, as well as on Zagat.com.

Deals such as special offers on a prix fixe menu or a reduced-price voucher - sometimes including a special experience such as meeting the chef or touring the kitchen -- will be offered in limited quantities for a fixed sale period. The initial offer price will decrease as more people buy the deal, with purchasers ultimately paying the lowest price reached at the end of the sale period. There are no set minimum group prices.

Restaurants with formats ranging from casual to formal will be offering deals, according to Zagat.

Zagat co-founder/co-chair Nina Zagat says that Exclusives is designed to benefit both discerning diners and restaurant operators.

"Today, value is important to diners at every economic level," she tells Marketing Daily. In a recent, nationally representative Zagat survey of restaurant diners, 39% reported paying closer attention to prices in light of the economic downturn.

Exclusives restaurant participants will include Zagat-rated chains, but the preponderance of deals offered is likely to be from independent restaurant operators.

NPD Group foodservice industry Recount data for the 12 months ending March 31 showed independents being far harder-hit by the economy than restaurant chains. Across all formats, independently owned units were down by 5,093, or 2%, to 311,548 -- while franchised and company-owned units that are part of national or regional restaurant chains were essentially flat, at 267,868. Full-service independent units declined by 2,408 (to 218,729), while full-service chain units were down by just 275 (to 54,560).

DealOn, which offers group deals for spas and hotels as well as restaurants, has an exclusive partnership with the Adblade Web ad network, which reaches more than 140 million users per month. Existing group buying service competitors include Groupon and services offered by other recommendations/review sites like OpenTable and Yelp.