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Casual Eateries Adding Happy Hours To Attract Seat Warmers

  • USA Today, Wednesday, February 24, 2010 10:46 AM

Hurting as dinner diners dwindle, some of the "upper-echelon" eateries in the casual restaurant category are turning to bargain prices on booze and appetizers to "put "butts in the seats," as Sandy Beall, founder of the Ruby Tuesday chain, puts it.

Bruce Horovitz points out that T.G.I. Friday's has long had a Happy Hour but now establishments like The Cheesecake Factory and P.F. Chang's are taking the risk of cannibalizing more profitable full-menu sales. Ruby Tuesday's is offering all-day $5 drinks and a $2-off on a Happy Hour appetizers menu. After 31 years, the Cheesecake Factory is rolling out its first Happy Hour on weekdays from 4 to 6 p.m. with 16 appetizers and specialty cocktails at $5 each. And P.F. Chang's has gone national with a promotion offering drinks and appetizers priced at $3 to $6 from 3 to 6 p.m.

"This is what you have to do to get business," says industry analyst Malcolm Knapp. "People don't have enough money to eat out."

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