• USA Today, Tuesday, March 30, 2010 10:49 AM

Casual-dining chains such as Houlihan's, Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen and BJ's Restaurants are trying to lure dollar-pinched diners with small plates of items that typically are cheaper than appetizers and are meant to be passed around the table, Bruce Horovitz.

"This is how the next generation" -- meaning Millennials - "is eating," says Houlihan's CEO Bob Hartnett. His chain, for example, is offering 23 small-plate items in response to the demand. The best seller so far is a plate of mini-burgers for $3.50. "If we don't give it to them, they'll find someone else who will," say Hartnett.

The National Restaurant Association reports that 57% of casual-dining restaurants reported a same-store, year-over-year decline in sales January, following a 49% drop in December.

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