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Latest casualty of the economy: Kids Eat Free deals on the chopping block
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Shari's in Renton no longer offers a Kids Eat Free deal.
Across the country, restaurants are struggling as the economy continues to faulter. Many restaurants are cutting back on staff, closing during lunch, and simplifying menus as they try to keep costs under control as customers are turning away from eating out to save money. Amid this economic downturn, the latest casualty in the restaurant world is the "Kids Eat Free" deal.
"Kids Eat Free" deals typically offer a free entree from a children's menu when an adult entree and drink are also purchased. Entrees off the children's menu, like grilled cheese sandwiches and mini-pizzas, are generally already low cost, but the allure of getting something for free is popular with parents. "Going out to a restaurant with kids is tough. They fidget, they're noisy, sometimes they won't even eat," said Geoff Cox, an Eastside father to a preschooler. "Getting their meal for free, even if it only cost $2.99 to begin with, just feels better."
But as restaurants struggle to fill tables, they are finding that deal seeking customers may not be good for the bottom line. "These companies are competing any way they can to get customers in the door," explained R.J. Hottovy, a Morningstar restaurant analyst who spoke to the AP. "We don't think this trend [of offering deep discounts] is sustainable."
Although some of the stronger restaurant chains, IHOP, have increased kids eat free promotions as a way to bring in more traffic, smaller restaurants are finding that more customers paying less isn't going to save them in this economy. Across the Eastside, parents have been watching the popular bargains disappearing. At Shari's Diner in Renton, the long-running promotion, which offered a free meal for kids on Saturdays and Sundays, has been cancelled. At Crossroads Mall in Bellevue, a food court special that offered free kid's meals on Tuesday evenings has been discontinued. At DC's Grill in Sammamish and Black Bear Diner in Redmond, cutting the kid's deal was the last step before closing the restaurant entirely.
It is perhaps little surprise that these deals would start disappearing, considering Standard & Poor's, a financial research and analysis firm, rates restaurants as the third weakest industry in the current economy. It is a sad development, nonetheless. As Cox, the Eastside dad, notes, "If she's going to eat mac' and cheese anyway, why not do it at a restaurant?" No doubt the restaurants agree.
For a list of restaurants that still offer Kids Eat Free deals on the Eastside, check out Ruby Slipper Guide.
For a list of restaurants in Seattle that offer Kids Eat Free deals, check out the Seattle Family Friendly Dining Examiner.
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