By ARIELLA MONTI
This year, the fact that Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday, some restaurant owners said, will be an advantage, while another said he felt business might take a hit.
“I think it’s going to help,” said Tom Corning, owner of Caffe Laguna on West Beech Street. “This is the first time in a while that people have off the next day. I think people are going to come out later, stay later, have more drinks, bottles of wine. Things like that.”
Corning said his intimate restaurant books quickly, and he anticipates many customers taking advantage of its delivery service if they want to avoid crowds. “We’re calling it, ‘Caffe Laguna presents the big night out and the big night in,’” he said. Couples will be able to order on Saturday night or in advance, from a menu that includes oysters and stuffed lobster, and the order will be brought to their home complete with a candle.
Allen Adams, the owner of Sugo on West Park Avenue, said that while there will be fewer large groups than the typical Saturday night, he anticipates a profitable night. “We’re doing our specials all weekend,” said Adams, noting that the restaurant will offer a five-course tasting with chocolate included as an ingredient in each dish.
Sugo, which serves American food with world flavors, did well on its first Valentine’s Day last year. “We hope to be better on the second,” Adams said.
On the other side of town, Geri’s, on East Park Avenue, will be open for its first Valentine’s Day. Owner Andy Piselli said his old restaurant, Josie’s, which closed its West Park location in 2005, was the perfect holiday spot, but he expects his new locale will also have a profitable weekend.
Piselli and his wife, Darlene, plan on keeping a similar menu at the casual American eatery. “People aren’t looking to get hit over the head,” he said, adding that couples tend to eat faster than large groups, allowing for more customers to be seated. “That’s one thing that bothers me, when you go someplace and they take advantage of certain holidays.”
While Corning, Adams and Piselli appear optimistic about a busy and profitable weekend, Sutton Place owner Rob Richards said that a weekday Valentine’s Day is more desirable, because it forces diners to eat out on a day when they would normally stay home.
“It actually hurts business a little bit because you have a lot of large parties that go out on a Saturday,” Richards said of the diners that come into the bar and grill celebrating birthdays or other special occasions. “Business will be a little off.”
Richards acknowledged that Valentine’s Day could help business on the days before and after it. Like Piselli, he noted that his restaurant will not offer an overly expensive menu, keeping entrees between $15 and $30.
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