Increased corkage post-COVID?

So I’m planning dinner at a local top restaurant for our anniversary. I’ve heard about a lot of restaurants reducing or eliminating their corkage to try to encourage people to dine with them and/or offering specials or reduced prices on their wine list.

So I ask the somm what they are doing and he said not only do they have no specials/discounts, they have increased their corkage to $35/50 (2 bottles max) to “encourage guests to enjoy their wines”.

Curious if anyone else has seen this type of money grab?

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It’s frequent all over atlanta. Considering a high % of the money made in restaurants is off the wine and drinks list, it makes sense to me from a business perspective. Still a pain. Sometimes I’ve seen them waive the first bottle if you buy a bottle off the list.

It’s an interesting strategy. Do you sacrifice alcohol sales to incentivize people to come to the restaurant in the first place, or do you try to make a bigger margin off of diners once they’re already there?

I’ll be happy to pay corkage once I start going back to NYC restaurants, even the places that usually waive it for us.

Some restaurants have eliminated corkage.

This…+ 3,000 (pennies)

The flaw in this thread is in the title: ‘post’. A lot of reastaurants are just trying to survive. Never forget that we are the 1% when it comes to wine. Most people have no interest in corkage.

I can’t imagine bringing wine into a restaurant right now.

I am seeing most suburban and event high end Michelin-starred downtown Chicago restaurants encouraging more BYOB and even now permitting BYOB with $0 corkage even more during the pandemic. Perhaps this is just regional? Love the trend here in ChicagoLand.

Maybe like Del Posto they had to sell a lot of their inventory to survive.

Perhaps that works if they think their demand is inelastic, and customers want to eat there, no matter what the price is. Usually if all that were true they would start doing things like mandatory tasting course dinners, prepayment with reservations, ancillary charges (valet etc.) Sometimes one sees this on Valentines Day or Mothers Day etc.

Some might (fairly) point out that discounting isn’t going to drive patrons to visit if the fundamental fear is getting infected when eating out. But there is also a recession going on too, and that is hurting demand too, so I’m a little surprised a venue is being like this. Its hard to collect that corkage fee if the table is empty!

Even in Covid times… I still like being a customer who gets to choose models, and I choose this one. If your place is sold out and however much you like me (or not), you need each table to pay something for wine? I totally get corkage. If your place is half full and I’m coming, using social media to promote going, and just being a good customer at a time when things are immensely difficult? I don’t want you to charge me corkage. It will just kill my interest because of how I feel.

Any opinion among the spectrum is perfectly valid, but I want a restaurant (if they’re struggling for seats) to value me in this way. If not, I simply can use the corkage fees to buy premium stuff to cook at home, and get neighborhood ethnic takeout (even for fancy occasions) and dress it up a bit (some of the Indian around us is quite impressive for takeout).

*I’ll add the caveat that, personally, I still haven’t sat inside a restaurant yet for distancing reasons since March, so it’s outside dining only or no takeout only for me at the moment in this country. So, admittedly, I’m already on the fence about restaurants, period. In any state.

Honestly this is insane. Do you have any idea how bad restaurants are hurting? Restaurants do NOT make money on food. If you think you are doing them a favor by going there and drinking your own wine you are not. You should be ashamed of yourself. You have a $2000-5000+ bottle of wine in your avatar.

Wow . Seems a bit harsh. Am I missing something ??

I don’t know Robert but I do know that he is passionate about restaurants. I’m sure it pains him greatly to observe what they are going through.

Restaurants really aren’t in a position of strength right now so charging more and providing less seems pretty dumb.

Bringing wine into a restaurant is a privilege, not a right.

What’s your story going to be when they are all gone?

Selfish, entitled (removed by admin)

Did Wine Berserkers just become a “Covid is a hoax” website? As far as I am aware, not only are we not post-COVID, we aren’t even close to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. While it is a terrible shame about the restaurant industry, I’ll put my safety first. I haven’t been to a restaurant since January and won’t be going to one for the foreseeable future.