Fine Dining On The Web

Nation's Restaurant News, Oct 22, 2001

Fine dining is a distinct breed of foodservice, where consistent quality, refined ambiance and outreach by the restaurateur simmer in the recipe for success.

So it is with some trepidation that some successful upscale operations venture into cyberspace. Why, they reason, should they risk their image with a Web site they know little about setting up and running after spending years perfecting their craft? If the Web site is anything less than professional, they maintain, it could diminish the public's perception of the restaurant and undermine all of their previous efforts.

And in order to be professional, they'll need to invest heavily in the Web site, many believe.

Put your doubts and fears to rest. Not only are the risks small, but so is the cost, judging from comments of owners of three fine-dining establishments in different areas of the country. The insights they share make Web sites seem feasible for fine-dining operators with even the most stringent standards.

Says Melody Scalley, co-owner with chef-husband William of Eastville Manor Fine Dining & Lodging, a restaurant and bed-and-breakfast just 15 minutes from the tip of the Delmarva Peninsula in rustic Eastville, Va.: "Web sites are more important to fine dining than any other segment. Upscale clientele are much more Internet-savvy than most. These people live to eat, they don't eat to live. Food is important to them:"

Scalley is convinced the Web site helps attract diners from Norfolk who pay a $10 bridge toll each way to dine at Eastville Manor.

Moreover, adds Djon Pepaj, owner of Djon's Chop House in Melbourne Beach, Fla.: "The Web site shows respect for customers by saving them time questioning us about our establishment and services, and giving them more complete information than we ever could over phone or fax. They can check our menu, check our place, have a good feeling of what it looks like, and, if they want, make reservations."

Djon's expansive wine list shown on line takes 19 pages to print out, and it works with awards and rotating close-up photos of food to "incentivize people to come here,' Pepaj says. "Customers may want to impress out-of-town guests, or run a business meeting. This gives them a reason."

He describes how the Web site also is "an incredible tool for in-house catering because [clients] can see the whole wedding package immediately instead of waiting anxiously for mail:"

Pepaj estimates that the Web site has contributed "directly and indirectly to between 5 percent and 10 percent annual incremental business growth" since going live under his supervision two years ago. He recalls a previous effort with an outside designer that lasted six months and was less successful because "no one who isn't a restaurateur can fully understand what it is about your restaurant that needs to be showcased:"

Similarly, Ann Harris, owner of Harris' Restaurants in San Francisco and Phoenix, and Cacti Restaurant in Novato, Calif., describes how her 4-year-old Phoenix operation is "building private event bookings, thanks to the Web site. If not for the Web site, people might think we're just a restaurant. But very few places in our area have as many private facilities as we do. We have three outdoor rooms and a new outdoor patio:"

Indeed, Harris credits Kimberly, her assistant manager who handles banquet bookings, for developing the Web site.

The Harris Web site offers 360-degree views of all of the dining and banquet rooms; presents descriptive menus for lunch, dinner and banquets with close-up pictures of selected dishes; lists numerous awards and reviews; and showcases its own brand of wines.

While all three of the restaurateurs say it is critical that the Web sites address the needs of their target markets, Pepaj insists that it's equally important that the personality of the owner and the restaurant be conveyed in the online effort, "My wife, Melinda, and I are pictured on the site:" he says. "It's important that we be the faces of the restaurant, the ones people recognize when they come, are greeted by, who escort them to their tables and speak with. Some of our top waiters are also known to customers and make them equally comfortable:"

Djon's Web site attempts to convey a sense of personality and history of the restaurant -- which Pepaj says is crucial to a fine-dining restaurant. "People want to spend money in a place with background, not just a place you go in and out of, but to step back in history and get more than eating dinner out," he says.

Eastville's Scalley -- whose Web site emphasizes "casual fine dining" so people can dress in whatever they are comfortable wearing -- posts positive reviews from restaurant critics, which play a vital role in conveying excellence. "We can say we're excellent until we're blue in the face, but if The New York Times and others say it, that's much more credible:" she explains.

Scalley says her B&B/restaurant draws heavily from New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, Richmond, Va., and Washington, D.C. Moreover, "travelers surf the Net to determine what nice restaurants they can find along their route," she adds. For that reason, she calls her Web site "the most profitable advertising I do, and it's far more compelling than the Yellow Pages."