When is it appropriate to use gift cards purchased from restaurants early in the spring? —Carolyn and Ellen L.
When I was asked this question in June, I answered privately, “You don’t want to redeem them just yet since restaurants are still recovering, and you don’t want to wait until the dead of winter, when they tend to struggle anyway.”
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Last week, another reader asked the same question, and, in the interim, my answer has changed. Before we get to that, here’s what several restaurant owners had to say about what many said was “a difficult question to answer right now.”
Brant Baldanza, OG Hospitality Group: “I have several gift cards I received as gifts in the spring or earlier, and I won’t be using them until restaurants are able to fully seat with no restrictions, like in St. Charles. Restaurants in the city and county that are operating with a limited number of tables must maximize revenue on every one, so for them, seeing fewer cards is better right now.”
Jim Fiala, The Crossing, Acero: “With most restaurants running out of PPP money, it might be a good idea to wait. Personally, I would hesitate to say, ‘Spend away,’ but we’re in fair shape, and I feel comfortable if someone needs to use one up.”
Patrick Thirion, Peel Wood Fired Pizza: “I think anytime is a good time to spend a gift card. It means more customers coming in to dine, which supports our servers and cooks. Those customers coming in to redeem their gift card gives servers more customers, and I can offer more hours to my staff.”
Aaron Teitelbaum, Herbie’s: “I believe that people should start to redeem them now, because this is going to be a struggle for a while. We, the restaurants, have to figure out how to survive in this climate. If people have bought gift cards from restaurants, it means they are most likely regulars, so just keep coming back. That helps. Buy a nice bottle of wine or something you normally wouldn’t, and splurge if you want to. We remain incredibly grateful to our customers who have supported us through all this.”
Kye Pietoso, Café Napoli: “I had a guest call me the other day asking the same thing. First, I am so appreciative to the supporters of our restaurants and the loyalty and love they have showed us during these unprecedented times. That being said, I would never scoff at someone who is redeeming a gift certificate. I don’t know what their situation is; maybe they just want to treat themselves to an excellent meal. In a perfect world—and this goes for all places like ours—I would ask guests to be mindful when making the reservation; book at 5:30 p.m. or 8 p.m., so the restaurant can get another turn on the table. Spend more money than the gift certificate is worth. Buy a bottle of wine; don’t bring one. Book reservations Sunday through Thursday, when restaurants are slower, so they can maximize their profit and capacity on the weekends. Use the gift card for carryout. And if it’s a gift card with a substantial amount of money on it [$1,000 gift cards are not uncommon], don’t use it all at once as it seriously reduces day-of profit.”
Rob Connoley, Bulrush: From the website: At this time of extreme financial distress, we are asking that you consider not redeeming gift cards until we are back at full service. If you are in hardship and a gift card is necessary, please give us a call and we can make arrangements. [That way, Connoley can better control the flow and prevent a sudden deluge.]
Steve Gontram, 5 Star Burgers: “Colder months ahead will be leaner months, almost assuredly, so we will be relying on strong holiday gift card sales to get us into patio season again. With that in mind, we will be running our annual “buy $25, get $5, no limit” gift card promotion starting Small Biz Saturday and going thru the end of the year.”
Kurt Eller, Taco Buddha: “I think it depends on the specific establishment and how they are they holding up with curbside pickup/takeout and/or limited seating. There are places that are doing well with one or both modes, and there are many barely hanging on and just praying this passes sooner than later. The places that are doing well would probably like to get the gift cards off their books, but it might be a step toward a death sentence for the places barely hanging on. Maybe customers should ask the establishment. My guess is that many establishments would ask for the customer to ‘please hold off,’ but that might make the customer feel that the gift card would soon be worthless. And thinking of winter, if the establishment asks a customer to hold off, it’s probably best to wait until May or June [to redeem]. We’ve been lucky, so I prefer to get ours off the books, and then maybe people will feel good about buying more.”
The last two comments dovetail into mine: My advice is to redeem existing gift cards now but only if you intend to buy more this season for personal use or as gifts. Patrons bought gift cards in the spring to help restaurants survive until they could reopen. They should do so again as the survivors head into an uncertain new year.
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