‘Pay-what-you-can’ policy pumps life into hard-hit Northwest restaurant‘Pay-what-you-can’ policy pumps life into hard-hit Northwest restaurant

Lisa Jennings

The economic downturn seemed to take a while to hit the Pacific Northwest, but it has taken its toll on Brian Petoletti’s Shell Creek Grill & Wine Bar in Edmunds, Wash., over the past four months.

Just north of downtown Seattle, Edmunds has also taken a hit from the machinist strike at Boeing Co., based nearby. As a result, Petoletti has watched the traffic at his two-year-old restaurant decline. Business was down more than 50 percent in recent months, he said.

Listening to the radio with his wife, Heidi, on the way home from a particularly slow night, the two were inspired by a talk show host who encouraged listeners to think outside the box.

“So we said, ‘What’s the craziest thing we could do?’” Petoletti said.

Last month, Shell Creek Grill launched a “pay what you can afford” policy.

Prices remained the same on the menu, which features upscale dishes ranging from black-truffle risotto to rack of lamb. But on the menu is a disclaimer urging guests to use the listed prices as simply a “reference”.

The bill only charges customers for alcohol, because state laws prohibit restaurants from giving it away for free. Guests are asked to pay what they can afford for rest of the meal.

As soon as word got out about the policy, Petoletti said, business doubled.

“People are talking to each other, and the dining room is vibrant and alive,” he said.

While some guests do pay less than the listed prices for their meal, others pay more. Petoletti estimates that check tickets now average about $66 for two, compared with $75 prior to the change.

“Never underestimate the decency and goodness in people,” Petoletti said. “People have been wonderful.”

The new program has brought in regulars but also new customers, including lots of young couples that may have felt they couldn’t afford the restaurant previously.

“It takes away the customer’s fear of overspending,” Petoletti said.

But most of all, it gets people out of the house and into his dining room, significantly improving cash flow.

As with most in the industry, Petoletti also is struggling with higher expenses. But, he noted, “for a small business, there’s no award at the end of the year for running a perfect 30 percent on food costs.”

Petoletti takes great pleasure in making his guests happy, and he is committed to sticking with the pay-what-you-can policy for the long term.

Next year he hopes to open a second restaurant, to be called Allure Lounge, in nearby Bellevue, Wash.

Will guests pay what they can there?

“If things continue the way they have at Shell Creek,” he said, “I wouldn’t rule it out.”