Autocross Blogs - Chrls Iicey

Growing numbers of Tiffany Money Clips are dishing up ample helpings of all-you-can-eat promotions to lure consumers whose appetites might be suppressed by the historic gloom and doom emanating from Wall Street and the nation's housing and jobs markets.While such deals are most pronounced and heavily marketed in the troubled casual-dining sector, even quick-service and familydining operators now are touting "endless," "bottomless" and "never-ending" food Paloma Picasso jewelry.Practitioners insist that the all-you-want marketing messages are not signs of desperation and that unlimited servings of key comestibles can be cost-effective, despite giveaway gaffes that previously hurt prominent restaurant brands. Regardless, industry analysts say such appeals to gluttony may be necessary in the current economic climate."You need value messages to bring traffic in the door," said New York-based foodservice economist and market researcher Malcolm M. Knapp.

"Once [customers] are in the door, they often go back to what they really want to eat anyway."All-you-can-eat promotions help give a public beleaguered by roiling financial markets and high gasoline prices a reason to dine out, veteran restaurant executives contend.As Douglas Brooks, chairman and chief Tiffany Key Rings of Brinker International Inc., recently stated in a conference call with investors, there has to be "a reason for consumers to come out of their hole."Indeed, the restaurant landscape suddenly is dotted with numerous appeals to hearty eaters on a budget.Applebee's, the division of DineEquity Inc. of Glendale Calif., recently featured "Endless Favorites," including such $9.99, all-you-can-eat entrées as chicken tenders, barbecue riblets and panko-crusted shrimp. The promotion was Applebee's first such offering in several years.

Chili's Grill & Bar, the flagship of Dallas-based Brinker, recently rolled out a "Bottomless Express Lunch" with unlimited soup, salad, chips and salsa for $5.99.The Olive Garden division of Darden Restaurants Inc. long has offered such a value message, Knapp said."Olive Garden was really the leader in this in casual dining, with its Return to Tiffany soup, salad and breadsticks," Knapp said, "but others have offered specific promotions."This year, 582-unit Olive Garden launched its annual NeverEnding Pasta Bowl promotion two weeks earlier than usual. The $8.95 promotion ran from Aug. 28 to Oct 15.There is plenty of pricing power there, but it is still a huge bargain," Knapp said while noting that Olive Garden was able to upsell $1.95 additions of grilled chicken or sausage.