Free corkage at Grove restaurants?
A reader writes:"How would you feel about free corkage at Grove restaurants? In Chicago (where I grew up) free corkage is the norm. That is, you bring a bottle of wine and you can drink it without paying the restaurant $20 or $30 just to open it. Personally, I would eat out far more often if I knew I could take my favorite bottle with me. I find the markup of bottles in restaurants to be ridiculous. I see no reason to pay $40+ per bottle, plus service, when some of my favorite wines are priced in the $10-$20 range. I see this as a win-win for restaurants. A free corkage policy will draw more of the local population in while still preserving the revenue stream from tourists."
-- Michele, a Grapevine reader
posted by Tom Falco at 10:58 AM
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18 Comments:
I would looove it.
Try Christabelle's on Tuesday through Thursday. They have bottles of wine offered at half price, great food and jazz. The new chef is really good.
No corkage fee would be great but how do you replace that revenue for the restaurants? It would have to have a pretty big marketing buzz behind it to draw in more customers. Maybe if it was for Mon - Fri that would limit the losses in drinks purchased? Good idea though.
i cant believe too many suckers are paying corkage fees anyway.
next the restaurants will be charging 'seating' fees, cutlery fees, water fees, knapkin fees, and breathing room fees....
if wine is a ripoff at the restaurant, and it always is, i just skip it and order a beer. or, heaven forbid, a free glass of water...
Beer is no less of a ripoff. Actually it's probably more. If there's a sucker here is the one who pays the wine markup. Oh yeah, and those who think wine doesn't add to the meal experience. Plus, if you don't like your restaurants, don't order wine; that'll put them out of business pretty quick.
To the question at hand: it would be great for diners, horrible for restaurants and there's no way they'll do it. BTW, I don't know what Grove restaurant charges $30 corkage (Baleen?). That's pretty steep.
Oh yeah and then there is Cefalo's who measures out every glass of wine so heaven forbid they don't give you an extra drop.
I had no idea you could bring your own wine. Interesting. I probably wouldn't unless it was a restaurant notorious for crappy selections. Num Thai in Key largo comes to mind. Food is excellent. Wine selection not so great.
While your at it why not bring your own food too, that way you could have free corkage and food!!!Cheapo!!
Christebelle's does not have good food, I would not recommend it!!
LOL, come on... Lets balance the idea ... It would be nice to be able to drink one's own wine, if so desired, for a fair price... The restaurant needs to make $ to pay server, cook, rent, electrical... The economy is bad... and getting worse... For everyone, including restaurateurs...
While Christabelle's is debatable as far as ggood food they do host a wine tasting I believe on Fridays. The cost is $15 and its suppose to be nice. Just FYI. Now to pay or not to pay corkage, there was time a long long time ago that you could bring yout own booze because the place did not sell it. Oh that was nice..Now bring it yourself and you pay...buy it here and you pay...either ways I see we pay. So is there an answer? Order a glass and enjoy the night out. Just order the bottle and look at the fun people in our great town. The view is priceless to sit at say Green Street with a nice bottle and have a nice time with friends..
To the Christabelle's naysayers: if you haven't been there recently give it another chance. They had a terrible start, but have improved immensely. Christabelles' owner, John El Masry, has given a great deal of his time and money to Grove causes ... he really needs us to give back and help Christabelle's succeed. If there was ever a situation where one of us Groveites needed the community to rally for him, this is it.
Peaceole, you are correct. There is a wine tasting at Christabelles on Fridays and its a pretty good time. They usually serve some sort of gnosh with it as well so you can get a little snackin in. I think they had jambalaya the past 2 times Ive been. The guy who pours is a little stingy with the pours though...
The last commenter is correct too. Christabelles food has definitely improved and John is a great guy and contributor to the Grove so we should support him.
Count me in as another Christabelle's fan. No one was more distraught about the bad reviews than John El Masry. He makes a point of regularly touring the tables to inquire about the dining experience and has made major changes to ramp things up. John has put his heart and soul into this place and is working his ass off to make it top notch. If you have had a bad experience in the past, give it another shot.
There's nothing wrong with a reasonable corkage fee, anywhere from $5 to $10 reflecting the price range of the restaurant. Of course free is great too.
I miss the half-off bottles of wine at Greenstreet that happened once a month!
Ortanique on Mircle Mile still does that, but that ain't the Grove now is it.
Now I know why my postings are not being posted about Christebelle's because this blog is totally bias. The food there is not good or accurate to true Louisiana food & it is overpriced!
It is absolutely fair for a restaurant to charge a corkage fee. They are in business to sell wine. I would be happy to pay it if they allow me to bring my own.... Whether or not, it is the waiter who ends up losing. It is the rare patron who gives the waiter an extra gratuity (that he would have earned on the wine sale). Working for tips, those few bucks add up at the end of the night.
Why are you so cheap??? The corkage fee is so that the restaurant can make some of the profit they are loosing by you not buying wine. You are also using there glasses that they need to buy and clean for you. Can I bring paper into your print shop and that way you won’t charge me for the job? Of course not!
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