For a Limited Time Only: Colicchio Back in the Kitchen

Posted by Kim on Oct. 2, 2008

Tom Colicchio announced yesterday morning his plans to open a new restaurant, Tom: Tuesday Dinner (although he is open to suggestions on the name):

The restaurant will probably serve about 80 diners a month, which is almost certain to make this one of the toughest tickets in town. Reservations will be taken by telephone six weeks in advance, and the price of the meal ($150 to $250 depending on the menu) will have to be prepaid with a credit card. Menus will only be announced about a week before each meal; they will be posted on a website, tomtuesdaydinner.com.

[...]

He said that he had “no plan” to keep the restaurant going for more than a year, but hinted that he was taking a wait-and-see attitude.

So, not only do I have to plan my dinner six weeks in advance (which, let’s be serious, will probably end up being more because it’s Tom Colicchio), I have to pay for it in advance and I won’t have any idea what I paid for until a week before I eat it (at which point I can’t change my mind, because, well, I already paid for it). And why is he only going to be open for a year? This isn’t a concert tour – it’s a restaurant . . .

I have a suggestion for a name . . . how about Tom: Get Off Your High Horse and Open a Real Restaurant That Serves People Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday too. I’ll give him the weekend off. He’s busy.

Will I still try to get a reservation at his place? Heck yea . . . his food is delicious. But, I still think that this idea is a little ridiculous.

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  • Putting on my economist hat (I really do have one; it has glitter), I see this as a great opportunity for arbitrage. Another word for arbitrage is scalping. You could imagine someone buying seats ahead of time and then selling them to the highest bidder any time before the day of the dinner. This presupposes that people would be willing to pay more than $150 to $250 for a seat, but I think they will, given the artificial scarcity.
  • tim
    "Tom: Get Off Your High Horse and Open a Real Restaurant That Serves People Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday too."

    I really don't get this snarky comment. He has what? 11 restaurants. He has done his bit for king and country - this is something different for him so my suggestion is for you to get off your high horse...

    (have no intention of trying for a reservation - too many interesting things to do to waste my time on then scheduling a dinner in a city 800 miles away)
  • Paulo
    Tim,

    Get of your high horse - the number of restaurants the man has established has nothing to do with the issue. He is asking paying customers to pay, in advance, for a meal they know nothing about. This is a big step.

    I think you'll agree it is a little arrogant.
  • Dana
    Let's be honest as a restauranteur it is his prerogative to have a restaurant that is only open Tuesdays (no need to discuss the randomness of choosing Tuesday as your particular day of business).

    I do have to agree with Kim though that the demands he places on us consumers, who love Tom Colicchio and tend to think he can do no wrong, are a bit ridiculous for us to swallow. Selecting some Tuesday at least six-weeks in advance, keeping it mind that it is only alternating Tuesdays, and on top of that requiring we prepay for the dinner... Tom that is too much. If you do not recognize that this is ridiculous, then you need to seriously examine how profitable restaurants run their business for a comparison (no disrespect because no doubt this will be very profitable for him, just indicating that it is very arbitrary)

    Alas, I might be open to that scalping idea because i'm not one to plan in advance and I'm pretty sure that I will still try to eat here. mmm...delicious
  • Dennis
    I too think this idea is ridiculous and I won't stand for it. good day to you Colicchio. good day
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