'225 Dine': Dinner at a discount

Published Oct 12, 2012 at 10:15 am (Updated Oct 12, 2012)

Ask any working parent about his or her greatest daily challenge, and the dinner frenzy inevitably ranks high on the list. Weeknights around the Capital City find moms and dads chauffeuring children from carpool to extracurricular activities, leaving little time to plan, shop for and cook family meals at home. The race for time has many darting into local restaurants. But eating out routinely can be expensive, prompting many parents to search for the best possible dinner deals. For a growing number, this means one of dozens of local "kids eat free" or discount nights. It's a strategy the restaurant industry has deployed regularly since consumers pulled back on nonessentials after the economy softened in 2008. By 2010, the national firm Baum + Whiteman, which issues an annual list of restaurant trends, declared that "kids eat free" nights would surge nationally. Indeed, many local restaurants have found that taking a loss on already cheap kids' menu items is a winning strategy for getting adults in the door, especially from Sunday to Wednesday, when volume is lower. Families have embraced the idea enthusiastically. Access the rest of this story and check out all of the new 225 Dine e-newsletter here.