STEVE INSKEEP, host:
Restaurant owners are trying all kinds of marketing tactics to keep the customers coming. And one Seattle restaurant is taking a risky approach. Certainly has seemed risky the last few days. It has pegged the price of its daily special to the stock market. NPR's Wendy Kaufman paid a visit.
WENDY KAUFMAN: Housed inside the refurbished old fire house in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, the Hi-Life is a large comfortable space. The semi-open kitchen has a wood burning grill and pizza ovens. Owner Peter Levy leads me to a table and opens the menu -moderate prices on small plates, salads and hearty fare, along with the weeknight bell-ringer special.
Mr. PETER LEVY (Restaurant Owner): Tonight it's a nice Italian sausage, layered lasagna, and it's served with, you know, some garlic toast and a really nice green salad with a mustard vinegarette. And it's selling for - and this breaks my heart - $7.46.
KAUFMAN: I'm looking at your face. You are wincing.
(Soundbite of laughter)
Mr. LEVY: Well, I am wincing. It is a low price but it gives our customers a reason to come in and get a square meal for a good price.
KAUFMAN: Every afternoon after the stock market closes, Levy looks at where the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day. That determines the price for the nightly special. On the evening we visited, the Dow closed at the now lofty figure of 7460, so the price for dinner $7.46. But that was a couple of weeks ago. Last night's special was $6.87. When Levy began this promotion in January, the Dow was above 9000. Now he says he feels like he's in the game of Russian Roulette.
Mr. LEVY: And looks like right now that .45 is pointed right at my head.
Unidentified Man #1: Would you like any fresh grounded pepper on that?
Unidentified Man #2: Yeah.
Unidentified Man #2: Alright.
KAUFMAN: John and Celeste Clawson(ph) are dining on the lasagna special.
Ms. CELESTE CLAWSON: The whole idea I thought was pretty fun, and so I've watched it and here we are. And also I knew it was lasagna tonight.
KAUFMAN: So was dinner good?
Ms. CLAWSON: Very good, delicious.
KAUFMAN: The Clawsons, like many of the others we spoke to, had been her before. They came back because they liked both the food and the discount price.
Mr. JUSTIN EDWARDS(ph): Unfortunately last night I missed the meatloaf.
KAUFMAN: Justin Edwards arrived at the restaurant too late last night for the daily special. There's only a limited number, about a quarter of the dinners likely to be served that night. Restaurateur Levy says if all he sold was specials, he wouldn't stay in business very long. Diner Edwards stayed for dinner last night anyway, and returned to try again.
Mr EDWARD: I actually feel little guilty. It's almost like a double-edged sword. The cheaper it is, a sort of sign of the times, maybe things are not good. But very tasty.
KAUFMAN: Edwards and Clawsons were washing it all down with moderate amounts of alcohol. That's fairly common, and some diners who feel like they got a bargain on the entrée, are ordering an appetizer or extra dessert. Owner Levy says he feels fortunate that overall business is down relatively small 3.5 to 4 percent.
Mr. LEVY: But you know, down is down, and 3.5 to 4 percent hurts.
KAUFMAN: Across the country, many toney establishments have seen business fall by 30 or 40 percent. Lots of other restaurants have thrown in the towel and closed down. But Peter Levy hopes his approach will keep customers coming in for dinner and drinks at the Hi-Life.
Wendy Kaufman, NPR News, Seattle. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.