Boston Business Journal

Mock trial: Eateries say faux openings can pass muster
Naomi R. Kooker
Special to the Journal

When local chef Jamie Mammano of Mistral opened his second restaurant, Teatro, on Tremont Street in 2002, Jeffrey Iovino, his general manager, wanted everything to be perfect

To that end, Iovino and his staff organized three nights of mock service. Friends and family of the staff as well as ardent fans of Mistral rang up a $30,000 tab, gratis -- all in the name of practice.

When Union Bar & Grille opened in the South End last October, it did the same. Only on top of the $18,000 spent on its mock service run, the restaurant shelled out an additional $15,000 to throw a grand opening party.

"We had a thousand people come through the restaurant," said Jeff Gates, Union's general manager and partner, counting mock service guests and partygoers. "We sent them out in the world so they could tell two friends, and they could tell two friends, and so on and so on. It's really that simple."

Call it the trilogy trial: Restaurateurs are caught between spending their budget on advertising, mock service or a bang-up opening party.

While advertising and a party are the wild cards, most restaurateurs agree mock service is crucial.

"I would tell anyone, 'Do not open your restaurant without doing mock service,' " said Gates, a 20-year veteran in the industry. "I think the party is optional."

Mock service is a common practice in which friends, family, and industry colleagues are invited to dine at the restaurant for free (though tips are encouraged.) The only caveat is the service is far from polished and guests are encouraged to give their feedback so improvements can be made.

But for the buzz they want, there is a danger, said Gates. "If we blow it, we've sent people out in the world to talk about how poorly they were treated, how poorly the meal was executed," he said.

There is also the risk that people will view the restaurant as a nightclub because of the party-like atmosphere of the mock evening. Or, the restaurant's food may not reflect the menu.

That's why Iovino didn't want a party. He wanted as much control as possible. "(We) touched 500 (people) the way we wanted to do it," he said.

Gates and his partners, known for memorable openings at Aquitaine in the South End and the reopening of Armani Café on Newbury Street, gambled on the party. For a few thousand dollars less, they could have run a one-time, full-page ad in a local glossy, but Gates said he wasn't sure how many people would see the ad or even act on it.

"I know for a fact 750 people left the party and talked about our product," Gates said.

Plus, Gates admits the pressure to put on parties partly came from the public. "Too many people would come to us and say, 'We weren't invited to the party,' " even when there wasn't one. "Get enough people asking when you're going to do something, you just do it," he said.

Matthew Rovner of Rovner Communications, a public relations firm based in Natick, said parties have a purpose -- to make invited guests feel special.

"People like feeling that way -- who doesn't?" he said. But then he warns likely patrons not to view the bash as the true restaurant experience.

"It's to come and be social, have a glass of wine and move on."

The cost of throwing a party may be a small price to pay in terms of customer satisfaction. For the rebranding of Café Louis on Berkeley Street as Restaurant L, owner Debi Greenberg held a mock lunch and dinner to thank those involved in the restaurant's transformation -- purveyors, construction workers. She threw a party to introduce longtime Café Louis customers to the new concept.

Whether the lemon, lime and ginger cotton candy from new chef Pino Maffeo will lure guests back remains to be seen. It's more the buzz the party creates and the opportunity for guests to discover something new that's the payoff. "You have to introduce them to the new concept," said Greenberg, "make them part of the process of reopening. This is an opportunity to do that."

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