What? Jim White Didn’t Invent Restaurant Week?

Now that Restaurant Month Week has become firmly entrenched in Dallas–and dozens of other cities–it’s insightful to review how the annual CheapEatsFest came to be. While I long thought that Jim White invented it back in the early ’90s while he was the host of KRLD‘s Restaurant Show. Tim Zagat (yes, that Tim Zagat, the founder of Zagat Survey) says he invented it. In 1992.

Zagat writes in this post on Atlantic Magazine’s Web site that he and restaurateur Joe Baum invented Restaurant Week as a “four-day event … created as a goodwill gesture to the 15,000 reporters coming to cover that year’s Democratic National Convention.

“Frankly, we thought it would be a short-term money loser but have long-term PR benefit for New York and the restaurant industry. Now, almost 20 years later, restaurant weeks have become a tradition in city after city because they appeal to both customers and restaurants. In short: they are a win-win.”

Zagat goes on to write

There’s little doubt that many restaurants are struggling in the aftermath of the recession. We know from surveying hundreds of thousands of customers that they are eating out less and generally being far more price-sensitive in choosing where and what to eat. They’re also cutting back on things like appetizers, desserts, and alcohol: those fancy bottles of wine sold at juicy markups are largely things of the past…
On the other hand, bargain prix fixe menus are always a lure for customers, especially now. They mean you can walk in and out of a restaurant with dignity, at a price that you know in advance is acceptable. Of course, once in the door, patrons very often go à la carte, add an extra dessert, or celebrate by buying wine with their meal. The amount actually spent is thus usually far more than the prix fixe price, especially since drinks, coffee, and tip are all extra.

So, if the affordable prix fixe menu is such a draw, Zagat asks then answers, why isn’t it offered all year?

The reason, at least on an individual basis, is that no restaurant wants to look like it’s discounting—i.e. having problems. The Restaurant Week program eliminates this issue, by putting all restaurants into the same boat and then smartly growing business through advertising and the help of sponsors such as American Express and Coca-Cola.

There you have it. But, honestly, I still like the idea that Jim White invented it in Dallas.

Jim, please say Tim Zagat is wrong.