You’d think that with how hard it is to run a restaurant and how difficult the pandemic has been for that industry in particular, people in that position would be clamoring for any business they can get right now.
And in many cases, that’s probably true. No matter where you live, there are likely at least a few local restaurants trying their best to hang on. And for the most part, the owners of those places wouldn’t dream of making any demands of their customers that aren’t necessary for the safety and well-being of others.
But apparently, that can’t be said for at least one chain of steakhouses judging by a sign on the window of one of its locations.
On May 25, Twitter user @OfficialTrpe posted a sign from a branch of the Steak 48 restaurant chain requiring a $100 food and drink minimum for all customers.
This was taken from the chain’s Philadelphia restaurant, but it also has locations in Chicago, Houston, and Charlotte, North Carolina.
And as we can see from the end of the blurb on this sign, that minimum does not include any tax or tip. They want a $100 subtotal.
As you might imagine, this led people to wonder what happens if your order doesn’t quite hit that $100 minimum.
Because while we might be able to appreciate that it’s not worth it for the restaurant if a customer just comes in for appetizers, it seems like it would be possible to have a multi-course meal and still not reach the minimum.
In fact, we know it’s possible because a multi-award winning journalist named Ed Greenberger found out that he could do just that.
As we can see, what he would hypothetically order sounds like more than enough food to satisfy your average person. And yet, it’s still two dollars short.
It’s hard not to see that minimum as a roundabout way of saying, “Please order our most expensive items.”
While folks are still reeling over this, another user named Justin Johnson got curious enough to take a look at the restaurant’s dress code.
And while some of these restrictions seem reasonable enough and wouldn’t be out of place in Walt Disney World , others like the blanket ban on hats, the incredibly specific embargo on sweat suits and the distaste for graphics on your clothing are a lot more bizarre.
As Johnson put it, “Lol they aren’t even a top 10 steakhouse for them to be acting this crazy.”
As that revelation came to light, people started finding it hard to decide what they wanted to make fun of more.
Do they make a meme that shows the restaurant punishing them for spending $99 or do they depict staff losing their monocles over a graphic T-shirt?
Decisions, decisions…
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In any case, the food must be amazing to be worth all of this hassle, right?
Well, not according to another user who took a picture of their meal, which they found to be about on par with what you might receive at TGI Friday’s.
So unless the ambience is relaxing enough to cure insomnia on the spot, what could possibly worth all these hoops you have to jump through?
