The West Cafe, Portland restaurant and jazz bar, was recently featured on The Fruugalist, a blog dedicated to ‘Less Spending. More Living.’ You can read the full article here - http://www.fruugalist.com/index.php?/tip-archives/entry/bail-out-dining/. Here’s what they had to say:

“Bail Out” Dining

When the belt-tightening first began we heard a lot about restaurants feeling the first pinch because people tend to cross restaurant dining off their luxury list as a first-line budget measure.

So we were surprised recently when chatting with a couple of restaurant owners who said their business is good:

“Our business is actually up since the recession started,” says Doug Smith, who co-owns West Cafe in downtown Portland, Oregon with Sean Concannon. “Everyone is watching their wallet and our strategy has always been folks shouldn’t consider eating out to have to be a “special occasion!” We have many who join us several times a week for lunch or dinner and have commented that eating at home would not save them that much money. We offer our “Bail Out Dinner Deal” six nights a week as well as reduced prices during Happy Hour … which is very popular with the budget conscious.” (more…)