Dusty Grable, far right, with partners in the Lovers + Fighters restaurant group. Photo: Olivier Koning
TThe world of late has kept more than a few waiting, what?! moments One of the nicest came via a text from Frolic contributor Melissa Chang, who happened upon 2024. Hale ‘Aina Restaurateur of the Year at an event last week:
“I saw Dusty Grable and he said Little Plum and Lady Elaine dropped their prices,” he wrote. “They have some new menu items and some smaller plates and the latter has resulted in higher order volume because it allows customers to try more things.”
Wait, what?! I called Grable, whose Lovers + Fighters own the two Mānoa restaurants. Since the holidays, he confirmed, both have restructured and lowered prices on significant portions of their menus, especially at lunchtime. My only questions for Grable were how and why exactly? Here’s what he told me, minimally edited for clarity and brevity.
Bsince in October, November, we were reflecting a lot as a team. what’s good what’s wrong What are people saying that doesn’t align with who we hope to be? Kind of a common thread was something that we really strive to be, which is affordable, accessible, good value neighborhood restaurants.
There are many ways to justify our prices. In fact, I would love to have that conversation with anyone about what it takes to own a good restaurant and serve good food. But people generally don’t want to have that conversation.
This industry is tough. I hope that instead of thinking about what is out of our control, we constantly look inward: what can we do? What can we control? Swallow our pride, don’t look from a victim position. Let’s be proactive and appreciate the people who support us. How can we get them to come a couple of times a month instead of once?
SEE ALSO: Dusty Grable’s Little Plum Opens in Mānoa Market
We want to be the neighborhood restaurant in Mānoa where people can gather and celebrate, but also just come for a quick meal. The design of our venues, the size of our venues, our packed bars, I think that worked against it. The prices played into it. We’re not going to redesign restaurants to be less fancy, so what can we do?
We don’t want to be that restaurant that’s too cool for school. We want to be busy all the time, and if that means lowering our prices, we will.
[Adjusting prices] during the holidays was intentional. We thought that if there are a lot of guests who are just joining us for the holidays, you get them to Mānoa, what impression do we want to make? How do we want to introduce ourselves or reintroduce ourselves? I don’t think the perceived value people see [the costs of] decor or air conditioning or nice bathrooms, think about what goes into an entree.
small plum Photo: James Nakamura
Lady Elaine especially, with such a large space, to have high checks and a half-empty restaurant, we never wanted that. At the end of August, September, October we had some pretty scary days, if not weeks.
The few items that were lunch and dinner were full dinner size. We realized that people wanted smaller portions at lunchtime. So it wasn’t necessarily about prices. We’ve committed to bowls that are a complete meal with starch and protein for $16, like locally caught mahi mahi with lemon vinaigrette and peperonata over rice pilaf with a small green salad. They are light, tasty and complete. This has been incredibly popular even with people who don’t go back to work, like aunties who come for lunch. We keep hearing it’s the perfect size.
Another example is that we feature Breadshop City Bread with our homemade butter. I think a lot of people were struggling to pay for that bread and butter, especially if they went to Paesano where the bread and butter was free. If anyone knows the Breadshop, you know the value and deliciousness of this bread. Shall we remove it from the menu? This made no sense, especially to support Breadshop or get more guests to dine with us. It didn’t go well. But it was on the table because it was spoiling our perception: “They charge bread and butter, and they charge a lot for it.”
SEE ALSO: The Hospitalitarian: Dusty Grable is the restaurateur of the year 2024
We were like, what price are we willing to compromise to support Chris [Sy, Breadshop’s owner]that improves the dining experience and makes the guests feel great? So now, we offer six slices instead of four, and the price dropped from $9 to $7.
We’re running like a 50, 55% cost on one of our most popular items, and that’s a bad deal unless you can build it into everything else and justify it. But that’s one of the first things people noticed.
Now, while guests are spending less, more are enjoying themselves with us. We’re still looking at data to make sure it was a wise decision. But yes, it was a bit risky.
Little Plum was doing well, and I don’t think there was any demand for change. But also, who won’t come because of some preconceived idea about who we are and how expensive we might be? Just because guests join us doesn’t mean they enjoy all of our offers. They could come in and split a meal, no drinks or cocktails. So we had guests in the space, but our numbers…
We’re putting control in the hands of guests so they can spend as little as they want instead of getting a full meal with miso soup and tsukemono. We removed the teishoku category and created a category called Littles, with mini banchan-sized items you can add, such as onsen egg, shoyu egg, namul. We made the menu more à la carte: a meal can be as simple as a protein and rice.
Photo: Mari Taketa
The great thing about the two restaurants was the drinks. It’s hard to get a craft cocktail for less than $15 or $16 these days. And I understand why. The processes, the ingredients, the talent that goes into it, the fees. But $16 is tough. It’s not like Chinatown. I don’t think Mānoa is associated with cocktails, period, let alone a $16 one.
So we’ve added classics to a $12 starting point, like the old-fashioned, the daiquiri, the manhattan. To do so is to gain trust. If you dine with us for the first time, “I smell the rock salt plum [cocktail] it’s good, but hey, $16. Let me try the Kō Hana daiquiri for $12. And then, “Now that I’ve had the daiquiri and loved it, maybe I can consider the $16 cocktail.”
SEE ALSO: A new generation of mixologists is raising the bar for craft cocktails
I think it was a very healthy exercise and the response has been incredible. As much as it was to attract new guests, our regulars were generous with their compliments. “Wow, the prices came down and we would have gladly paid the old prices.”
We’re trying to live up to the perceived value and really behave like a neighborhood restaurant where people can have a last-minute dinner and not plan a special occasion. Our post-holiday business levels have continued to reflect people’s appreciation for reduced prices.
Instead of trying to defend or explain, we just want to be more creative with our own solutions.
SEE ALSO: Why your plate lunch is becoming a luxury
Mari Taketa is editor of Frolic Hawai’i and dining editor of HONOLULU Magazine.
