‘No reservations’ democratizes dining
First, Torontonians rarely eat dinner before 6 p.m. (as they do in Florida) or after 10 p.m. (as they do in Barcelona), which limits a traditional restaurant to two seatings. The midrange restaurant (average individual bill under $50) needs to do more than two seatings a night to be profitable. Many of these businesses have kitchens open past midnight, but are not able to book a table for that hour. People eat late spontaneously.
Second, reservations are not a free service. They cost restaurants money, which costs the customers money.
The hidden cost is what keeps diners feeling entitled to the service. But think about it: if these fast and cheap places took reservations, you wouldn’t be able to get a table for the first three months anyway. If anything, the lack of reservations democratizes the whole process.
Momofuku, a successful company with large resources, seems to have gotten things right from the start. In a departure from the industry standard, the maître d’ is a French gentleman with an iPad who texts patrons when their table is ready.
Other restaurants in the city have struggled to cope with the reservation dilemma — Guu’s manager Masaru Ogasawara says it is looking into Momofuku’s iPad system — with some, such as the Black Hoof, turning that demand into new business.
In the past four years, Jen Agg has opened Cocktail Bar, followed by Hoof Raw Bar, on the same strip as her Dundas St. W. restaurant, in order to accommodate the constant overflow from the original Hoof.
Over at Grand Electric on a recent weekday, about a dozen people were waiting outside: a hodgepodge of long-haired rockers, young folk with giant sunglasses and a few middleaged men in sport jackets and khakis. First in line were Sandra Osojnik and Patrick Gordon, both in their early 20s and employed in the service industry.
“If it’s good, it’s worth it,” says regular Osojnik, adding, “I’m not going to stand in line for my local pizza joint.”
Behind them were three photographers, dressed all in black, who gave very succinct reasons for why waiting was worth it to them. “Because a lot of restaurants are garbage,” says Dave Gillespie. “And it’s very cheap,” chimes in Jennifer Toole. “And it’s opening in 10 minutes,” says Lara Kruzins. In the early days the restaurant tried using a phone reservation system but it only served to inflate the estimated wait times because too many locals left their numbers in case they wanted a table later.
Since the addition of a patio — an upstairs expansion is on its way — wait times have dropped, but it’s still the only non-new restaurant in the city where you can expect a daily lineup.
Co-owner Ian McGrenaghan says he’ll start taking phone numbers again if, with the increased capacity, there is still a long wait.
“If having reservations made our customers happier and made our business run better,” he says, “I would do it in a second.”