More eateries OK with cost-saving BYOB

With sales and traffic dwindling, many restaurants are either offering BYOB nights or chopping the "corkage" fee to open bottles bought elsewhere, to entice more wine-drinking diners to pay for a meal out.

"My fiancé and I are wine freaks, so we have been going to more BYOBs as a way to continue to drink great wine while not blowing our budget," said Christopher McGrath, a 26-year-old money-market trader and liability manager who lives in Montclair, N.J. — where BYOB restaurants thrive because state law restricts the number of liquor licenses available.

The signs that bringing your own is on the rise are still largely anecdotal. Christina Preiss, 27, of Chicago, said waiting times at her favorite haunts that let customers bring their own are on the rise. And more restaurants are advertising special BYOB nights and more aggressively promoting the fee cuts.

Bringing your own beverages isn't allowed everywhere — the rules vary, depending on where you live.

But for eateries that can offer the option, it can be a way to boost traffic in tough economic times — especially for the fine-dining restaurants that have been hardest hit in recent months as even higher-income consumers cut back on pricey meals out.

Chris Cannon, owner of the Alto restaurant in Manhattan, decided at the end of last year to suspend a $60 corkage fee through September — a move he said has brought in more customers.

"Basically, we had to accept the fact that we were going through a recession," Cannon said.

Although some restaurants include information about their policies on their Web sites, most expect customers to call to find out whether they can bring their own. Some cities require a restaurant to have a liquor license, while others don't. Even in areas where a liquor license is technically required, the rules aren't always enforced.

Bringing your own bottle may not have the cachet of ordering from the list, where wines are sometimes paired with menu items to showcase the flavor of the food. But it can save you quite a bit of money. Restaurants frequently charge diners triple what they pay for wine. And David Henkes, vice president of Technomic Inc., a Chicago-based food-industry consulting firm, said they typically charge as much for one glass as they paid for the entire bottle.

Most diners bring vino as their drink of choice, but some diners do tote their favorite beer to the table at more casual BYOB-friendly restaurants.

McGrath estimates he saves $50 at each meal by bringing his own wine.

Nick Valenti, chief executive of Patina Restaurant Group, waived the $5 corkage fees at all of his 15 California restaurants through 2009 except at the flagship Patina in Los Angeles.

Local angle

A few Tucson restaurants offer a bring-your-own-bottle option, including Zemam's, an Ethiopian restaurant at 2731 E. Broadway. Call ahead to check other eateries.