Go back to Arts & Features pageSAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco restaurants are gearing up for the onslaught of holiday business in December, the most profitable month of the year.
Restaurant sales peak in December because corporations traditionally have their annual parties then and families are more willing to splurge on fine dining for special occasions.
"It's not quite as good as the toy business (in December), but restaurant revenue is up 15 to 20 percent over other months," said Nancy Mootz, a San Francisco-based restaurant consultant. To prepare for larger crowds next month, many restaurants in San Francisco are augmenting their staffs and adding festive dishes to their menus.
Joanna Gallanter, co-proprietor at Eric, a trendy restaurant in Rincon Center, said she hired another manager to work a swing shift through December.
Hungry shoppers can stop in for champagne and caviar in the evening and hot buttered rum and pastries in the afternoon. Both were huge hits with the holiday crowd last year, Gallanter said. Lulu, a popular South of Market restaurant, has already started serving holiday-themed entrees such as quail with braised vegetables and pasta with pumpkin and sage.
Many restaurateurs are also predicting that the lunch-time dining crowd, which has been dwindling as more budget-conscious workers bring food from home, will return next month because of the traditional increase in daytime celebrations as the holidays arrive.
"At lunch, (executives) can take out the secretary they've had forever," Gallanter said.
She estimated that Eric's lunch-time revenue will climb about 30 percent in December. "All 30 bar stools were taken at lunch (last December). Usually, only four or five are taken," she said.
John Cunin believes that lunch-time business next month will be strong enough for him to reopen Cypress Club during the day. At the beginning of the year, Cunin closed his trendy Financial District restaurant midday because it failed to attract enough diners to meet food and overhead costs.
Cunin is hoping that special lunch items such as Dungeness crab with butternut squash and venison with port-seared chestnuts will attract enough customers to add between $30,000 to $60,000 in revenue for the month.
Restaurant consultant Mootz said Union Square restaurants will be the biggest winners because of their proximity to holiday shoppers. The Rotunda Restaurant at Neiman Marcus, one of the more popular eateries at Union Square, has added 14 workers and opened Sundays to accommodate the heavier shopper traffic until the end of the year.
"The day after Thanksgiving is our busiest day," said Michael Perricone, The Rotunda's food service manager. "Sometimes there's a three-and-a-half hour wait for a table" on that day.
Perricone noted that the restaurant usually triples its revenue during December.
Pete Sittnick, general manager of Kuleto's on Powell Street, said his restaurant also does a booming business at Christmas time. "We're packed from start to close," he said.
Many restaurants also view December as a critical month for making a substantial profit that can help offset leaner periods.
"The first two weeks of January are usually pretty barren," said Eric's Gallanter. "We're hoping December can carry us through."
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