Restaurants on Main expect busy graduation day

As U.S. eateries are going through what the National Restaurant Association calls the "most challenging period" since the early 1980s, restaurants around Newark and on Main Street are doing just fine. So fine, in fact, that some of them have been fully booked since January for graduation day lunch and dinner.

And despite the hard economic times, families of approximately 5,000 graduates are not giving up on celebrating Commencement on May 30. A survey of six restaurants on Main Street showed this year's reservation numbers are very similar to last year's.

Senior Dashlee Lecorps believes this has to do with the uniqueness of graduation. She and 10 family members are planning to go to a nice restaurant in Philadelphia. The recession never really influenced their decision.

"This is a pretty big accomplishment for any college student," Lecorps said. "My family thinks it's important to celebrate this occasion."

Restaurants reported guests making reservations two to three months in advance.

In an unofficial poll taken in Trabant University Center and on Laird Campus, 65 percent of seniors said they will go to a restaurant with their family for graduation. Another 25 percent said they will celebrate at home.

The poll indicated that where seniors will dine out depends largely on where they are moving after graduation. Students moving back home showed a greater preference for dining in their home state.

Another factor was where the family and friends attending the graduation were coming from. If they were from different states and had to stay overnight in a hotel, the celebration was planned somewhere close to the university. This could prove to be a problem if many students opted to stay in Newark.

But according to Ryan German, owner of Caffé Gelato, this won't be much of a problem since several considerations must be taken into account.

Students celebrate their graduation in different ways and at different times, he said. The various majors like business, nursing and engineering have individual graduations, which rarely happen at the same time. With the varying schedules, students and families won't all show up to a restaurant at the same moment.

German also points out families may have different traditions. Based on past graduation days, he said many people come in at noon or 1 p.m. That way they can eat after the main graduation, but before the departmental ceremony. Others wait to celebrate until after both ceremonies are complete.

People often have their own preferences of when to dine out.

"Some of them dine out on Friday night and then again on Saturday, or they dine just out on either Friday or Saturday," German said.

The Stone Balloon Winehouse Manager Bill Galbraith said the restaurant is fully booked on May 29.

"We have a lot of graduation parties, and all of them are large groups," Galbraith said.

But he also said the Winehouse will have additional outside seating for smaller parties of two, three or four people. Restaurants usually have specific times when they can hold large parties. While a restaurant like the Winehouse or Caffé Gelato may be able to accommodate 10, 20 or 30, people. Reservations are required and must be confirmed at least one week in advance of graduation.

With so many clients, few restaurants have any promotions to entice more people. Most will be offering special entrees.

The average cost of dinner is $30 per person, German said.

Lecorps said that after paying for her tuition and school fees for four years, the expense of dining out is negligible.

"You only graduate from college once," she said.

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