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Repasts, Presently
'Power' frequently yields to speed nowadays as a priority for the business luncheon
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Business New Haven
2/22/1999
By: Susan Banfield
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How do you envision the classic power lunch? Do you see it as several men with grey hair and grayer suits and repp ties speaking in serious, hushed tones over a leisurely, two-martini luncheon?
If that's the image that comes to mind, what is the reality? To what extent do business people and professionals still have power lunches - and if they do, where in New Haven do they go to have them?
First, people are having power lunches less often nowadays. “So few lunches are done any more,” says Mario Zingari, a local tax attorney. “People are working and don't have the time. Most of my clients would rather work through lunch.”
When such lunches are done, there has been a major change in the way they are “conducted.” For the same reason that many are opting out of lunch altogether, many others are insisting that their important lunches be quick. Time, to today's professionals, is of the essence.
Among area business people and professionals questioned as part of an informal survey, the places most frequently named as favorite spots for power lunches nearly all pride themselves on the speed with which they “turn over” their customers.
Other qualities dining professionals look for in a restaurant at which to book an important business lunch remain fairly standard: good food, good service and, occasionally, good prices.
The Polo Grille on Elm Street two blocks east of the courthouse is a restaurant popular with lawyers, judges and doctors. The Polo serves between 60 and 80 lunches a day, between 80 and 100 on Fridays.
Manager Mark Wilson says he can definitely spot customers who are there for a business lunch. “It's the way they dress,” he says, “business suits and ties; conservative, formal wear.”
Wilson's definition of a power lunch is typical these days: “People come in for a nice lunch and we can get them in and out in one hour.” Besides the efficient service, Wilson believes his establishment is popular for important lunches because of its extensive wine list (32 wines available by the glass), extensive and varied menu, and quality of service. Also, he feel it is significant that the Polo Grille is “a pretty place inside. It has a good atmosphere.”
Richter's is an eatery a number of people view as a “power lunch place” - yet whose manager has trouble seeing it that way. “It's good, inexpensive food and we can get you in and out fast,” says Dieter Von Rubenstein. “I'm not so sure it's a 'power lunch' place.”
Yet Richter's quick turnover and good food - and maybe its reasonable prices as well - are just the qualities many area financial professionals and lawyers are now looking for in a “power lunch place.”
Another attraction of the eatery, which serves American pub fare, is undoubtedly the service. “About 85 percent of the people who come in here I personally know,” says Von Rubenstein. “I know what they drink, what their likes and dislikes are.”
Carmine Tuscan Grill is a place popular especially with business people who need to schedule an important lunch out toward Westville. Here again, turnover is key.
“Within 45 minutes you can be in and out,” boasts manager Enzo Ciccone. “You can have a quick but elegant lunch for a decent price.” The sophistication of the Tuscan Grill's northern Italian fare also no doubt has helped the restaurant build its reputation.
Despite the trend toward acceleration of the business lunch, classic power lunches - for which participants demand privacy for important discussions, and time to linger over the finer points of deals - do still take place. For these, people will often chose a private club, such as the Quinnipiack Club, the Graduates Club or, for the Yale-connected elite, the venerable Mory's.
“There's something special about bringing people to a private club,” says Graduates Club Manager Sandra Gervais. “People tend to listen, take notice a little.” She also points out that “You can bring people who are very well known into our club and not have them approached by people who want something from them.”
At the Elm Street establishment, lunches tend to last an hour and a half or even two hours. “We don't want to push them in and out,” Gervais says. The club has lounge areas to which members and their guests can retreat after they have finished eating, in order to continue a discussion. For the most discrete and important power lunches, there are private rooms available for booking.
And there are still enough people who feel the need for privacy and discretion that the Graduates Club is pretty much filled to capacity every day.
What it all boils down to is this: whether you prefer a classic, two-martini luncheon, a 45-minute discussion over good pub fare, or a meeting in your office over takeout deli sandwiches, today you can justify calling it a power lunch.
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