“The Taste” Judge Selling Tickets to Dine at New LA Restaurant
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Hemera/Thinkstock(LOS ANGELES) — A Los Angeles restaurant made headlines last month for shaming no-show reservations on Twitter, and a now a new upscale restaurant is trying a different tactic.
Ludo Lefebvre, who is a celebrity judge on ABC’s The Taste, is selling non-refundable $90 tickets to dine at his new Los Angeles spot, Trois Mec.
“It’s a tiny restaurant. It’s 24 seats and it’s really about having a business model that allows us to create the best experience for our guests,” Krissy Lefebvre, Ludo’s wife and business partner, told ABC News.
Lefebvre said the decision to operate on a ticket system allows the chefs to plan accordingly each night.
While the ticket system has been used by high-end restaurants in other cities, Lefebvre said she believes Trois Mec is the first in Los Angeles.
Last month, another Los Angeles restaurant, Red Medicine, made news when a managing partner named and shamed no-show reservations on Twitter.
“Hi Kyle Anderson (323), I hope you enjoyed your gf’s bday and the flowers that you didn’t bring when you no-showed for your 815 res. Thanks,” tweeted Noah Ellis, managing partner of Red Medicine, after the reservation didn’t show up on Saturday night.
“Also, big thanks to Carlos MacManus, Colin Rolfs, Allison Joyce, Sam Java, Daniella Brown, and Matt Lopez for no-showing btwn 730p-930p,” he continued. “All the nice guests who wonder why restaurants overbook and they sometimes have to wait for their res should thank people like those below.”
Ellis’ posts spurred a Twitter conversation on restaurant reservations, and most agreed with what he did.
“On Saturday, we lost numerous prime tables as no shows, which (besides hurting our business) really wasn’t fair to the guests who took a 6:15 p.m. or 9:30 p.m. reservation instead of the 7:30 p.m. or 8 p.m. they wanted. I was frustrated,” Ellis told ABC News.
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