I would be all over this if fried seafood places didn't serve plates of $17 worth of greasy fries and $1 worth of fried fish.

This is a great idea.

@weakdome: Considering a 5lb bag of potatoes costs $2.50 at my grocery store, $17 worth of greasy fries should be enough to feed a small army.

this can just turn into a headache..

adapt, improvise, overcome. oo-rah!

i don't see this how this concept can break even...

A very wise move on her part...Not only has word of mouth increased her business...she is creating a loyal customer base by catering to their needs.

Gold star for this business.

Don

Restaurants already are in a very tough business. I don't know how successful this will be.

Am I going to be able to make money by teaching people how to cook at home on the cheap?

@puffyshirt:

I'd personally be delighted to pay more for an even bigger serving.

It can break even easily. You are not getting the same portion for $8.00 that you would for $12.00.

I can see giving various options but there has to be a way to track that. It'd be great for me as I'm a cheapskate working on losing weight so I could order good stuff without the "serves 3" portion sizes.

By the way, I hate to sound like Professor Higgins but when will people of Maine/Cape Cop learn to speak English?

But use proper English you're regarded as a freak.
Why can't the English,
Why can't the English learn to speak?

I would go to a restaurant that charged less, but had smaller portions, but I'm trying to lose weight. I suppose this doesn't fit well with the stereotypical American body type, though.

If restaurants really want to help the consumer, they can start offering more appropriate serving sizes while adjusting the prices accordingly.

The $18 scallop order in the video appears to contain more fried food than anyone should be eating in one sitting, anyway.

Woo hoo! Go Maine!

I would love to see a menu that had the dishes broken down into portions Full size: $x, Half size - $y , 1/3 size - $z

@battra92: Breaking news: A lot of people in Maine have an accent, just like people in the southeast, in Texas, in New York, in the Midwest, etc.

Obviously your version of English (well, American English, which is considered an abomination to many on the other side of the pond) is the absolute proper one.

Why is someone with only $8 going to a restaurant? You can feed a family of four at least twice for that.

Aren't fixed costs (rent, utilities) and labor costs a bigger portion of the costs than the ingredients anyway? I don't know how successful she'll be.

It's a great idea though.

ITA that having smaller portion sizes for less is a good idea more restaurants should adopt. I almost never want to eat as much -- or pay as much -- as restaurants go for. Restaurants could probably actually do very well with this; the "fixed costs" part of the price would stay intact, and they'd probably save more on useless ingredients (the endless potatoes wasted for fries people don't finish) while gaining more customers.

@battra92: Your view of ignorance is my view of intolerance.

You commenters can disapprove of this business strategy all you want, massive respect for this lady. It's superb to see that people still care about others.

At first I thought this was a great idea, but actually I'm pretty sure this will flop.

Part of that $18.95 is the cost of what you associate with a nice restaurant - service, land, labor, etc. To provide these services at a discount (and one that you can't control) is very risky. Not many people will pay the full price, in fact I'd bet almost nobody will anymore.

By the way, I hate to sound like Professor Higgins but when will people of Maine/Cape Cop learn to speak English?

@battra92: 1. Where is Cape Cop?
2. When you stop being a dick.

I've eaten at Dan's in Biddeford. Decent enough food, and cheap to boot.

@puffyshirt: the concept breaks even because the portion is changed in scale with the price.

@weakdome: you sir, obviously have no idea how much scallops cost.

@iMe2: Dan's is not a "nice restaurant" so much as a hole in the wall. Think diner, then move one step below.

@bobfromboston: Just more annoyed that people from out of state think everyone in Massachusetts throws around their r's and replaces them with h's and their w's with r's or just omit them entirely after a long e vowel.

"I seen him" "So don't I" "wicked Good" "Yeankees Souk"

I think that she's making money because her traffic is increasing. She doesn't have to average as much per ticket if her volume has gone up enough to compensate.

It's a terrific idea. I'd love to be able to pay less for less food since most portions are enough to feed one person for a week. I would eat out more often if I wasn't carting home 5lbs of leftovers that I know I will just toss in a few days anyhow.

Look, if you are in a situation where you need to start ordering half-entrees because you can't afford the full price one why ware you eating in a restaurant anyway. Instead of spending $8 on $2 worth of food buy some groceries and feed your family at home.

I think they'll do fine. If they keep up the traffic, they'll turn over more tables per night and keep more customers happy at the end of the day. Those customers will tell their friends and yield even more traffic.

Even if everyone is eating half-sized portions, that's half the inventory they'll use and akin to selling everything at "lunch special" type prices.

Awesome idea, this'd be perfect for me, who's trying to lose weight, and my girlfriend, who ahs a very small appetite. I whsh more resturants would implement this philosophy. It'd mean less fat people and way less wasted food.

@wgrune: The whole thing started with an elderly woman who wanted to eat out more. I would suggest the possibility that this elderly woman liked to eat out as an activity to justify going out.

i'd like $6.37 of fish.
i wonder how good the guys in the kitchen are at fraction.

@wgrune: She said that she got the idea from an elderly woman. Lay off the poor old woman. She's probably on a fixed income. Maybe her weekly dinner out is a chance for socialization in the community. Sorry Grandma, you can't afford to eat in a restaurant. Go home and sit alone where you belong.

@Pixelantes Anonymous: A lot of those fixed costs (lighting; heating or cooling; running the fridge and freezer; building maintenance; etc.) will be the same whether she has 5 customers or 50. And if business is getting low enough that she's having trouble trying to cover those fixed costs, she may well be better off getting more people in with less profit on each person, but hopefully enough volume to cover all of her costs.

She just has to make sure that she isn't cutting things low enough that people are paying only enough to cover the ingredients, and not enough to contribute towards fixed costs.

We've had a version of this in the south for a long time, it's called tacos.

1=snack
2=meal
3=large meal
4=munchies

@VA_White: "She doesn't have to average as much per ticket if her volume has gone up enough to compensate."

You mean, like McDonald's.
Seriously though, I think you guys are missing ALOT about the economics of the food business. Unless she A) Has a pricing plan that is more complicated than it's worth or B) Her margins are exceedingly high anyway, this is going to have a hard time succeeding.

It'd be great if she did, but it's a tougher battle than I think many of you think.

@iMe2:I don't know if nobody will pay full price. If you pay half price, you'll only get half of the food. Some folks might actually want a whole meal.

This is a very 'Maine' thing to do. People are very thrifty up there, and very value-conscious. Eating out in most places in Maine is already cheap, but customers are honest and loyal, which is why could make this work.

Diner-style restaurants, which are an integral part of the Maine restaurant culture, are a dying breed. In the two years I lived in Portland, I saw several local diners go under, taking their local specialties with them.

@nedzeppelin: I wouldn't think the kitchen guys are the ones figuring out how much to put on the plate.

I would *hope* that if you walk in and say (as in the post) "I've only got $8 bucks, I'd like the scallops" that they'd give you some idea what you'll get for that $8. . . .

This is not a good idea. I've you've only got $8, don't buy seafood!

Next time we head to Maine I will have to check this out. :)

@battra92: Yeah, you're kind of an asshole, in case you were wondering.

I'm from 'Cape cop' and I speak perfect, well articulated English. I use the letter 'r'. I only know about 3 people with the affliction you've described, which to non-assholes is known as AN ACCENT.

Wow some of the people on here amaze me. Maybe they only want to spend $8? Its not that they have $8 left in their bank account and go out to the restaurant to spend it. Maybe they are budgeting themselves better then you are because they know what they want to spend for a dinner out.

We Salt Lakers have One World Cafe, where you pay whatever you like for your meal. Can't pay anything? Well, volunteer instead! They have quality food, too. The best quiche in the city. Mmmm.. That sounds good today, actually...

[www.oneworldeverybodyeats.com]

@Linus: Clearly you haven't spent a lot of time in New England. Seafood is downright cheap during the summer months. I can remember buying live lobster for $3.99/lb at the grocery store when I lived there.

I think this is a great idea. I've never been to Dan's, but I might go just to support this woman. What a great, creative way of dealing with the hand you are dealt. I think she will end up doing better than a lot of restaurants with this plan, not to mention the good will in the community and the free advertising on MSNBC.

@battra92: Battra, in all the years I've known you online, I've never seen you say one good thing about Massachusetts or anyone who lives here. Why don't you just leave? We'd be happier without you.

How to Save $400 a Month on Groceries?

Answer: Eat less food

See, I would love this, because I hate when they charge you $20 for so much food and I can't eat even 1/3 of it (I get full really quickly). Then most places offer a kids menu but won't let me choose from it since I'm not a kid. Which I understand, but I'd still like to be able to choose a smaller portion at a smaller cost. It's ridiculous how big portions are these days. Most meals I end up taking home at LEAST 1/2 and turning into about 3 meals.

@Shadowman615: My husband would pay full price. He has a appetite to beat the band.