Published: Monday, Jul. 13, 2009 / Updated: Monday, Jul. 13, 2009 06:41 AM

In tough times, dining in is in

In order to cut costs, people forking out less dough for eating out

Like most people these days, Hal Williams keeps a close eye on his finances.

Williams, 67, and his wife used to eat out frequently, but that changed when he retired. He signed up for some cooking classes and now cooks most meals himself. He's saving money in the process.

This was perhaps best summed recently when family members came to visit. Williams, who lives in Sun City in the Indian Land community of Lancaster County, made several dishes, including shrimp and grits and sautéed vegetables.

“If I had taken the family out to dinner I would probably have spent $150 to $200 bucks,” he said. “But instead, we ended up spending about $30. It's far better to cook it yourself than to go out and compete with the marketplace.”

That attitude apparently is taking hold locally and across the nation. Recent data shows the economy is driving more people to cut back on restaurant spending.

May marked the 21st consecutive month that customer traffic at restaurants declined nationally, according to the National Restaurant Association. Also, 60 percent of restaurant operators reported a decline in sales in May compared with the previous year, according to the association. Likewise, May was the 12th straight month of same-store sales declines reported by restaurant operators.

York County has not been immune to the decline.

The county has around 275 restaurants, according to the York County Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“From what I've heard, they are down a little bit,” chamber president Rob Youngblood said.

One thing that's helped offset a downturn in business during the week, Youngblood said, is Sunday alcohol sales, which voters approved countywide in November. Rock Hill already allowed Sunday sales.

“Most are saying on Sundays their numbers are pretty good,” Youngblood said. “Sunday seems to be good or better for most if they sell alcohol.”

More evidence that the economy is changing people's dining habits is the decrease the city of Rock Hill has seen in revenue from its 2 percent tax on prepared foods.

The city finished the 2008-2009 fiscal year 7 percent off the projected revenue for the tax compared to the previous year. In actual revenue, the city collected just more than $3 million for the fiscal year, down 3 percent from the previous year, said Steven Gibson, administrative services director in the city's budget office.

“There's clearly a reduction,” he said. “Typically, we would see an increase over the previous year rather than a decrease.”

But there might be some good news, he said. March and April “showed signs of life again” after slow months in January and February. May and June followed that pattern, staying close to projections.

“There's reason to be optimistic,” he said.

Dining out might not be thriving, but it's far from dead, according to a recent study by Mintel International, a market research firm. The company surveyed people across the nation and found that 79 percent of respondents had used a restaurant in the past week for dine-in, pick-up or delivery.

However, when people do choose to eat out, they're spending less, according to Mintel's survey. The survey found that 52 percent of respondents reported spending less at restaurants than in the previous year.

That's definitely playing out locally, said Mike Petersen, manager of the White Horse in Rock Hill.

“They're not eating the high-buck food anymore. They've moved to a cheaper one,” Petersen said.

Once-popular high-end dishes such as rib-eye steaks and pork tenderloins are taking a back seat to more moderately priced fare such as chicken and pizza, Petersen said, both of which continue to sell well.

“We used to go through so many cases of rib-eyes or tenderloins a week, but we've cut way back,” said Petersen, who handles food buying for the restaurant.

Otherwise, he said, business remains solid.

“I can't really knock it,” he said.

If people are spending less at restaurants, that's probably good news for Paula Gillman of Rock Hill, who offers cooking classes at her business, Paula Gillman & Co.

The classes, offered since 2007, cover various themes, including Italian, beef and fish, and always have had strong enrollment, Gillman said. But since the economy went south, saving money by cooking at home “was definitely part of the conversation” among customers, she said.

“Once they come and learn some tips and techniques, they enjoy cooking at home more,” she said. “Once you figure out, ‘Oh, I can do this at home,' that's key.”

Nelson Wright of Rock Hill used to eat out at least once a week, but after taking two cooking classes at Gillman's store, he has cut back on dining out to about once every two weeks.

“I don't know that is was so much a conscious decision as that's just the way it's worked out,” the 50-year-old said. “You can eat at home a lot cheaper than you can eat out. There's no doubt about that.”

So far, any decline in sales has not led to staff layoffs or other extreme adjustments for most restaurants, said Tom Sponseller, president of the Hospitality Association of South Carolina.

However, they are taking steps to lure more customers, Sponseller said, such as changing up menus and offering lower-priced specials.

Numbers from national sales data don't always tell the whole story, Sponseller said. For example, sales studies often focus on chain restaurants and don't track independent establishments well, he said. He said that conversations he's had recently with operators of independent restaurants in South Carolina offer a reason for optimism.

“Almost everyone I've talked to has reported that things seem to be getting better,” he said. “Chains seem to feel things differently than independents do.”

Jason Foster 803-329-4066