Aimee BlumeEvansville Courier & Press
EVANSVILLE – In a time of rising costs and diners who are watching their wallets, restaurant owners have had to come up with creative ways to keep prices reasonable and the house full.
David Parker of Prime Time Pub and Grill in Newburgh, with his partner Allen Marsh at the North 41 Prime Time, has come up with some successful ways to do both.
Menu changes
“When we first opened, our goal was to have larger portions, better quality and better service," Parker said. "It was a little pricier, but when the food came out we wanted people to go, 'gosh, how am I going to eat all that?'
"But in the last five years things have changed quite a bit. Cost is a big piece of it and consumer awareness around being price-conscious. We kept the quality but took down the portion sizes on some dishes and took down the price on them.”
Many entrees are now available in smaller portions or without meat, but diners may then add to them if desired.
Pastas, for example, used to be $19 for pasta, sauce and a meat. Now the pasta is offered without meat at $12.99, but the diner can add meat if they wish.
Another dish that has been treated this way is the smothered chicken, which used to be 12 ounces of chicken breast with caramelized onions, cheddar cheese, roasted red peppers and bacon with two sides for $22. Now it’s an eight-ounce breast with the toppings and one side for $15. If the diner wishes to add a second side, they have the option.
Some menu items, sadly, had to go.
“We used the numbers, not emotions, and made some hard decision,” Parker said. “So we got rid of the things that weren’t selling and also things that were popular but getting too expensive to serve at the price point they were at; so we took off flatbreads even though they sold well. The pork shanks had been really popular, but the price went up on them so much that people weren’t buying them anymore, so we took them off.”
New dishes
The removed items were replaced with others that offer both broad popularity and a reasonable menu price. There are a dozen new items on the menu.
- Loaded fries with bacon and beer cheese - $10.49
- Pow Pow Shrimp Basket- $11.49
- Bacon and cheddar stuffed Tater Kegs with beer cheese and ranch – $11.49
- Four rice bowls – Vegetarian, chicken teriyaki, Bourbon glazed steak and chili lime shrimp - $11.49-$17.49.
- Patty melt burger - $16.49
- Pork tenderloin sandwich - $16.49
- Filet medallions with two four-ounce steaks - $25.49
- Swordfish grilled to your liking with sweet chili sauce - $18.49
- Prime rib Manhattan on Texas toast with house gravy - $20.49
Keeping it exciting
Parker and Marsh have also instituted other ways to keep diners engaged.
At both stores, Mondays are half-price burger days. At North, Tuesday is “not your grandma’s” Bingo night and Wednesday is trivia night, and there is live music on the patio every Friday and Saturday evening. The first Friday of the month means karaoke on the patio.
Also at Prime Time North, Bourbon pairing dinners are being held once a month for groups of 30 or fewer people, with products from a single distillery and food paired with it by Prime Time. The next Bourbon dinner will be on Thursday, June 20, with Old Forester distillery. Watch the Facebook page for opportunities for tickets.
A wine pairing dinner in partnership with the Wine Vault will be held on Tuesday, June 18. Find more information at thewinevaultevansville.com/wine-tasting-dinners
The Newburgh store has fewer events during the summer, because the food truck and larger catering operate out of the Prime Time Newburgh kitchen and it stays very busy. There is trivia on Tuesday, however, and Bingo might be added soon.
Then there’s the Prime Time on Wheels food truck, which gives a broader array of people a chance to try Prime Time’s food and keeps the name and logo in front of people’s eyes, even if they don’t eat at the truck.
Likewise, many local sponsorships, donations for kids' sports teams and give-back nights for non-profit organizations keeps Prime Time's name fresh in the ear while helping good causes in the community.
Prime Time Pub and Grill
- Location: Prime Time Newburgh - 8177 Bell Oaks Drive, Newburgh, Ind.; 812-490-0655
- Hours: Monday - Thursday 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Friday 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m.-9 p.m.
- Location: Prime Time North - 12301 Highway 41 North; 812-202-7920
- Hours: Monday - Thursday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday - Saturday 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
