Are coupon’s luring customers into restaurants?

The lunch rush at Stanford’s in Tanasbourne has servers scrambling, the kitchen staff hustling. But at dinner, it’s a different story.

"All the restaurants are feeling it," said Chris Ideson, with Stanford’s.

To lure more people in the door at night, Stanford’s and it’s sister restaurant Newport Bay are giving away coupons for a $15 discount.

Restaurant managers said food prices have increased 16-percent this past year and food costs make up one-third of a restaurant’s budget.

That’s why expert said the increase has been forcing restaurant owners to make tough decisions.

"if you're a business person, you're sitting there going, ‘my customer accounts are declining and do I want to raise my food prices when I'm already losing customers?’" explained Bill Perry with Oregon Restaurant Association.

The coupons were sent to 450,000 homes in the Portland area. Experts said a typical return would be around 4.5 percent. So far at Stanford’s, restaurant managers said they’ve seen a 12-percent redemption.

"The response has been unbelievable," said Ideson.

Longtime customer Paul Iverson said he likes the idea.

"We would come here whether the coupons were in place or not but ,I think it's a good marketing gesture."