DaytonDailyNews.com

It's better to be a diner than a restaurant owner these days.

Miami Valley restaurants are getting slammed by the poor economy and rising costs, and they're hungry for customers. They're slashing spending in sometimes-painful ways and hoping the cuts are invisible to diners. At the same time, they're offering deals and special promotions they hope customers will find irresistible — including, but not limited to, this week's Miami Valley Restaurant Association Winter Restaurant Week Promotion, which runs through Friday, Jan. 30, at 57 eateries and offers diners a three-course meal for $20.09. (For details, go to www.dineoutdayton.org.)

The promotion has generated substantial customer traffic in previous years, and restaurant owners are looking forward to the surge and to a robust Valentine's Day business next month, when the romantic holiday just happens to fall on a Saturday — usually a recipe for big restaurant crowds.

But Restaurant Week and Valentine's Day are bright spots in a bleak landscape. The National Restaurant Association reported in early January the outlook for the industry fell to a record low in November. The association's Restaurant Performance Index, which measures the health of the industry based on surveys of restaurateurs from across the country, sagged as many restaurant owners told the association their sales were down and they were pessimistic about the next six months.

That pessimism has invaded nearly every corner of the Dayton dining scene.

"Business has dropped drastically, and we've been feeling it," said Mary Martin, co-owner of four Dayton-area restaurants — The Barnsider, Wellington Grille, The Harrison and The Blue Berry Cafe. "I've been in this business for more than 35 years, and I've never had this burden of worry. We are in the restaurant business because we enjoy doing this, but what is happening now is taking all of the joy out of it."

Amy Haverstick — general manager and co-owner of Jay's Restaurant who also serves as president of the Miami Valley Restaurant Association — said most restaurants' sales are down at least 10-20 percent in recent months. The sales drop comes at a time when restaurants are paying higher labor, shipping and food costs.

At Jay's, customer counts are down, but so are average-check amounts, as diners choose not to have that second glass of wine, or expensive entree or dessert, Haverstick said.

That has forced tough choices. Jay's dropped a health-insurance benefit for employees in 2008, and positions have been eliminated in both the service and kitchen staffs.

Haverstick does believe business will begin to improve, slowly, later this year, and she's trying to lure customers now with a monthly special through the end of February that sounds a lot like a Restaurant Week special: a three-course meal for $21.95. The restaurant also is advertising aggressively.

"In times of struggle, I think it's very important for guests and potential guests to be aware that we're still here," she said.

That may be wise strategy, if the National Restaurant Association's 2009 Restaurant Industry Forecast turns out to be accurate. The association called the 2009 outlook "the most challenging period for the industry in several decades," but found evidence of a silver lining in its surveys: pent-up demand.

The association noted in its '09 forecast that American families love to eat out, and one-third of Americans are not going to restaurants as much as they would like to. That's an increase over previous years. So when the economy improves, the association concluded, Americans will return to their favorite restaurants — and they'll be hungry.

Dayton-area restaurants aren't sitting back and waiting for that day, however. They're offering specials designed to tempt diners now. Here's a sampling (for more specials, go to www.daytondailynews.com/Taste):

Carvers Steaks & Chops in Washington Twp. offers a three-course meal every Sunday for $20: choice of soup or salad, an entree such as prime rib or salmon, and dessert. The promotion has been "very successful," Carvers co-owner Ron Taylor said.

El Meson in West Carrollton is poised to unveil a new menu in February that includes nine choices for $9.99, offered Monday through Friday from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The Caroline in Troy will offer its Restaurant Week menu and pricing through the end of February, restaurant co-owner Steven Smith said.

The Wellington Grille in Beavercreek added "value" meals to its menu, including macaroni and cheese, cheese sandwiches and tomato bisque, at prices that have prompted some customers to come in more often than they did before the menu was expanded, restaurant owner Mary Miller said.

Restaurant owners seem determined to hang on until better times arrive. Miller, for example, said she has had to cut workers' hours, but she hasn't had to lay off any employees yet.

"But if this keeps up, I'll have to," she said. "That'll be the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

• Restaurant owners and managers: Let readers know about your specials and promotions by posting a comment at www.daytondailynews.com/taste. Diners, for Restaurant Week information, go to www.dineoutdayton.org, and let us know about your Restaurant Week experiences (and check out other restaurant specials) at the "Taste: Dayton food and restaurants" page at www.daytondailynews.com/Taste.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2258 or mfisher@DaytonDaily News.com.