RAW LAB PRICING 2024
OVERVIEW IS IT FOR YOU A-TYPICAL POLICIES VALUE PROPOSITION PRICING DISCOVERY MISSION
We knew from the start that $250 was A LOT of money. Even with all the value packed into an evening at RAW LAB it is still quite a pretty penny. Through August we are going back to our $250 per person price. So, we’ll not be offering any discounts until, possibly September 2024. We have seen a surge in interest and bookings for May - July and in some cases we are seeing 50+ people on the notify/wait list. So we are gonna listen to the market and to back to our 2023 pricing model.
OVERVIEW IS IT FOR YOU A-TYPICAL POLICIES VALUE PROPOSITION PRICING DISCOVERY MISSION
LATE CANCEL & NO SHOW POLICIES
UPDATED NOVEMBER 2023
WHY WE MUST HAVE THESE POLICIES IN PLACE:
We only seat 12 people, 3-4 times a week. That’s 36-48 seats a week. If that does not make sense, nothing we can say to in support of it will make any difference. So, if this is something you cannot agree with, understand and accept, RAW LAB is NOT for you. And that’s cool. For the purposes of being clear, thorough and transparent the detailed reasons for this policy will be laid out and explained below.
LATE-CANCELLATION: Cancellations within 9 days of reservation. Sounds outrageous, we know! But with this semi-private dining business model is how this business model must be managed because it has been very difficult to fill seats abandoned within 9 days. We are working on ways to make this
LATE CANCELLATION FEE: Up to $250 per seat (but only IF, IF, IF we CANNOT fill the seats). Please see options below for how we can work together to fills seats that were cancelled late. And other options to avoid any charges. There are many.
ABANDONED SEAT / NO SHOW FEE: $250 per seat, absolutely no exceptions. Except for members. Abandoned seat is any seat canceled within 24 hours of the reservation or that guests simply do not show up for.
HOW TO AVOID LATE CANCEL FEELS
We aim to NEVER charge late-cancel fees and we’ve only done it a few times in 2 years. Many consumers have misunderstood our policies here as (we always charge for late-cancellations) and others have misrepresented our policies or discussions with them. Here are the facts: Our goal is to have 10 -12 people in the room for each service. This is where RAW LAB is most fun and fulfilling for all. When people cancel within 9 days we have (at the moment) a hard time filling those seats and while they were held, others could not book them in the 2 - 6 week time frame prior, when they were looking. As we aim to attract more customers from out of town (visitors to CHS) we know they’ll book more last minute. As we become more effective with this, we will relax our late-cancel time frame somewhat.
WHAT YOU CAN DO….
Call us and work with us. Understand our model and why we must have our policies. Calling and yelling at us will insure that we do everything we can to charge you. In the booking and confirmation process there are 10-13 prompts to read and understand the late-cancel and no-show policy.
Transfer your seats to friend, clients or family. Happens all the time.
Sell the seats to whomever you like. Maybe at a discount. Perhaps at a premium. Both have been done.
Rebook it for a later date. This new date will be set in stone, however, and cannot be re-booked. Commonly done now that this is a new policy.
Post the open seats to your social media to offer them to whomever may be interested.
Post a positive review about us on Google speaking to how we did / tried to help.
BOTTOM LINE: Be cool about it and make an effort to work with us and all is groovy. Calling to yell and scream will get you charged and then banned from RAW LAB forever. We are NOT getting rich here, not trying to charge for empty seats and making massive efforts to help you to NOT be charged.
WHAT WE DO / ARE DOING TO NEVER HAVE TO CHARGE LATE-CANCEL FEELS (OR EVEN DISCUSS IT).
Allow people to re-book for a date within the next 30 days with no charge. This new reservation is set in stone, however. If the new reservation is not honored, there will be some kind of a charge. May not be $250 per seat, however.
Email / Text our network of High-End Hotel Concierges in Charleston who have guests looking for last minute reservations. We do this once weekly on Tues or Wed.
Post to our social media when we have open seats. We generally do this more than once weekly.
Ping our Notify List. We have people looking for seats on RESY. We let them know some have opened up. We do this daily via the RESY app.
New pricing for under 30, under 40 and a membership program that may attract more demand for our supply. Starting 11.10.23. www.empireoyster.com/preferredpricing
Our marketing is now geared towards visitors to CHS who need a last minute reservation. Working hard on this with time, energy and money.
OVERVIEW IS IT FOR YOU A-TYPICAL POLICIES VALUE PROPOSITION PRICING DISCOVERY MISSION
EXPLAINING OUR POLICIES
We only seat 12 people, 4 times a week. That’s $12,000 a week in revenue. We have to fill those seats to maintain operations, period. So, we have a-typical cancellation and large group reservation policies:
Our LATE CANCELLATION window is 9 days. Seats generally DO NOT get filled within 9 days because this very high ticket item is something most people plan on many weeks or months out. There are very few people booking seats at RAW LAB last minute. Sometimes they do, however, especially on the weekends. Usually these are visitors who find open seats last minute on RESY. So, we need what seems like an outrageously long window for a late-cancellation policy. This would be outrageous if we were had a standard restaurant business model. WE DO NOT HAVE THAT MODEL. We go to great lengths (every possible tool there is with RESY and our web site) to inform guests of this policy but we are not obligate to fill your abandoned seats. Having operated this way for 18 months as of August 2023, and surveying our guests on the subject, the consensus is that it is understandable, clear, transparent and reasonable given our unique business model.
Large groups are defined as 5 or more guests and must pre-pay to confirm the reservation. We cannot have 5, 7 or 9 people no-show or cancel 1 or 2 weeks out. We would charge the card on file (you cannot make a reservation without a card on file with RESY) and they would likely contest or dispute those charges (if the card on file even went through). Our business model cannot be exposed to this kind of risk so, we have this policy in place. Call to give a credit card to our Chef/Owner and he will run the card to secure your reservation.
This is SEMI-PRIVATE dining. We do not and cannot take walk ups. Therefore, we cannot fill you abandoned seats day of.
We do not welcome anyone under 21 for a host of reasons, first among them is the legal drinking age. Also, this is a room for adults who want to behave like adults (and sometimes like children) and we want to maintain that vibe because we love it.
Tipping in many elite fine-dining restaurants is included at 20% these days. We do not do that. We take a hybrid approach. We have a 20% minimum tipping policy however, guests are given the opportunity to tip whatever they like. Guests generally tip between 20 and 30%. The average after 19 months of service is 23.45%. We do this because we price this experience well below what it is worth and we count on the gratuities to make the business model work. If this is not something you agree with, that is more than fine but please do not book a reservation.
OVERVIEW IS IT FOR YOU A-TYPICAL POLICIES VALUE PROPOSITION PRICING DISCOVERY MISSION
GUIDELINES
best practices for all of our guests to get the most out of the experience.
PLEASE DO NOT DRINK BEFORE RAW LAB. PLEASE! DO NOT ARRIVE INTOXICATED.
DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF BEFORE RAW LAB. Eat as you normally would throughout the day.
FOOD SUBSTITUTIONS are generally NOT possible due to space and time constraints.
SEAFOOD ALLERGIES. Those with allergies to shellfish should NOT dine at RAW LAB. This is a fin fish, crustacean & shellfish driven menu.
INTROVERTS BEWARE. Guests SHARE the room, attention for the Chef and engage with other guests.
WINES ARE MOSTLY WHITE, ROSE & ORANGE. A red usually accompanies the final course (Dolce). Reds (and all other wines) are available a la carte.
BE PRESENT & ENGAGED WITH THE CHEF AND WITH OTHERS IN THE ROOM. Our model and style sometimes requires us to ask you to do things other fine-dining options do not. Guest participation is important at times.
BE PREPARED TO PARTICIPATE. You may be asked to grab a plate from the chef, for example. This is NOT the standard fine-dining service style. Please be willing to roll with that.
COME WILLING TO BE TAKEN OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. You will be encouraged to do things at RAW LAB that you’ve not been asked to do elsewhere. You can pass if you like, however.
CERTAIN FINE-DINING SERVICE ELEMENTS ARE NOT POSSIBLE IN THIS MODEL. Do not expect Le Bernardin or Per Se service style.
~ GOLDEN RULES ~
RESPECT OTHERS.
Some people came to ask 100 questions and learn all about MARINE CUISINE & DelicaSEAS such that it might inform their ordering in other fine-dining establishments or how they buy seafood for consumption at home. Give them the space to do so. DO NOT HOG THE OXYGEN IN THE ROOM or all of the chefs attention. Please SHARE IT!
BE ENGAGED & BE PRESENT
If you’d like to stare at social media or respond to work emails while dining, please dine elsewhere.
YOU SNOOZE YOU LOSE
If you go to the bathroom or go to take a call and you miss the explanation of a dish, well, you may have missed it. Due to time constraints the chef cannot explain every element of every dish more than once or twice.
NO FLASH PHOTOS OR VIDEOS
It ruins other peoples photos and videos. By design, the lighting is PERFECT for photos and videos.
CELL PHONE USAGE
No cell phone calls may be made or taken during service. Guests must step outside to make or take calls. And please do not be on your phone more than 10% of the time. We request that all phone be put on “silent” at all times.
USE IT OR LOSE IT
If something is passed to you (as some things are) use it, or pass it on.
LISTEN TWICE AS MUCH AS YOU SPEAK
You’ll learn more and enjoy it all more. God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth for this very reason. You have the chef in your lap for 4 hours. There is a lot you can learn.