“Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays.”

The old ones are, indeed, often the best, and Google tells me that particular bon mot came from the American one-line king, Henry Youngman. But I read today of another ageing institution that’s looking to restaurants to help put a spring back in its step. The FT is carrying a feature asking if in-house fine dining could be the saviour of the department store. There’s a link to the article below, but it certainly got me thinking.

On a first pass, the logic seems compelling. Shoppers who dine in-store spend longer on the premises and visit more frequently, and so –the FT argues – will end up spending more. And for some operators, it’s already working. Harrods already boasts Gordon Ramsay, Tom Kerridge and Vineet Bhatia on its roster as it looks to establish itself as a “global dining destination”. Selfridges and Harvey Nichols are also fully on-board, investing heavily in their in-store dining options.

It comes at a very challenging time for operators. Landlords are already flexing their muscles. They are in a very precarious position – looking to preserve AAA status and demonstrating that rents can be paid, whilst also showing their teeth to those tenants who are learning to live without COVID protection. The promise of a new income stream is very alluring, and might buy some operators some of that most precious commodity – time.

But I do wonder just how broad a strategy this can be for the more beleaguered ‘mid-range’ operators. A separate wing at Harvey Nichols might feel exclusive and alluring, but will gourmands really feel like wandering through a closed department store at twilight in a provincial town, when there is already a plethora of high street options fighting for their custom? 

Department stores do need to evolve and find new ways to utilise their space more effectively, but the shake out has been ongoing for years. For some, fine dining might make sense as part of the theatre promised by a premium retail experience.

But personally, I don’t think Zagat’s will be including a “Suburban Department Store Hidden Gems” section any time soon.