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Restaurant offers discount if patrons ditch phones

Posted at 10:28 PM, Aug 16, 2012
and last updated 2012-08-16 23:02:38-04

By Erin Kim

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Cell phones often claim a spot on the table in restaurants, sitting right next to utensils, plates and glasses. One restaurant is trying to change that.

Eva Restaurant in Los Angeles offers diners a 5% discount for leaving their phones with the receptionist for the entirety of the meal. The new policy went into effect a bit more than a month ago, according to chef Mark Gold, who runs the restaurant with his wife, Alejandra.

Since then, the chef estimates that 40% to 50% of customers have opted in and ditched their phones.

“Eva is really about family and being at home. That’s what we want to exemplify,” Gold says. “We just want people to connect again.”

He came up with the idea after a conversation about how annoying he found it that people were constantly communicating on their devices.

Eva notifies its customers of its cell phone policy with a statement on its menu.