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Thank AI and Billionaire Dollars: Private Dining Rooms at Restaurants Are Going Gangbusters in San Francisco | Eater SF

"The two-Michelin-star Italian restaurant, which debuted in 1989 and is known for luxurious hospitality, now relies heavily on its private rooms for revenue: the Gold Room seats 20 and the more intimate Wine Room seats four to eight, and the restaurant also offers a full buyout to accommodate 50 guests. The idea that the Gold Room costs an additional $150 is treated as a non-issue; in 2025 tech executives will regularly walk in on a Thursday and offer to pay whatever price to make sure they have the place to themselves the following Thursday, and these groups regularly spend “$7,000 to $8,000 more than an average night.” The 40-seat restaurant is therefore giddy to receive this business. Co-owner Giancarlo Paterlini, along with chef Suzette Gresham and wine director Gianpaolo Paterlini, note that pharmaceutical companies were the first to widely use the rooms — presenting their newest medicines and offerings to representatives over rabbit mortadella–filled cappellacci — and that COVID accelerating the need for isolation-friendly dining helped cement the trend. More recently AI companies “rent the rooms, or the whole restaurant, and whip out the whiteboard for multi-hour brainstorming sessions with the early 20-somethings, usually one or two older execs running the meetings.” “The first four months of the year are all private events,” Paterlini says. “The percentage of revenue for the restaurant is notable.”" - Paolo Bicchieri