[camp guy]

Both Birch & Vine and Downtown Grille (formerly) were very friendly places. If you went in and saw someone you knew, it was perfectly okay to pull up a chair and join the party.
I am sure restaurants are faced with enormous challenges to keep prices at a level where an owner can meet expenses and have a little left over. The old adage of keep the prices low and make up the difference in volume probably doesn't work in today's economy.