Diners simply secure their phones in a personal lockbox at the entrance.
An Italian restaurant is raising a glass to the conversation! Al Condominio, a new establishment in Verona, offers a free bottle of wine with one condition: ditch your phone during your meal.
Owner Angelo Lella hopes this "digital detox" incentive will encourage diners to engage with each other, fostering genuine conversation instead of mindless phone scrolling, as per The Guardian.
"We wanted to open a restaurant that was different from the others," he said. "So we picked this format - customers can choose to renounce technology while enjoying a convivial moment together. Technology is becoming a problem - there is no need to look at your phone every five seconds, but for many people it is like a drug ... This way they have an opportunity to put it aside and drink some good wine."
Diners simply secure their phones in a personal lockbox at the entrance. The restaurant even rewards the most enthusiastic participants with a free meal on their next visit, based on glowing reviews left in the box! This innovative approach has certainly boosted business, attracting diners eager to disconnect and reconnect, the media outlet reported.
"The response has been very positive," said Lella. "Ninety per cent of customers have opted to leave aside their phones in exchange for wine. It really is a beautiful thing to see people embracing it - they are talking to each other rather than looking at photos or responding to messages on their phone."
While Al Condominio might be the first in Veneto to tempt diners with phone-free wine, this concept isn't entirely new in Italy. Restaurants like Separe 1968 in Tuscany offer similar incentives, like vouchers, for those willing to ditch their devices.