Olive Garden is charging $400 per person for a New Year's Eve party
Wikimedia CommonsIn New York City, one of the hottest parties in town is going to be at a restaurant better known for breadsticks than popping champagne.
The Olive Garden in Times Square is charging customers $400 for dinner on New Year's Eve, reports the New York Post.
The meal includes a DJ, open bar, and buffet meal - but no breadsticks. Instead, customers will have to be satisfied with proximity to the New Year's Eve ball drop, though a manager at the location told the Post the restaurant had a "limited view."
Olive Garden isn't the only chain restaurant cashing in on its prime location on New Year's Eve. Tickets for an evening at Ruby Tuesday cost between $349 and $1,699, while Bubba Gump Shrimp is charging $799 a person.
Restaurants in Times Square that are typically moderately priced are able to charge the top dollar on New Year's Eve because for many, an open bar - even at a less-than-trendy location - beats the alternative means of getting close enough to watch the ball drop in person. People who want to see the ball drop start arriving in Times Square more than 12 hours before midnight, and are instructed not to leave the sectioned-off "party pen" between 6 p.m. and the new year.