Rick’s Fine Chocolates and Coffees has started a new regular monthly feature: Date Night. The cafe holds a date night on the third Saturday of every month.
Manager Felix Sharp and owner Stacy Gilliland talked with the News Leader about their new idea. “The idea really came from everyone, not just one person,” Sharp said. Gilliland chimed in: “it started with our charcuterie boards for sale in the shop. We were looking to promote those, and Felix came up with the idea of using the date nights for that.”
Their first opportunity came with a soft launch in conjunction with an exhibit at the Terra Rosa Art Gallery. Terra Rosa’s John Pagonis wanted a unique way to cater it, and Gilliland and Sharp connected their charcuterie setup for that. The setup they used transferred to the date night concept, and Rick’s ran their first one for Valentine’s Day. It was a huge success, exceeding the staff ’s expectations.
As a result, Rick’s turned it into a monthly event, and it has done consistently well. In fact, this past month’s Date Night was completely sold out. Sharp and Gilliland are planning to keep holding the Date Night events year-around. However, they did indicate they might close it down during the holiday months of November and December, because there’s already so much going on downtown at that time.
Sharp and Gilliland are so happy with it, they’re planning for even more features for Date Night, including an upgrade from just charcuterie to a full progressive dinner. They’re looking for partnerships with local businesses that could provide interesting options and add-ons in support of those plans, which could be realized as early as the May scheduled Date Night.
For more information on Date Night at Rick’s, stop in at the store or call them at 405-293-9309.