Burst of flavor returns to Mall at University Town Center

When it comes to promotions, the managers at Seasons 52 don’t take the cheap route.

Seasons 52 is one of the eight different restaurants and bakeries to participate in the third annual Taste of UTC event, which runs the month of October. Each will offer a special "Taste" menu that features special pricing and menu items.

“We want to showcase our food,” Seasons 52 Managing Partner Brandon Kulpeksa said, adding it would be "silly" not to put the restaurant's most elegant dishes on the promotional menu. “We are putting our big-priced items like lamb shank and filet mignon on our menu. They aren’t the cheapest. They are not made smaller than normal. We put out the full-size dishes.”

Seasons 52 will offer a three-course lunch for $15 and a three-course dinner for $29 throughout the entire month of October. Both lunch and dinner menus mirror each other.

“This is a great way to introduce people who haven’t come in here,” said Trent Iles, Seasons 52 beverage manager. “We want people to fall in love with us and come back and see us.”

The Taste of UTC promotional event runs Oct. 1 to Oct. 31. Three-course lunch and dinner menus will be offered by Brio Tuscan Grille, Kona Grill, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, Burger & Beer Joint and Sophie’s at Saks Fifth Avenue. For customers with a sweet tooth, special desert offers will be available at the Great American Cookie Company and Sweet Doctors.

Lauren Clark, marketing and sponsorship director at UTC, said the event is a way to showcase what the mall has to offer the community. 

“I think introducing any kind of promotions that are valuable to the community is something that we strive to do,” Clark said. “We have a great selection of restaurants, and offering them to the community is something we enjoy doing.”

When formulating the menu for Taste of UTC, Brio Tuscan Grille likes to go with some of its most popular menu items, said General Manager Jason Weathers said.  The event attracts both regulars and new customers alike.

“This price point gets people to come in and try the food,” Weathers said. “Last year was a huge success — we elevated reservations on a day-to-day basis from it.”

Most importantly, the restaurants want their customers to leave with more both satisfied stomachs and bank accounts.

“We want people to feel that they left and got a great meal out of it,” Kulpeksa said. “This is all about making customers happy, and about the exposure — getting guests in to see who we are and what we do.”