PASS THE MENU, PLEASE

Families like to gather around dining tables at mealtime. These days, the tables are as likely found in restaurants as a few steps from the home's kitchen sink.

The collective move from whatever mom was serving to ordering today's special has been gradual. Used to, a family night out meant somebody was having a birthday or that an anniversary was remembered.

And those kinds of occasions still top the list of reasons people eat out, noted Bob Hoppmann, supervisor of The Pasta House Company in West Park Mall.

Cindy Grothman treated her mother, Jo Ann Hansen, to dinner at one of the family's favorite Jackson restaurants last week. The reason? It was Hansen's birthday. Though her family doesn't eat out all that often, Grothman noted, it doesn't take a special occasion to warrant a trip to a favorite dining spot.

For reasons as varied as menu items, millions of people are opting to eat out more often than was once the norm. According to Technomic, a food-service market research firm, Americans now spend as much money eating out as they do eating in.

Several local restaurateurs see signs pointing to similar conclusions.

"People are eating out more and more these days," Hoppmann said. "It really is quality time with your family. It's a little bit of a sit-down time to mull over the day's events."

And in today's fast-paced world where often both spouses work outside the home, time together is prized.

According to the Missouri Beef Industry Council, women comprise nearly half of the work force and 57 percent of married, working women have children under age 6. Since 1964, the number of two-income families has nearly doubled, from 16 million to 30 million.

For 1995, the rate of projected sales in United States eating establishments is $258 billion, according to the National Restaurant Association. In 1990, Americans spent $209 billion at restaurants.

"No doubt, the two-family income is doing two things: first, it's bringing more money home, but it's also keeping mom out," Hoppmann said.

But there are many other reasons for heading to a favorite food-stop. Family calendars jammed with after-school activities tell the story.

Plus, eating out is far from reserved to the third meal of the day.

H.R.H. Dumplin's in Lorimont Place does the greater part of its business around the noon hour. Many Dumplin's customers are businessmen and women, noted restaurant owner John Johnston, who is also president of the Southeast Chapter of the Missouri Restaurant Association. Hoppmann is chairman of the board of the organization. Catering to offices is another significant part of Dumplin's business, Johnston said.

And, observed Lois Colter, manager of Taco Bell on Broadway, "Everybody's in a hurry."

"We have a large lunch rush. We have a good supper rush, with families and college students. After the bars close, we have another rush," she said. Open on some days until 4 a.m., the Taco Bell restaurant proves food cravings don't always coincide with more standard schedules.

However, just because more people are eating out doesn't mean restaurants are having it easy. Fact is, noted several restaurant spokesmen, the competition is tough.

"The competition has really grown a lot in Cape Girardeau County," noted Ronnie Johnson, franchise owner of Golden Corral Family Steakhouse in Jackson. He moved to the area a little over three years ago. There's no room for ignoring details. "You've got to keep winning customers over," Johnson said.

Those who run the restaurants plan as carefully as any strategist.

"Today you have to offer more specials," Johnston of Dumplin's said. "People are looking for a deal, that special discount."

Dietary trends, too, don't go unnoticed. "There are a lot of health conscious people," the owner of the Jackson Golden Corral said. "We try to have a variety of different type foods out there that everybody can eat," he said of the restaurant's featured buffet.

Dumplin's offers a diet plate along with its other special of the day. "Both are equally popular," Johnston said. Taco Bell this spring introduced reduced-fat lines.

Price remains an integral consideration. "It really is getting down to the point that you can eat out almost as economically as eating in," Hoppmann said.

Regardless of other reasons for a trip to a restaurant, sheer enjoyment, for many, is a primary goal. More and more people, said Hoppmann, are finding reasons to say, "Hey, that's a good reason to go out and eat."

With the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau count of local restaurants at about 95 and many other fine places to eat in nearby communities, there is ample opportunity for most any pallet to be pleased.