RETAIL : Worth Its Wait? The Party Line From Planet Hollywood

Like to stand in line? Try the new Planet Hollywood restaurant in South Coast Plaza Village.

Now that the movie stars have come and gone, common folk are seen queuing up daily outside the fancy eatery.

Some customers say, however, that that those lines may be a little deceptive. One diner was urged to go to the upstairs bar while she waited for a table. During her time there, she said she saw several tables sitting idle, including one that went unoccupied for 45 minutes.

Another unidentified diner said that he has gone several times and was told each time that the wait was 20 minutes. He was then directed to the bar--ostensibly so that he would buy a drink--and was seated at a table within five minutes. “Of course, I did buy a drink,” he said.

A Planet Hollywood spokeswoman said that servers are trying to accommodate people quickly but that the restaurant has been popular since its star-studded opening last month.

“I know they are trying to seat people as efficiently as possible,” spokeswoman Jill Jurkowitz said. “We certainly don’t make anyone wait in line for the heck of it.”

She denied that there is any attempt to encourage bar sales by keeping tables unoccupied. Servers usually ask customers as soon as they are seated whether they want a drink, she said, so there is no need to encourage them to buy one in the bar.

With fairly moderate food prices, Planet Hollywood and new rival Hard Rock Cafe at Fashion Island Newport Beach depend heavily on sales of drinks and merchandise. How does Planet Hollywood hawk its wares? The marquee out front urges visits to the souvenir shop.