Achi news desk-
This restaurant will reward you for disconnecting from the internet. (Photo Credit: Instagram)
An Italian restaurant in the city of Verona has gone viral for giving free wine to its customers but there is a catch.
If you’re in Italy, you could take advantage of some free wine but there’s a catch. An Italian restaurant called Al Condominio in Verona provides its customers with a free bottle of wine. However, to be eligible for the offer, customers will have to surrender their mobile phones before their meal. According to a popular handle on Instagram, restaurant owner Angelo Lella started the place in the Northern Italian city in March. His aim was to encourage the visiting diners to engage in conversation rather than looking at their smartphones.
Speaking to The Guardian, the owner said, “Technology is becoming a problem – you don’t need to look at your phone every five seconds… This way they have the chance to put it aside and drink good wine.”
Meanwhile, the Instagram post has so far attracted more than 68,000 likes. Several users have also responded to the post with one of them praising the owner for his efforts. “A man of real class, giving away items that would cost money just for the consumer to enjoy their time there,” he wrote. Another humorously joked that he needed such an owner in the office. “Put this man in office ASAP,” he wrote.
In one reply, a netizen suggested that he doesn’t drink but would happily give up his phone for the complimentary prize. “I don’t really drink. If they gave me a complimentary spot, I’d be happy to give up my phone,” he said. Another person seemed to agree as he wrote, “I don’t drink wine but that sounds like a great offer.”
Angelo Lella spoke further about the origin of the idea. “We wanted to open a restaurant that was different from the others. So we chose this format – customers can choose to renounce technology while enjoying a happy moment together,” the portal quoted the owner as saying.
This idea of free wine for a break from the internet seems to be working well for the restaurant. Al Condominio has reported that almost 90 percent of the customers accept this offer during their visit to the place. “The response has been very positive. Ninety percent of the customers have chosen to leave their phones aside in exchange for wine. It’s a wonderful thing to see people embracing it”, the restaurant owner concluded.
Al Condominio is considered the first restaurant in the Veneto region to adopt such a unique initiative. However, there are other examples of restaurants offering vouchers to customers who give up their phones.
