Restaurant Offers Discount for Phone-Free Sunday Night Dinners

A restaurant in New York is offering diners a discount for turning on their appetites and turning off their phones. According to WFSB, Lebro's Restaurant in Getzville is giving diners 10 percent off their meals if they put away the phones while eating at the restaurant on Sundays. In a Facebook post the restaurant proclaims: "We guarantee our apps taste way better than the apps on your phone."

Owner Lee Federiconi tells WGRZ that he is encouraging patrons to "disconnect to reconnect" with their loved ones: "I don't think life has gotten harder, it's just the devices have made things a little more complicated. But I think for this hour of time, families can reconnect with each other." So far, he says, the response has been a positive one.

A growing number of restaurants have started to encourage and incentivize customers to put away their phones. In November, a restaurant in Iowa announced that patrons who put their phones in a box at the restaurant and engage in conversation would receive a 10 percent discount. A restaurant in Beirut also offers a similar 10 percent discount to diners if they leave their phones in the restaurant's possession. Other restaurants, like Bucato in Los Angeles, have created designated cell phone areas, while some have banned phones all together.