KickOFF DINNER

Please join us for the Kickoff Dinner at Belden Place.

PloneConf Opening Night Dinner at Belden Place

Thursday, November 3rd

B44

tl;dr

we don’t have formal reservations
bring cash
choose any restaurant, anything from the menu
make reservations for large groups (OpenTable)
tip your servers!

This is an event not to be missed! We’ve made special arrangements with a group of restaurants known as the Belden Group. These 8 unique restaurants occupy a distinctly European-feeling cobblestone alley known as Belden Place, and each offer a different style of cuisine, from Contemporary American to Mediterranean. They have both indoor and outdoor seating in a beautiful and intimate setting.

While we have made arrangements in advance with the restaurateurs, we do not have an exclusive reservation. Instead we have guaranteed them a large group (400!) who will begin arriving around 6pm and they have agreed to be prepared to host us. There will not be a fixed menu, you can order whatever you like. We also won’t have assigned seating, you can choose whichever restaurant you like.

Please take a moment before arriving to review the restaurants and make a few choices, to avoid mass confusion upon arriving. We want to distribute our group as evenly as possible amongst all of the restaurants so that they each get a fat slice of our business. These restaurants have limited seating so while you might get your first choice, you’ll still be treated to a great meal.

This unique arrangement requires us to be prepared and flexible. For example, if you would like to dine with a specific group of friends (say, your spouse and some friends that all speak fluent Esperanto) you should go ahead and make a reservation in advance. If you expect to sit at a large table together (4 or more) you should make a reservation to guarantee your a space. They have asked that you use OpenTable to make reservations and note that you are coming with the Plone Conference when reserving.

The owners and staff will also be extremely busy that night managing so many people, orders, and checks. They’ve asked that, wherever possible, we bring cash to pay for dinner. On our walk over from the Conference venue, we’ll be stopping by the ATMs of major banks so you can withdraw cash. They, of course, will accept all major credit cards if required (business write-offs, etc.), but we’d like to help reduce the added stress (and fees) this brings by paying in cash when at all possible.

Also, in United States, we use a gratuity-based system so it is appropriate to tip your servers a minimum of 15%. It may be the case that a gratuity is automatically added to your bill, especially if the group at your table is over 4 people. Do not feel shy to ask whether gratuity has been added already or not, since this decision is at each restaurant’s discretion.

Finally, since we don’t have formal reservations, you may have to wait if you don’t arrive early. No problem, I’m sure they’ll be happy to serve you drinks while you wait. Speaking of drinks, as you know, most restaurants make their money off of drinks so be sure to come thirsty and stay late!

This is going to be a fantastic dinner and these businesses will be bending over backwards to accommodate us. We think the atmosphere, the cuisine, and the enthusiasm of the restaurateurs are the perfect match for the Plone community. Let’s make this a night to remember for all of us, and a really successful night for these businesses by showing the restaurants of Belden Place how great the Plone community is!

The Restaurants and reservation information:

OpenTable — http://opentable.com Available for: