Like many businesses and residents in the path of the Long Island Rail Road extension, Midtown steakhouse Maloney & Porcelli is staring down the barrel of six months of noise, dirt, and inconvenience as workers construct an above-ground ventilation system. But the owners of Maloney have hit upon a novel way of coping with the work outside their establishment: They're trying to motivate the laborers by offering open bars and steak dinners if they meet their official deadlines.
"As fun as it is to have construction out in front, we want it gone as soon as it’s possible," a spokeswoman for the restaurant tells the Wall Street Journal. "You set timetables and it’s great to stick with it." But you don't have to have a hardhat to join the Maloney & Porcelli Construction Club; membership is open to all and will entitle patrons to three full open bars when (heh) deadlines are met. The construction workers have been made de facto club members, and if they finish on November 10th as planned, they'll all get a free steak dinner in a private dining room. Second prize is a set of steak knives.
