RETAIL / TOURISM

‘Doing Lunch’--by Fax: The owner of an Irvine restaurant got a lesson recently on the power of the facsimile machine in drumming up lunch orders.

Bistro 201, a tony eatery in the Koll Center Irvine office complex, increased its business by 15% recently when it started sending out fax menus to nearby businesses and solicited for pickup orders.

“Many of our fax customers either don’t have the time to get away from their offices during lunch or they’re in the middle of a meeting and taking a break will disrupt the flow of business,” said David Wilhelm, president of West Coast Ventures, which owns Bistro 201 and four other posh Orange County restaurants.

While adding to weekday business, Wilhelm said he was surprised to find that the fax machine increased the restaurant’s weekend business as well. Some customers have transmitted orders for picnic baskets or dishes they can pick up and serve at home.