In Maryland, Champion Billiards & Bar Stools and furniture store National Wholesale Liquidators are closing stores. Columbia-based Mammoth Golf is liquidating its store.
"When the economy gets rough, golf becomes a luxury item," said Chris Thompson, the golf store's former president.
Pikesville-based Big Steaks Management, which operates several restaurants in the area including Babalu Grill, Blue Sea Grill and various Ruth's Chris Steak House locations, began looking at ways to cut costs after seeing a slowdown in business last year.
At its high-end Ruth's Chris locations, the company cut the cost of menu items by $1 - the first price cut in five or six years - and began offering a lower-priced bar menu for the first time.
It added a $39.95 stuffed lobster and steak entree late last year. A similar dish would normally cost more than $60. The restaurant company also said a meal with a salad and a side dish it began selling for $35.95 has become more popular as diners cut back. A steak alone cost that much in the past.
"People are much tighter with their money," said David Sadeghi, Big Steaks' chief operating officer. "They're looking to get the most out of it. And that's how they're deciding where they'll spend."
The Cheesecake Factory created a separate "special menu" last month with new items such as tomato basil pasta and chicken pot pie priced at $11.95 to $14.95. Nearly half the restaurant's regular menu already has items in that price range.
"We do know that people have less money to spend to dine out," said Mark A. Mears, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for the Cheesecake Factory.
The restaurant industry has been hit particularly hard by the recession because dining out is such a discretionary expense.
Restaurant owners reported the sixth consecutive month of negative same-store sales results in November, the latest numbers available, according to the National Restaurant Association. About 66 percent of operators reported a decline, the association said.
"You'll see a lot of restaurants are offering special values or different promotions just to drive traffic," said Maureen Ryan, an association spokeswoman.
Grocery stores also are battling it out for consumer dollars. Even as people eat at home more often, it doesn't necessarily mean they're spending extra on groceries. Many are trading down to less expensive private label products and lower-priced cuts of meat. Some grocers are cutting prices on various items. One way Giant and Wegmans are trying to appeal to penny-pinching consumers is by offering certain antibiotics free of charge.
