Getting Inked for a Taco

At Casa Sanchez, a tattoo of the restaurant's logo can ensure you free lunches for life.

April 02, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO - If you??re up for eating burritos and tacos every day, then here??s a deal you: get a tattoo of the Casa Sanchez logo and receive free lunches for life.

The Wall Street Journal writes that the "outlandish promotion," which first launched in 1999, is getting a revival ?" the "stimulus special," according to Martha Sanchez, who is one of 12 family members running the San Francisco Mexican restaurant.

The promotion took off in 1999, so the Sanchez family capped the offer at 50 customers and interviewed other prospects. "If the potential customer didn't understand the spirit of the tattoo ?" becoming an unofficial member of the Sanchez family ?" and asked too many questions about the meals or the restaurant's solvency, Ms. Sanchez gently told them, 'I don't think this is going to work out,"?? writes the newspaper.

Of course there are some rules. The customer must foot the $100 for the tattoo, it must be at least 4-square inches. Once the tattoo permanently resides on the customer??s body (it can be placed anywhere), he/she is entitled to one free lunch and drink per day for life.

So how often do the inked customers come back? "Perhaps a dozen or so," write the Journal, noting that most of the tattoo-sporting customers have either moved away or got tired of eating the same thing for lunch every day. Recently, however, a tight economy has been bringing back some of the restaurant??s most loyal customers.

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