Operators spur sales, boost brand image with free meals

Frank Minier loves to joke about not getting a slice of the government's $750 billion bailout pie this year, but that's not stopping him from giving friendly freebies to his customers.

To spur word-of-mouth marketing for his two Laguna Grille restaurants on Long Island near New York City, he launched his "Bailout Program," in which he comps the meals of guests at one table per shift, per restaurant. No one knows who will get the prize until Minier draws that table's nu