Some Michigan restaurants are offering incentives in exchange for contact info

Dine at upscale French restaurant Cuisine in New Center and your next meal there could be free. 

Last week the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced new guidelines for the state's bars and restaurants, asking businesses to collect the names and phone numbers of customers, along with the time and date they visited. 

Some restaurants that require reservations in advance already have a system in place for gathering this type of data, but others have had to come up with new policies to keep track of such information, which can be used to aid in COVID-19 contact tracing if necessary. 

At Cuisine, chef and owner Paul Grosz said he wanted to take the discomfort out of asking for names and numbers upon entry, so the restaurant is holding a raffle. 

Guest are asked to put their information on a card each time they dine, and those cards are put into a drawing. Each month a winner will be pulled to receive a chef's choice dinner for two. 

"We, so far, have received a very positive reaction to this new way. When people sit down they're happy to give us their information," he said. "With these difficult times, we wanted to make an unpopular situation a little more fun." 

Midstate, the Black Door Saloon on Houghton Lake is asking customers to fill out tickets with their name and number and will use them to draw prizes at the end of each week. 

"Thank you for your understanding, and cheers to being flexible," the restaurant said in a post on social media Sunday. 

On the west side of Michigan, North Grove Brewers let customers know they would be following the contact tracing guidelines and will enter all customers into a monthly drawing for a $50 gift card. 

On Tuesday the MDHHS posted some guidelines to clarify what is expected of restaurants. Bars and restaurants are not required to confirm the accuracy of names by asking for identification, nor are they responsible if a guest gives incorrect information. 

mbaetens@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @melodybaetens