suntaurian wrote:
When Bob’s Bistro opened in the town of Montrose last year, the proprietors of Andrew’s Eatery, the only other restaurant in town, feared that their business would suffer. Surprisingly though, in the past year the average number of meals per day served at Andrew’s Eatery has actually increased significantly.
Which of the following, if true, provides the best explanation for this occurrence?
(A) The meals at Andrew’s Eatery are substantially lower in price than those offered at Bob’s Bistro.
(B) Bob’s Bistro is closed on Sundays, and so for Sunday brunch residents of Montrose would either go to Andrew’s Eatery or venture to a neighboring town.
(C) The profit per meal is higher, on average, at Bob’s Bistro than it is at Andrew’s Eatery.
(D) Bob’s Bistro attracts a large number of patrons that had never dined in Montrose before, and on many days Bob’s Bistro attracts more customers than it can seat.
(E) Andrew’s Eatery serves considerably more meals on weekends than it does on weekdays, which is not the case at Bob’s Bistro.
OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
This question asks us to explain a counterintuitive result – why is it the case that the arrival of a new restaurant, Bob’s Bistro, somehow increased the number of meals served per day at the only other restaurant in town, Andrew’s Eatery? If the number of meals served in the town of Montrose were to stay constant, then the business at Andrew’s Eatery would certainly be reduced by the opening of Bob’s Bistro. In order to provide an explanation for the surprising increase, we must find a reason that either more people are coming to Montrose to eat than was the case last year or that the people in Montrose are eating out more frequently.
(A) The fact that Andrew’s Eatery is less expensive than Bob’s Bistro would not explain an increase in the number of meals served; it would only explain that perhaps some price-sensitive consumers in Montrose would continue to eat at Andrew’s Eatery.
(B) That Bob’s Bistro is closed on Sundays does not explain an increase in the number of meals served at Andrew’s Eatery on an everyday basis.
(C) Higher profit margins at Bob’s Bistro do not explain an increase in business at Andrew’s Eatery; they simply suggest that Andrew’s Eatery may provide a slightly better value for certain price-sensitive consumers.
(D) CORRECT. This statement explains that the number of diners in the town of Montrose as a whole has increased due to the opening of Bob’s Bistro, and also explains why the patronage at Andrew’s Eatery has increased. Bob’s Bistro has apparently brought in many out-of-towners to eat at Montrose, and many of these first-time diners, when turned away from Bob’s Bistro, arrive at Andrew’s Eatery as the only alternative in town.
(E) The fact that Andrew’s Eatery serves more meals on weekends than on weekdays relative to Bob’s Bistro does not explain the increase in business.
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