The risk is that not everyone is going to be here at Downtown Friday night, especially the lot that is staying with me. Another big issue is that most of the affordable restaurants that do take reservations for such a large group close at 9:00-10:00 on both Friday and Saturday evenings. I went with my gut after asking around and asking Noble as well, which is that usually the 405th plans dinners on Saturday night an hour after the venue is expected to close.
I have a few solutions:
-Bump our reservation to 9:00pm on Saturday, but we'd have to eat quickly and be out of the restaurant earlier than 10:00pm.
-Keep the reservation at 8:00pm, but "prolong" our stay until the eliminations are completed, and those who are interested can arrive. I can take your orders in advance and place them when we order, or we can order to-go to make sure you are fed.
-We have a "smaller", more relaxed dinner on Friday with a smaller group, and wait until one of the local restaurants has a place for us to dine in.
I apologize if these plans are an inconvenience. I did the best I could to calculate a time and day that was convenient for most, while being affordable and taking reservations. That being said, it is early enough that I may be able to adjust plans if someone can help me brainstorm.