Warwick restaurant owners appear on The Price is Right TV show

WARWICK — On Wednesday, May 21, the patrons at Yesterdays restaurant, 29 Main St., cheered as they watched The Price is Right, which aired that day from 11 a.m. to noon.

They had good reason.
The Price is Right, hosted by Drew Carey, is a television game show where contestants compete to win cash and prizes by guessing the pricing of merchandise. And Yesterdays' owner John Christison was a contestant on the prerecorded program, which aired that day.

To celebrate the airing of the show, Yesterdays threw a Price is Right party from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. for its customers and, like one of the features of the TV show, offered a free wheel spin for a variety of prizes ranging from beverages to gift certificates.

The popular restaurant, which will celebrate its 29th anniversary this June, has a record of never closing, even for snowstorms. But early in April John and Peggy Christison, who were traveling to Las Vegas for a restaurant trade show, decided to take a vacation touring California.

"We needed a break," said Christison, "and I knew I had a very capable staff that could run the restaurant until we returned. Besides that, Peggy had obtained tickets to one of our favorite shows, The Price is Right."

Christison explained that before the show, the audience lines up outside the Los Angeles studio from 7 a.m. to noon during which time the ticket holders are observed and interviewed.

"I guess they look for people who are animated," he said, "and I was animated."

So at the beginning of the show host Drew Carey shouted, "John Christison, come on down!"

At first Christison lost some bids although he came close. But finally he won a granite kitchen island valued at $1,499. That gave him an opportunity to guess the value of other prizes including a brand new Mazda.

The camera also zoomed in on his wife, who was permitted to coach him with hand signals from her seat in the audience.

The exact value was $17,299 but his guess was about $250 too high.

"Anyway," said Peggy Christison, "we didn't win the car but this was an opportunity of a lifetime and it was wonderful to meet with Drew Carey. We had a great time."

- Roger Gavan