CHAPEL HILL - If you go to La Residence, you'll find spice-seared pork loin with beer-braised beans, specialty ham and champagne slaw.

And you'll find chicken tenders and fries.

Remixed menus are reminders that the key word for downtown Chapel Hill businesses is "adaptation" during times of economic flux.

La Residence has diversified its menu to adapt to customers' palates and pocketbooks. The restaurant, owned and operated by Frances Gualtieri and her husband Tom, now offers two-course specials and non-traditional menu items to lighten the load of customers' paychecks. In contrast to items such as grilled fillet mignon for $29, the Tuesday menu includes sweet BBQ chicken wings ($9 for a full order) and the La Residence Burger; on the children's menu, they offer chicken tenders and fries for $6.

"We got away from a purely French menu," Frances Gualtieri said. "We're trying to offer what the market wants."

Elaine's, in the 400 block of West Franklin Street, has cut prices 15 to 20 percent in the past year.

Chef/owner Bret Jennings said customers have changed their habits: buying wine by the glass, not by the bottle, and choosing one or two courses, instead of three or four. Elaine's is also offering a "prix fixe," or fixed price menu. For $35, a person can order an appetizer, entree and dessert from 12 options, including a cheese sampler, duck confit and housemade coconut sorbet.

"We have had to use less costly ingredients, and we use our expertise to make those goods appetizing," Jennings said.

Some restaurant owners said they prepared for the recession before it hit.

"We started offering small plates at the very beginning of the economic downturn, plates that are creative, delicious, and not very expensive," said Greg Overbeck of The Chapel Hill Restaurants Group, which owns downtown landmarks 411 West and Spanky's. The latter's offerings include a cup of beef chili for $3.75 and a veggie burger for $6.75, both on the lunch menu.

Newly expanded Mediterranean Deli & Catering, at 410 W. Franklin St., has seen a drop in business since the recession, especially in its catering.

Owner Jamil Kadoura said he has resisted raising prices though his own costs have risen sharply. He cited an approximate doubling, over the past year and a half, in the prices of dairy and wheat products.

Operators of downtown restaurants share other concerns. Several said there is not enough parking, with Kadoura even calling the parking problem "the cancer of downtown Chapel Hill."

According to Sageworks Inc., a financial analysis company located in Raleigh, sales in the full-service (sit-down) restaurant industry grew nationally by 3.26 percent in 2008, compared to 4.04 percent the year before. In the South, sales in the full-service restaurant business increased by only 1.5 percent in 2008, compared to a 2.66 percent the previous year.

In contrast, in the South, the quick-service restaurant business (including cafes and fast-food establishments) grew in sales by 5.36 percent in 2008.

Julianna Aparicio, an employee of both Chapel Hill Studio Supply and La Residence, said many local restaurant-goers are choosing McDonald's for cheaper meals.

"It's always packed in there," she said. "It probably has something to do with the economic climate."