Let’s do it again.
If you are keeping score at home, and we know that many of you are, then you know we took a giant leap forward last winter when we decided to put together our first ever Eat It and Like It Restaurant Weeks.
The move certainly raised a lot of eyebrows. Yes, there was a lot of confusion given the fact that there already existed a Restaurant Week promotion in our city. We thought, frankly, we could do it better. We thought we could create a model for the next 10 years that would be so much more user friendly and restaurant friendly than what already existed.
The number of restaurants that we had sign on to that promotion proved that there was a need for something better. The move, as a result, was a huge success. Tens of thousands of visits to our websites later, we were incredibly pleased with our first-time effort.
Still, there was no plan to do it again during the Summer, another traditionally ‘slow’ time on the F&B calendar. Instead, the plan was to do it again next winter. A few tweaks here and there, but we were prepared to wait a year. Until the phone started to ring.
It’s a figure of speech of course, because phones barely ring anymore, but the questions started almost immediately after we wrapped up in February. “Are you doing it again in the Summer?” We were asked almost every day for 2 weeks. Initially, the answer was no. Then the answer became ‘well, if enough restaurants want to do it, then sure. We will go for it.”
So here we are.
Eat It and Like It’s Summer Restaurant Weeks presented by The Heritage Bank is our latest effort to offer everyone an opportunity to eat at some of our cities best restaurants for a fixed price. That price is 3 courses for $40.
There was a little pushback on that price point in the winter, but the restaurants were thrilled that we offered it first. It allows them some flexibility in their menus and the opportunity to not lose money with their offerings. I had a restaurant owner tell me last year “At $30, I am either losing money or serving crap and I am really not interested in doing either one.”
Understood. No, the consumer wasn’t thrilled with the bump in price, but the tiny portions that upset so many people in the past were largely gone, which made people happy. The $40 price point was a win win for everyone involved.
Beyond all of that, you know how it works. We are thrilled to have some great restaurants on board already like Emporium Kitchen and Wine Market, Pacci Italian Kitchen, The Grove and the brand new Cantina Tulum. That’s just a sample. We have several other commits in writing and on the horizon. It’s going to be a great 24 days of food mid-summer.
That’s another point we felt like we could improve on. 24 days gives everyone a chance to enjoy a great meal at a good pace. How many of us can afford to go to more than 1 or 2 restaurants in 12 days time? This is double, which offers you significantly more opportunity to Eat It and Like It.
Our website to see it all, just like before, is tasteitsav.com. There you will find a list of participating restaurants and their menus once we receive them.
Consider this an announcement to ask you to ‘save the date.’ There will obviously be much more promotion as we approach. Both on television and via all channels on social media. This is your reminder to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. It’s the fastest way to find out when a new menu is posted.
Before we go, a huge thanks to our title sponsor, The Heritage Bank. We couldn’t do it without them. And the entire effort will only get bigger and better as we move forward. So a quick thanks to you for your support as well.
Stay tuned, because there is much more to come.
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