Diners, eateries line up for Summer Restaurant Week

Restaurant Week Sample Menus

Barleycorns

Cafe Boulevard

Choose any three courses from among:

Caffe Anticoli

C’est Tout

Figlio

Restaurant Week participants*

*There are often last-minute changes and additions to the list of participants, so you may want to check www.dineoutdayton.org or call your favorite restaurant to confirm.

Source: Miami Valley Restaurant Association Web site (www.dineoutdayton.org); MVRA Executive Director Amy Zahora

It’s not just diners who are eagerly anticipating Restaurant Week, which begins Sunday, July 26. This summer, the restaurants themselves are lining up to participate.

“I’ve had restaurants calling me and wanting to know how they can be a part of Restaurant Week,” said Amy Zahora, executive director of the Miami Valley Restaurant Association who sometimes has had to cajole restaurant owners to participate in the twice-a-year promotion. These days, restaurants are looking to attract potential new customers, bask in the exposure that comes with the promotion and avoid being “dead” that week as some of their regular customers take advantage of the special deals elsewhere, Zahora said.

This summer’s event — officially called Summer Restaurant Week Presented by Renewal by Andersen Replacement Windows — begins Sunday and extends through July 31. Here’s how it works: Diners order from a special menu and receive a three-course meal for $20.09; the price traditionally matches the year (in Dayton, anyway). The restaurants then donate to local charities $1 for each special dinner sold. This summer, the beneficiaries are the March of Dimes and the Miami Valley Restaurant Association Scholarship Fund.

The Restaurant Week promotion has grown steadily since the MVRA launched it locally in 2005, and this summer has attracted at least 60 restaurants, more than a dozen more than the summer 2008. Miami Valley diners have embraced the concept with enthusiasm; some carefully map out a full week’s worth of eating out.

At most of the restaurants participating in Restaurant Week, reservations are a must. Owners and managers strongly recommend calling to check on availability and hours. Be aware that some restaurants are closed Sunday or Monday — or in some cases, closed both days — so calling ahead will avoid disappointment. And remember that tax, tip and beverages are not included in the $20.09 price.

Two restaurants that are otherwise open to members only — the Dayton Racquet Club and Greene Country Club — will be open to the public during restaurant week. And some restaurants, including l’Auberge, extend the specials into a second week.

Many other local restaurants have taken note of the popularity of Restaurant Week — and of the tight economy that diners are facing — and embraced similar specials that are available year-round. Jay’s Restaurant, for example, offers monthly three-course specials for $22.95 that look a lot like a Restaurant Week menu, for a couple of bucks more.

Many larger cities’ Restaurant Week promotions have gotten away from the price-matching-the-year concept and are more expensive for diners, but Zahora said there hasn’t been much talk among Dayton-area restaurants about hiking the price beyond the $20.09 mark — at least not until 2010, when the cost will jump one whole penny.

Even restaurants that have inexpensive menus are finding ways to join the Restaurant Week bandwagon by offering two-for-$20.09 or four-for-$20.09 specials, the restaurant association director said.

To take a look at the all-important menus and to start planning Restaurant Week strategy, go to the MVRA's Web site, www.dineoutdayton.org/restaurant-week-menus.php