The 11th annual Schenectady Restaurant Week was the most successful yet.
Schenectady Restaurant Week, hosted by the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation and the Chamber of Schenectady County, an affiliate of the Capital Region Chamber, took place Feb. 22-28.
During the week, 25 restaurants throughout downtown and nearby areas of Schenectady County participated by offering special three-course meals for the price of $25.
An estimated 11,425 meals were served throughout the promoted week, with an average amount of $32 spent per person before tax and tip, according to a release from the DSIC and Capital Region Chamber on Monday.
“[That’s] 28 percent over the promotional price and represents a 22 percent increase in spending over 2015,” Chamber President Charles Steiner said in a news release.
“We continue to see growth in the program,” Jim Salengo, executive director of DSIC, said Monday. “It can be slower at restaurants this time of year, and this can be a great motivator for people to come out and enjoy a good meal.”
Data collected on comment cards filled out by customers showed 51 percent of diners said they would not have eaten out if not for Restaurant Week.
Salengo said the discount dining promotional week was presented to show off the variety of dining experiences visitors can have in downtown Schenectady.
The 11,425 meals served equated to an economic impact of about $366,000, which is up $33,000 from last year, according to Salengo.
“Restaurant Week injects a nice boost in the Schenectady economy, but it also encourages new people to try the great restaurants in Schenectady,” Salengo said. “We were also thrilled to see that 33 percent of diners this year were from outside of Schenectady County, which is a slight increase over 2015. These numbers show the ever-increasing popularity of Schenectady as a regional dining destination.
“People are coming from outside the county and as the years go on, our numbers continue to hold up strong,” he added. “Restaurant Week is a continued success, and we’re so happy with the results.”
Additional data showed about 36 percent of diners indicated they were trying a restaurant for the first time.
“We saw a lot of new customers make reservations,” Erin Thiessen, a hostess at Johnny’s, said Monday. “We didn’t see a great increase in the number of customers we had throughout the week, but I think Restaurant Week will have a great long-term effect.”
Johnny’s, an Italian-American restaurant located on State Street across from Proctors, participated in Restaurant Week for the first time this year.
“The few appetizers, three entrees and two dessert options you could choose from were from a special Restaurant Week menu, but the entrees might be availabe as recurring specials,” Thiessen explained. “We’re so glad we participated.”
The 2017 Restaurant Week will be scheduled for next winter after the release of Proctors’ full performance calendar.
For more information on Restaurant Week, visit www.downtownschenectady.org or www.capitalregionchamber.com.
Reach Gazette reporter Kate Seckinger at 395-3113, [email protected] or @KateSeckinger on Twitter.
