Licking County Restaurant Week returns for third year
Restaurants across the country have struggled through COVID-19, a worker shortage, supply chain issues. But Licking County's Restaurant Week gives those businesses a reason to celebrate.
The Licking County Chamber of Commerce, Explore Licking County and Kool 101.7 have teamed up to support Licking County Restaurant Week for the third year. What started as a way to support local businesses during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, has turned into movement about buying and eating locally, Licking County Chamber President Jennifer McDonald said.
Local restaurants will be offering specials from Friday, July 15-Friday July 22. For a list of all the eateries participating, visit https://restaurantweeklc.com/.
The week kicks off with Rockin' the Rooftop at the 2nd Street Parking Garage in downtown Newark. While VIP tables are already sold out, McDonald said $5 general admission tickets will be available at the door.
A national worker shortage, inflation and supply chain problems have been among the challenges for Licking County eateries, McDonald said, but restaurateurs are persevering.
"Some of them are being more creative with QR codes so that you can look up the menu ahead of time or you can even order from it," she said, adding that with the rise of apps like Uber Eats, Grubhub and others, it gives restaurants another way to connect with customers.
Alex Athan, owner of 1922 On The Square, said throughout the hardships restaurants have faced, customers have been understanding.
"Everybody's dealing with this, at least on some level," he said.
Athan's restaurant has been following the mindset of controlling what they can control and making the most of what they can do.
When it comes to the supply chain, it's been more difficult to get wine from European countries than to get food items recently, Athan said.
"Inflation, we've seen some things level off recently, which is nice and encouraging," he said. "We hope that will kind of continue. I don't know if the supply chain has gotten better to the point where we've peaked and are now headed in the right direction. But it's certainly not getting any worse."
Restaurant Week couldn't come at a better time. Historically, the summer months are slower for downtown establishments as people take vacations, have cookouts, visit Buckeye Lake and have other reasons that take them out of town, Athan said.
"It's really an opportune time to ... kind of draw some people back in, back downtown," he said. "It really gets the momentum going back towards downtown while everybody been busy running around all summer."
But downtown restaurants aren't the only ones that benefit. Even thought the summer is a busy time, the promotion reminds people to support local businesses.
"Restaurant Week kind of resets their focus and allows them (to say) 'oh hey, let's try the local restaurants that we haven't been to in a little while,' so it's been really nice," he said.
mdevito@gannett.com
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Restaurant Week
When: Friday, July 15 to Friday July 22
What: A county-wide, week-long celebration of everything great in the local food scene, complete with creative menus, daily specials and promotions from many Licking County eateries with price points for every appetite.
Where: For a complete list of Licking County restaurants and the Restaurant Week participants, visit https://restaurantweeklc.com.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Licking County Restaurant Week returns for third year
