What has been billed as the “most delicious week of the year” was also one of the most successful for some Baltimore restaurants.
And it was that success that has spurred 10 downtown dining venues to extend Baltimore?s first-ever Restaurant Week until Friday, Aug. 4.
“It?s been a huge success,” said David Derewicz, general manager of The Prime Rib in Mount Vernon. “It?s a wonderful opportunity to expose our restaurant to new diners, to thank past diners and just remind people that haven?t been to The Prime Rib in a number of years about how good we are. It?s a win-win for both sides.”
Derewicz said that Tuesday night the restaurant served more than 450 dinners, compared with about 150 on an average weeknight.
“It?s been a very well-received week by the dining public,” he said.
Restaurant Week is modeled after promotions in other cities that are designed to bring area residents and culinary tourists to downtown. For its first promotion, the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association in conjunction with Downtown Partnership partnered with more than 50 city restaurants that offered three-course menus for $30.
“The program has achieved everything we wanted to achieve,” said Nancy Hinds, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association.
According to BACVA?s preliminary statistics, more than 1,000 reservations were made through Open Table Online during the week and 47,000 unique visitors visited www.BaltimoreRestaurantWeek.com, spending an average of 10 minutes on the site. Additionally, the site received more than 106,000 hits.
Mike Evitts, a Downtown Partnership spokesman, said that the week has exceeded organizers? goals on two fronts: in the number of participating restaurants and the number of diners who came downtown. He said that the promotion was an ideal way to bring in diners from surrounding counties and expose them to all that the city offers.
“We believe a lot of people are coming in from outside of the city and we hope that as they come in to experience fine dining, they are also experiencing a new and revitalized city,” Evitts said.
Restaurant deals
» Aldo?s Ristorante Italiano
» Da Mimmo Finest Italian Cuisine
» The Oceanaire Seafood Restaurant
» Pazo
» Petit Louis Bistro
» The Prime Rib
» Red Maple
» Saffron
» True
» Vellegia?s – Tours D?Italia
