From Downtown Naperville’s bustling restaurants to eateries on both the north and south ends of town, there are deals to be found all over for Naperville’s annual Restaurant Week – which actually lasts for two weeks, from January 20 to February 3.
It provides a boost in business during a time that many restaurants see a slow down.
“We found that January, February, post holidays is kind of downtime. It’s a slow time before Valentines Day but after the holidays,” said Christine Jeffries, executive director of the Naperville Development Partnership.
Deals range from daily discounts at restaurants like south Naperville’s Little Italian Naperville and Dalicious Indian Restaurant, to a prix fixe menu at Paris Bistro at Naperville Crossings, with options for appetizers, salads, and crepes.
It’s the French restaurant’s second year participating.
“We’re normally busy in January but with restaurant week we got busier and people liked it. Not too many people knew about Paris Bistro and now they know more about us,” said Gabriela Thejo, general manager of Paris Bistro.
Of course Downtown Naperville’s restaurants are getting in on the action. Prix fixe options are available at Water Street’s Santo Cielo, while Nando’s Peri-Peri and Jimmy’s Grill have daily discounts – even if the cold weather means Jimmy’s coveted patio seating is closed.
North Naperville’s Up North Ale House offers a free appetizer as a daily discount, while Las Palmas Mexican Restaurant and CityGate Grille have more prix fixe offerings.
Allowing for a taste of several sections of the menu at a discounted price.
“We did a three course prix fixe so you can try an appetizer, a salad, an entrée, and of course you can order dessert,” said Adam Tanner, executive chef of CityGate Grille.
Do the discounts on delicious food work? Well, according to Christine Jeffries, the program has been a savory success.
“We hear from the restaurants typically they’re seeing a bump of 20 or 30 percent driven by restaurant week, that’s a big deal to their bottom line,” said Jeffries.
NCTV17 has also featured many participating restaurants in “Dine Around Naperville,” which you can watch right here on nctv17.org.
You can check out a full list of participating restaurants and what they have to offer at www.dinenaperville.com.
Naperville News 17’s Blane Erwin reports.
