Restaurant Week has become a popular and recognizable event nationwide. Some programs, like the one in New Rochelle, NY, were created to help support downtown dining during the Great Recession, while more recent events were launched to capitalize on foodie and locavore trends.Today in New Rochelle, the goal is to draw guests during a typically slow time for restaurants and to build year-round repeat business. “You don’t promote for just the one-time event. You promote to get a message out,” says Ralph DiBart, executive director of the New Rochelle BID.
The BID puts together the program, and oversees all of the marketing, graphic materials, and photography so that every restaurant has a high-quality presentation, DiBart says.
“We give them the materials to use on their own websites and Facebook pages to create a certain parity within the campaign. We then use the materials throughout the year for follow-up promotion and advertising,” he says. “For example, we have a very busy train station. We worked with the city so we have a monitor well placed in the station where we can advertise events and activities, and we’ll periodically remind people about Restaurant Week.”
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