A Hurricane Harvey Lifeline for Restaurants

If Tropical Storm Harvey disrupted your plans for taking advantage of Houston Restaurant Weeks great deals on dining out, the opportunity to feast affordably while aiding the Houston Food Bank continues. The charitable effort, originally scheduled to end September 4, has been extended through September 30.

In addition to further aiding the food bank, the extension is aimed in response to the storms “devastating impact on the Houston restaurant industry.” Numerous restaurants were closed for as much as a week, resulting in the loss of tax revenue dollars and financial damage. Some restaurants were damaged and in all cases wages were lost.

“After consulting with many of the restaurants participating in Houston Restaurant Weeks, we have decided to extend the dates to generate traffic to help our restaurant community and benefit the Houston Food Bank,” Houston Restaurant Weeks founder Cleverley Stone notes in a statement. “Restaurants desperately need business to stay afloat, and many employees whose livelihood depends on tips have not had any income in a week.”

The decision was made after Stone consulted with a number of the participating restaurants.

Thus, many of the eateries are joining in the extension offering prix fixe dinners at $45 and $35 with $7 and $5, respectively, going to the Houston Food Bank; prix fixe brunch for $22 with $3 committed to the food bank; and lunch for $20 with a $3 commitment. Last year, Houston Restaurant Weeks contributed a record $2.015 million to the Houston Food Bank.

“There are more than 12,000 restaurant locations in Houston, employing more than 350,000 people,” says Jonathan Horowitz, president of Houston Restaurant Association. ‘Houston Restaurant Weeks is a vital program for participating restaurants and for the Houston Food Bank.”

Among the numerous restaurants that are participating in the extended Houston Restaurant Weeks are The Grove, Amerigo’s Grille, Tony’s, B&B Butchers & Restaurant, La Table, Americas and Del Frisco’s.