Twenty-four restaurants participated in the 2019 Westport Restaurant Week 2019 (WRW). From Sept. 30 to Oct. 13, select Westport restaurants served a fixed price menu for lunch, brunch and/or dinner. The participating restaurants listed on the Connecticut Restaurant Week website are some of Westport’s favorites.

The Westport event was run by the Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce (an organization that runs a variety of events and has spearheaded restaurant week for five years). 

“The purpose of the Chamber of Commerce is to promote the businesses in town, and have events for the community to enjoy and then interact with those businesses,” Matthew Mandell, executive director of the Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce said. 

Restaurant Week is part of the “Eat Local” campaign run by the Chamber of Commerce. The campaign started with the Slice of Saugatuck event, and encourages Westporters to eat locally. 

All Westport restaurants are given the opportunity to participate. Those who choose to participate greatly benefit. 

“We believe that over 3,000 meals will be served through Restaurant Week in the two weeks that it actually runs in Westport,” Mandell said. “That can translate to anything like 60 to 70, 80 thousand dollars worth of business.” 

WRW appeals to many Staples students.

“I would definitely have some interest because several of those Westport restaurants are favorites of mine.” Lili Aldridge ’22 said. 

In an article written by Westport Now,  The Spotted Horse manager Marc Murphy stated, “Restaurant Week is a very important event for us. Not only is it a great marketing tool to introduce new customers to our restaurant; it can be seen as a reward to those customers that enjoy dining here on a regular basis,” he said. 

“I only see it as a ‘win-win’ for both sides of the menu.”

Westport Restaurant Week has the same effect now as it did five years ago when the event started. It is positive for both the businesses, as well as the customers. 

“People come and you try different restaurants, and that way you get to see different restaurants, and the restaurants get to have new clientele come in,” Mandell said. “And you never know, someone who hadn’t tried them might really like it, and become a steady costumer.”