DSIC and Chamber Announce Success of 11th Annual Schenectady Restaurant Week

DSIC and Chamber Announce Success of 11th Annual Schenectady Restaurant Week

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Robin Granger, Capital Region Chamber, 518.431.1434 |rgranger@capitalregionchamber.com
Jim Salengo, Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corp., 518.377.9430 |jim@downtownschenectady.com

DSIC and Chamber Announce Success of 11^th Annual Schenectady Restaurant Week

Schenectady, NY, March 7, 2016 – The Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation (DSIC) and the Chamber of Schenectady County, and affiliate of the Capital Region Chamber, are pleased to announce the success of the 11th Annual Schenectady Restaurant Week, which took place February 22-28, 2016. A total of 25 restaurants in Downtown Schenectady and nearby areas of Schenectady County participated in the promotion by offering three-course, fixed-price menus for $25. Data gathered from participating restaurants and customer surveys showed strong results for the popular promotion.

Chamber President Charles Steiner said, “The average amount spent per person before tax and tip this year was approximately $32, which is 28 percent over the promotional price and represents a 22 percent increase in spending over 2015. With an estimated 11,425 meals served over the seven days of the promotion, this means the 11^th Annual Schenectady Restaurant Week had an economic impact of nearly $366,000.” He added, “We are so very pleased that this promotion continues to provide a significant economic boost to restaurants during a normally slow time of the year.”

DSIC Executive Director Jim Salengo noted, “The Chamber website, where the public was directed to preview participating restaurant menus, had nearly 29,000 page views during February 2016. This represents a 4 percent increase over 2015.” He added, “We were also thrilled to see that 33 percent of diners this year were from outside of Schenectady County, which is a slight increase over 2015. These numbers show the ever-increasing popularity of Schenectady as a regional dining destination.”

Additional data showed that Schenectady Restaurant Week generated significant activity throughout the week, with 51 percent of diners saying they would not have eaten out if it were not for Restaurant Week, and 36 percent of diners indicating they were trying a restaurant for the first time.

Schenectady Restaurant Week is coordinated annually by the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation and the Chamber of Schenectady County, an affiliate of the Capital Region Chamber. The 2017 event will be scheduled for next winter after the release of Proctors’ full performance calendar. For more information on Restaurant Week, contact the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation (www.downtownschenectady.org) at 518.377.9430 or the Capital Region Chamber (www.capitalregionchamber.com) at 518.372.5656.

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