Aurora will hold its first-ever Restaurant Week beginning later this month as a way to “showcase Aurora’s rapidly growing and diverse culinary scene,” city officials said.
In a press release, officials said the event will run from Jan. 21 to Feb. 4 and feature exclusive discounts at a wide range of restaurants from corporate chains to newly-opened mom-and-pop establishments looking to gain some exposure.
Clayton Muhammad, chief communications and equity officer for the city of Aurora, said the initiative expands on a previous program known as the Taste of Downtown.
“We just have so many great restaurants in the city of Aurora – all throughout the city, not just downtown – and we want to build upon the traditional cold days of winter when maybe people aren’t going out as much,” he said. “We want to focus on getting people out and about.”
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Muhammad said offering the event “gives people a spotlight on where to go and what good foods we have.”
“This is just the beginning. It’s called the inaugural, and we used to have the Taste of Downtown and we’re expanding upon that. At this point, we have more than three dozen restaurants participating and we are updating the list regularly.
“This is a spotlight of old and new, those restaurants that have been around a long time and those who are brand new,” he said. “We spotlight anything from a TGI Fridays to the individual restaurants so there is a wide range.”
Phil Cullen, owner of Ballydoyle Irish Pub in downtown Aurora, said he welcomes the new event and that with the growing number of restaurants in Aurora “this helps everybody.”
“There are a lot of options now and it’s good for everybody,” he said. “We welcome the foot traffic and this becoming more of a destination. It adds to all the other activities and it’s one of the components that will make downtown Aurora something special in the long run.”
Cullen said specials at his establishment will include “corned beef and cabbage which we always have as well as a couple of chef specials that will be rotated daily.”
For a list or participating restaurants and information about specials, go to https://yourvoice.aurora.il.us/aurora-restaurant-week
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.