The sixth annual Kansas City Restaurant Week will get underway Friday with a record 160 participating area restaurants offering discounted lunch and dinner menus through Jan. 25.
A portion of Restaurant Week sales will be donated to three local charities: BoysGrow, which teaches entrepreneurism to young men in the urban core; the Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired; and Cultivate KC, which works for a healthier local food system.
The Kansas City Regional Destination Development Foundation and the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association Educational Fund will also receive donations.
The spirit of serving not only diners but the needs of the community was highlighted during Wednesday’s preview of Restaurant Week at the Gallery in the Kansas City Power & Light District. Event organizers and representatives from several participating restaurants shared food samples and food for thought.
“It’s not just about eating,” said Bart Hickey, president of the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association. “This event is about giving back.”
Hope Dillon, co-owner of The Drop Bar & Bistro at 409 E. 31st St., agreed.
“It’s about being charitable,” Dillon said. “We do try to give back every chance we can.”
Restaurant Week is a yearly highlight for Martin Elton, assistant general manager at Jazz – A Louisiana Kitchen at 1823 W. 39th St.
“This is a chance for us to do something for other people,” Elton said. “It’s amazing what you can do. Once a week, we also feed an orphanage out of our store, and it’s my favorite day of the week. Restaurant Week is on a par with that, because we want to give back.”
Although charity is at the forefront of Restaurant Week, participating restaurants can still make a profit, said Robert Riekhof, general manager of La Bodega Tapas & Lounge at 703 Southwest Blvd.
“The food might be discounted slightly,” Riekhof said. “But, hopefully, we’re going to make up for that a little bit by people maybe buying some wines they otherwise wouldn’t have bought or making other food purchases. You can make money.
“It does help charity, and it does help the city. And that feels really good, too. So it’s a win-win for everybody.”
In agreement was Matt Seithel, marketing manager for locally owned Bread & Butter Concepts, which operates seven different restaurant concepts in the Kansas City area.
“Restaurant Week exposes us to maybe some people who don’t typically hit restaurants,” Seithel said. “We are really focused on the charity side of things. But, if you do it right, you’re still able to offer quality food and make a normal day’s profit, while giving back, too.”
Restaurant Week will be a big difference-maker for its three charitable partners, said Sally Cook, assistant director of development for the Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired.
“Ten percent of the sales go to all three charities,” Cook said. “We’re expected to get about $50,000 each, which is huge. It will pay for our preschool food program for next year. It’s a pretty cool thing for all the restaurants to come together and support us.”
