LANCASTER, Pa. — Lancaster restaurants are heating up for a week of discounted dining and big business.
The City of Lancaster celebrates its 10th annual Fall Restaurant Week on Monday, encouraging community members to support local restaurants and explore different foods.
"It's nice to get in front of new customers but also people that want to go to their favorite spots and have a little special or a deal,” said Zach Fortunato, general manager of Decades in Lancaster.
The event not only benefits diners by offering discounted menu items and special promotions but also provides an opportunity for local restaurants to attract new customers and showcase their cuisine.
Damien Longenecker, a resident of Lebanon, said the discounts can make trying new things less intimidating.
"It gives you a little bit of a price change that brings you into some place that you might not have tried before,” Longenecker said.
According to the National Restaurant Association, the prices of menu items experienced a 4.1% increase between July 2023 and July 2024. A trend that Liz DiLullo, a frequent visitor to Lancaster, said can make eating out more stressful.
"I feel like a lot of people would love to go out to these fancy restaurants, but they don’t have the money or the means," Dilullo stated.
This is why the discounts offered at Lancaster food businesses this week are important in building community connections. Residents and visitors can dine out without breaking the bank.
This year, 45 local businesses are participating in Restaurant Week, offering discounted menu items, multi-course meals, freebies with purchases and new fall flavor specials, adding a dash of excitement to the dining scene.
The event also serves as an opportunity for locals to explore new cuisines and step out of their culinary comfort zones.
"It also gets us, in a way, out of our comfort zones too, because we might be so used to one type of food or one palette,” said Dilullo.
By exploring different cultures through local cuisine, Longenecker says the event can, "Make sure the community stays thriving."
Longenecker visited Decades, one of this year’s participating restaurants, for the first time over the weekend. He explained that while he and his girlfriend are just starting to explore the city, “It seems like there’s an abundance of new places, so we’re definitely excited to try new places and eat!”
With a variety of flavors and styles of cooking, Restaurant Week is sure to have something for everybody. Because no matter your background, for some, food has a way of forming connections.
"Just like music and other things, food is where we can all come together," DiLullo said.
Restaurant Week will run from Sept. 9 through Sept. 15. A full list of the businesses participating in Restaurant Week and their specials can be found here.