Sizzle Dining Restaurant Week kicks off Thursday for a three-week run through Sept. 28, putting Southwest Florida patrons in restaurant seats and providing businesses a boost before the busy season begins following a slow summer. This month’s local foodie event allows diners to save on prix-fixe meals at nearly 50 restaurants in Collier and Lee counties.
The culinary adventure showcases many of the best restaurants from Cape Coral to Marco Island and everywhere in between, said Bonita Springs resident Guy Clarke, founder of Sizzle Dining. “The restaurants put these amazing, three-course menus together starting at $32 or $42. The consumer gets to try these amazing restaurants,” Clarke said. “We really implore them to try something new, try something different.”
Clarke hopes people will break out of their comfort zone and patronize more than their usual four or five favorite go-to restaurants. Many new dining options are available. While Sizzle Dining’s three-course dinner menus are $32 or $42, some restaurants also have two-course lunches for either $19 or $24.
While the event gives local diners an opportunity to sample new venues while providing a break on escalating prices, it also has a charitable purpose. Each restaurant will donate $1 from every three-course meal purchased to help support the Southwest Florida chapter of Blessings in a Backpack, a charity that helps feed food-insecure elementary school children on the weekends by sending them home Friday afternoons with backpacks filled with kid-friendly, ready-to-eat items.
Sizzle Dining’s no-stress system allows people to easily partake in the restaurant event. “We have four easy steps to participate,” Clarke said. “Go to our website, take a look at the amazing restaurant menus that are up there. Find the one that you like. Call and make your reservation and enjoy. It’s pretty simple. You don’t have to buy tickets or do anything special.”
A list of 49 local restaurants and their special menus for Sizzle Dining Restaurant Week are available at SizzleDining.com.
