Houston Restaurant Weeks is cooking something special for the month of August.
For this month, participating restaurants serve a multi-course meal at special prices for brunch, lunch, and dinner. This is the 20th anniversary of the annual fundraiser benefiting the Houston Food Bank after it was started in 2003 by Cleverley Stone.
Katie Stone, the president of Houston Restaurant Weeks and daughter of Cleverley, says this helps generate more business for restaurants.
"There’s about 350 restaurants that are participating this year, which is the most we have ever had in 20 years. So, we're very excited about that and of course, the donation going to the Houston Food Bank serves as their biggest annual fundraiser," said Stone.
The month of August is known as the slowest month in hospitality, but with the help of Houston Restaurant Weeks, it has made it the busiest. Remington Bruce is the manager at MAD Houston, who was in the top 5 donors last year. Bruce says that Restaurant Weeks has made August the highest month of income for restaurants.
"I think that the great thing about restaurant week is that when it brings the barrier to entry down so that everyone can go out and dine for a good cause, but also be able to get a lot of value for every dollar they spend," said Bruce.
In the past 20 years, Houston Restaurant Weeks has raised a total of $18.8 million equaling 56.4 million meals for the Houston Food Bank. The manager of Hugo's, Israel Diaz, says the restaurant has participated in Restaurant Weeks for about 10 years and it's something they wait for all year long.
"We're always looking forward to helping the Houston Food Bank. Of course, the more donations we get will help everybody. With each $7 donation, the Houston Food Bank creates 21 meals, so you just imagine how many meals can be done with the donations," said Diaz.
Houston Restaurant Weeks starts on August 1st and lasts until after Labor Day on September 4th. Diners can find restaurants participating by visiting houstonrestaurantweeks.com.