Local Eateries To Participate In Restaurant Week

Two Hauppauge eateries have signed up to take part in  during which establishments will offer a special prixe fix menu for eight days starting on Nov. 7.

 and The Grill Room, both located in Hauppauge's industrial park, will join over 220 Long Island Restaurants in offering three-course meals for $24.95  in effort to boost business under the promotion.

"It gets a lot of new faces in the door, a lot of new people come in to try the restaurant. It's been a very successful week," said Raymond Rupp, new owner of The Grill Room.

Butterfield's Restaurant owner Mike Shalley said he's participated in Long Island Restaurant for several years to bring new people into the restaurant and he already has a menu in place. 

"Our regular prixe fix menu is very, very popular. People seem to love with it and we don't want to mess with it too much. We change our prixe fix four times a year as the seasons come and go," he said, noting Butterfield's will honors its year-round regular prixe fix menu at $21.95 during Restaurant Week.

The Grill Room is putting its own spin on Restaurant Week by increasing the required minimum of three choices per each course - appetizer, entree and dessert - up to five offerings.

During last year's Restaurant Week, 233 Long Island restaurants served about 182,400 meals, according to Steve Haweeli, president of Wordhampton Public Relations, which founded the event. He said restaurants took in over $7 million in revenue and New York State received $386,825 in taxes from the event. It was so successful, Haweeli said, that some places even extended the special through the rest of November last year.

"The core reason it's successful is this: any restauranteur will tell you that if they can just get people in the door to try their food, experience their good service and be surrounded by the right atmosphere or decor, that those people will be back," Haweeli said. "Long Island Restaurant Week gets them in the door."

"I think I see about a 25 percent increase in business," Shalley said. 

Both Butterfield's and The Grill Room will be accepting reservations during Restaurant week.

"We actually like reservations, that way we know who's coming," Butterfield's owner said.

Butterfield's will only be open to dining Mondays to Saturdays, as it has booked private parties on both Sundays.

The Grill Room can be found on Open Table or reached at 631-436-7330.