Austin Restaurants Weeks Details Unveiled

AUSTIN, TX — Central Texas Food Bank officials on Thursday unveiled details related to the return of Austin Restaurant Weeks this year, a two-week event featuring specially priced meals and drinks from an array of local restaurants, bars and breweries.

The event is scheduled from Aug. 15 through Sept. 2, with Tito’s Handmade Vodka® returning as the presenting sponsor. The event benefits the Central Texas Food Bank—the largest hunger relief charity serving Central Texas—helping it provide thousands of meals to those in need.

“Austin Restaurant Weeks raised enough to provide nearly 550,000 meals to Central Texans in need last year,” said Amy Lukken, Chief Joyologist at Tito’s. “So we didn’t need to think twice about returning as the presenting sponsor for 2019. We’re honored to play a part in the fight against hunger in our community.”

Additional support for Austin Restaurant Weeks comes from returning sponsors Bank of America, Edible Austin, ProductionFor, Reagan Outdoor Advertising, Screamer Co., and Tabulate, as well as new sponsors Becker Vineyards and Delta Airlines.

During Austin Restaurant Weeks, participating establishments offer prix fixe meals and beverages with a portion of the cost of each earmarked for the Food Bank. Restaurant patrons are not directly solicited for donations.

“It’s a delicious and easy way to help fight hunger, while enjoying some of the best restaurants our food-centric city has to offer,” said Mark Jackson, Chief Development Officer for the Central Texas Food Bank. “And since Austin Restaurant Weeks is planned entirely by Food Bank staff and volunteers, 100% of the contribution from each meal or beverage goes directly to fighting hunger in Central Texas, where a staggering 1 in 5 children are food insecure.”

Added Bryce Gilmore of Barley Swine, Odd Duck and Sour Duck Market: “Austin's a small town, and it's pretty neat to see all the restaurants and chefs come together to support the Food Bank. When I was told that every dollar that we're able to donate provides four meals through the Central Texas Food Bank, that’s pretty incredible. It's kind of a no-brainer when you think about it, combining a great opportunity to bring in new guests while helping out the Central Texas Food Bank at the same time.”

Participating restaurants will be offering one or more of the following options during the event, with a portion of the proceeds from each going to the Food Bank:

• A 2-3 course lunch priced at $20.
• A 3-4 course dinner priced at either $35 or $50.
• A $12 Tito’s Handmade Vodka cocktail.
• A glass of beer or wine at any price

Having lunch, dinner and drink options gives diners many opportunities to explore restaurants and culinary options, while supporting the Food Bank in the fight against hunger, officials noted.

ile restaurants have until June 8th to sign up to participate in the event, participants who have signed on so far include Barley Swine, Bar Peached, Café No Se, The Capital Grille, Caroline Restaurant, The Cavalier, Central Standard, Citizen Eatery, Contigo, Copper Restaurant & Dessert Lounge, The Driskill Grill, Easy Tiger Downtown, Easy Tiger Linc, Goodall’s Kitchen, Gusto Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar, Hideaway Kitchen & Bar, The Hightower, Il Bruto, Intero, It’s Italian Cucina, La Condesa, Le Politique, L'Oca d'Oro, Mandala Kitchen & Bar, Max’s Wine Dive,Nightcap, Olive and June, Oskar Blues Brewery, Parkside, Paul Martin’s American Grill, The Peached Tortilla, Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille Downtown, Perry’s Domain NORTHSIDE, Sala and Betty, Salt & Time, Sawyer and Co., Siena Ristorante Toscana, Sour Duck Market, Sway, True Food Kitchen Downtown and True Food Kitchen Domain.

All told, the Food Bank hopes to have at least 100 establishments participate this year — up from 86 last year — officials said.

Menus for the participating restaurants, searchable by food type, location and other variables can be found at AustinRestaurantWeeks.org, with more being added regularly. OpenTable® is the exclusive restaurant reservation partner for Austin Restaurant Weeks, so diners will be able to make reservations on the ARW website with those restaurants that use OpenTable or be linked out to whatever method the restaurant uses.

For details regarding Austin Restaurant Weeks, visit AustinRestaurantWeeks.org. You also can follow Austin Restaurant Weeks on:

• Facebook: www.facebook.com/AustinRestaurantWeeks/.
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/austinrestaurantweeks/.
• Twitter: @ATXRestWeeks.