When restaurants in the Roxborough and Penn’s Landing neighborhoods of Philadelphia wanted to be involved in the city’s Restaurant Week promotion, they weren’t able to because the annual weeklong event is for Center City establishments only. When those restaurants took their wishes to Ardent Meeting and Event Management of suburban Bala Cynwyd, Ardent gave them a restaurant week all to themselves.
Philly Neighborhood Food Week, held Oct. 11-18, will spotlight more than 30 restaurants in the city’s Northern Liberties, East Passyunk, Manayunk, Chestnut Hill, Penn’s Landing and South Street neighborhoods. The restaurants offer fixed-price meals of $20 or $30 meant to draw in foodies looking to try a new spot at a bargain rate.
“We’re really promoting these neighborhoods,” says Charisse McGill of Ardent. “It’s a win-win, and a community event. It’s a reason to get out and go eat out.”
McGill says Ardent worked with several neighborhood organizations, like the Manayunk Development Organization and East Passyunk Avenue Business Improvement District, to spread the word and organize restaurants.
“Food is a foundation,” says McGill. “If a neighborhood has restaurants, retail will survive. If retail survives, other businesses will come.”
The promotion includes plenty of social media, text message updates, and leaflets distributed through SEPTA’s subways and buses. A portion of the proceeds from the event’s silent auction will benefit Philadelphia Academies, which provides career-connected learning opportunities for city schoolchildren. McGill says Ardent was still accepting calls from restaurants last week and hoping to include them in the promotion lineup. The goal, McGill says, is to make the event even bigger next year.
Source: Charisse McGill, Ardent Meeting and Event Management
Writer: Joe Petrucci