Denverites eat up fourth Restaurant Week

Event tops 2007's 119,000 meals at $52.80 for two

By Joyzelle Davis, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Originally published 12:05 a.m., March 8, 2008
Updated 02:53 a.m., March 8, 2008

Judy Dehaas / The Rocky/2006

Chef Mario Godoy prepares saltimbocca at Cherry Creek North's Piatti Locali, one of the eateries participated in the fourth annual Denver Restaurant Week, Feb. 23-29. With 174 restaurants offering dinner for two for $52.80, the event was among the largest in the U.S.

Denver diners turned out in force for the fourth annual Denver Restaurant Week, devouring the chance to taste a multicourse meal at some of the city's swankest eateries for $52.80 for two.

Online reservations spiked 77 percent from 2007, OpenTable .com said, and that doesn't even encompass all of the participating restaurants because some aren't OpenTable members. The Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, which organized the event, should have firmer statistics later this month, but this year looks like it easily will surpass 2007's record 119,000 meals, said Rich Grant, spokesman for the visitors bureau.

Panzano served 2,276 dinners during the week of Feb. 23 to 29, which was 23 percent more than last year. The Fort served about 2,400 dinners, roughly 18 percent more than in 2007 and nearly double what the Morrison restaurant usually serves this time of year.

"Each year, we seem to book up sooner," said Beth Gruitch, general manager at Rioja and Bistro Vendome. Foodies started calling Rioja around New Year's before participating restaurants were even announced, and by mid-January it was fully booked.

Denver kicked off restaurant week in 2005 after a Travel & Leisure magazine reader survey ranked Denver 23rd out of 25 cities in terms of good eats. Even Denverites ranked the city second to last.

About 80 eateries participated in the first Restaurant Week, and that's more than doubled to 174 in 2008, making it one of the biggest restaurant weeks in the U.S.

Reaching the $52.80 price point for a three-course meal for two dinners is a stretch for restaurants on both ends of the price spectrum. Family restaurants such as Las Margaritas and Maggiano's toss in a glass of wine or beer, while white tablecloth restaurants like The Fort know that they'll take a hit on their profits but hope to make up for it in volume.

"But the week draws so many people that we don't really mind taking a bit of a hit," said Samantha McKinley, public relations manager for the restaurant. "It's made up by all of the diners who come back" later in the year.