HYDE PARK — Chicago Black Restaurant Week started Monday, but restaurateurs said they were already seeing the benefits the weekend before.
More than two dozen restaurants are offering specials and discounts as part of the promotion to get diners out to black-owned restaurants.
“I had to have 50 percent of my clientele through word of mouth of Black Restaurant Week,” said Peytyn Willborn, owner of Truth, about business last weekend at the Italian restaurant.
She said a lot of diners on the South Side work through word of mouth, and the campaign is already doing a good job of getting the word out about neighborhood restaurants.
“There were people in Bronzeville and Hyde Park that still didn’t know about us,” Willborn said of her restaurant at 56 E. Pershing Road.
If word of mouth isn’t enough, each restaurant is offering special discounts to lure in new diners.
Truth is offering a discount on its “infamous wings,” ravioli and other dishes.
The Bronzeville Jerk Shack, 5055 S. Prairie Ave., is offering a “shack feast” of jerk chicken or pork, sweet fries, festival plantains and sorrel limeade $10, among other specials.
Haire’s Gulf Shrimp, 8112 S. Vincennes Ave., is selling a small “bom bag” of shrimp for $10.
A full list of participating restaurants is available on the Chicago Black Restaurant Week web site.
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