Orange Zone To Prix Fixe: A Port Chester Restaurant Week Renewal

Port Chester, NY— In November of 2020, Port Chester was among the first communities in New York to face renewed restrictions on indoor dining in response to spiking COVID-19 infection rates in the village. The so-called "orange zone" designation put a strain on already struggling restaurants in the area which had only started to recover from a complete ban on indoor dining put in place in the early days of the pandemic and only relaxed a few months ago.

In January of this year, restaurant owners won a court battle paving the way for a limited reopening of dining rooms despite the orange zone restrictions put in place by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, but for many establishments the damage was already done. It has been anything but business as usual since the strict no indoor dining rules were lifted.

This week, however, the Port Chester Winter Restaurant Week promotion is offering some cause for optimism. The "dine local event" offering deals on special 3-course prix fixe menus runs from March 8th through March 14th.

An informal survey of participating restaurants found that the first night of the restaurant week celebration offered a noticeable boost to business. The establishments in Port Chester and Rye Brook noted, however, the dining room capacity limits and social distancing restrictions remaining in place are still hampering the tradionally expected lunch and dinner rushes.

In order to accomodate this new normal, many of the participating restaurants are breaking with custom to allow diners to enjoy the prix fixe deals as to go and curbside pick-up options. A handful of the businesses are offering the limited time specials for delivery as well.

Participating restaurants include local favorites Acuario Restaurant, Argana Restaurant & Bar, Bartaco, Cafe Tinto, Don Lucho Restaurant, El Festejo, El Rincon De Maria, Johns of Arthur Avenue, La Pupusa Loca de Port Chester, Mary Ann's, Salsa Picante, Sonora Restaurant, T&J Italian Restaurant and Telly's Taverna. The scale of the Port Chester Winter Restaurant Week is tiny when compared to the promotional power of region-wide Hudson Valley Restaurant Week events which can count as many as 250 restaurants as participants, but for a local community especially hard hit by the pandemic, this celebration marks something of a much needed victory.