Charlotte Restaurant Week adapts amid lingering pandemic

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Queen’s Feast: Charlotte Restaurant Week is grappling with the ongoing pressures facing the restaurant industry. The semi-annual event is gearing up for its latest installment, which runs Jan. 21-30.

About 70 restaurants in Charlotte and the surrounding counties are participating — down from 143 in January 2020, says Bruce Hensley.

He and wife Jill are behind Hensley Fontana Public Relations, which owns and operates Restaurant Week.

The event introduces diners to new concepts while also boosting the bottom line for participating restaurants. Restaurant Week allows diners to experience mid- to high-end restaurants with three-course prix fixe menus designed to showcase their best dishes at a set cost.

Many restaurants are anxious to participate — but staffing remains a roadblock. Some participants say they can’t keep up with the volume Restaurant Week drives.

“It just breaks my heart to see some of these people who have worked so hard, for so long, and want to participate but they can’t handle the business,” Hensley says.

Read more here about how the event has adapted as the pandemic lingers.

(WATCH: Local restaurant owner opens up about struggles to keep business alive amid ongoing pandemic)

Local restaurant owner opens up about struggles to keep business alive amid ongoing pandemic

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