CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A tasty week of local restaurant hopping and specialty dishes will once again get underway in the City of Charleston by the end of the month.

The weeklong celebration of local restaurants, Charleston Restaurant Week will make its 10th annual return to the Capitol City Jan. 30 – Feb. 3.

Many restaurants in the city participate in the weeklong event as a way to bring in more patrons and generate more sales by offering specials on certain and popular menu items.

Capitol Market Director of Marketing and Communication Candace Nelson came on The Dave Allen Show Wednesday morning to talk about the week of celebrating local restaurants, and she said how it works is those that are participating will offer a three-course meal at a fixed price, and customers will get to choose from two options for each of the three-courses– including appetizers, entrees, and desserts.

She said there’s no better time to go out to eat in the Capitol City than during the weeklong event.

“It’s really the perfect time to try out a new restaurant, or maybe check out one of your old favorites and see what they are featuring,” said Nelson.

Hosted by Charleston-based Buzz Food Service, Nelson said the company sought to bring local restaurants together around the city in a way where they could all benefit.

She said the event was birthed out of a response from the area’s water crisis from a chemical spill in the Elk River ten years ago. The anniversary date of that crisis was this past Tuesday, Jan. 9. Nelson said it was a way to support restaurants that were hurting from the crisis after a “Do Not Use” order was issued to avoid using the contaminated tap water as a result of the spill, as well from the lack of customers going out to eat during the time.

“We know a lot of restaurants were struggling, there were a lot of folks who were out of a job at that point, because, everything was just a little bit unsure, so Buzz Food Service decided to come with an idea of trying to help out the food servers, the service industry, and our local restaurants,” said Nelson.

She said the very first Restaurant Week was held in 2014 and they have held one every single year since then except for during the peak of the Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020.

Nelson said restaurants will often go all-out for the event. She said after a variable price point was introduced into the mix a few years ago, restaurants on the whole spectrum could then participate, from fine-dining to a local pizza joint.

“They have a lot of fun with it, because, they know reservations will start filling up, so they can go all out and maybe order some specialty cuts of meat or some special ingredients, and really have fun with their customers,” she said.

She said menus for each participating restaurant as part of the week will be released at a later time as Wednesday marked the deadline of when they needed to be submitted.

Nelson said whatever you’re feeling that week, there will be something local you can support while satisfying your taste buds.

“You can still participate in Restaurant Week whether you want a prime cut of steak or whether you want a simple sandwich, so either way you can get out there, try something new, or return to an old favorite, but supporting the local restaurants nonetheless,” Nelson said.

Here is a full list of participating Restaurant Week restaurants:

. 1010 Bridge

. Adelphia Sports Bar and Grille

. Barkadas

. Black Sheep Burrito

. Bricks and Barrels

. Bridge Row Bistro

. Dem 2 Brothers (Summers Street location)

. DT Prime Steakhouse

. Fernbank Public House

. Ichiban Pan-Asian Cuisine

. The Lookout Bar and Grill

. Ristorante Abruzzi

. Sam’s Uptown Café

. Soho’s

. Tidewater Grill

. And new this year, the Volstead Room of the Hale Street Center

You can find updates regarding the event by visiting Charleston, WV Restaurant Week on Facebook.