Birmingham Restaurant Week Winter Edition is Jan 14

The Birmingham Restaurant WeekWinter Edition is happening Thursday, Jan. 14 through Sunday, Jan. 31, the 18-day Winter Edition seeks to further support the restaurant and bar industries during a time when it is more crucial than ever.

Birmingham Restaurant Week

This event will boast to-go and curbside pickup options as well as the traditional, but limited, dine-in options, as health precautions are still being mandated. With aims to keep guests warm, fed and safe and to allow for al fresco dining no matter the weather, many restaurants are making special accommodations to safely serve diners during the winter by offering outdoor high-powered heaters, cabana tents and “igloos” to expand upon outdoor and patio seating.

From fine-dining to down-home cookin’

From fine dining to down-home cookin’, food and drink lovers with a taste for adventure can enjoy special two and three-course breakfast, lunch and/or dinner prix-fixe menus ranging from $5 to $50 per person – making it easy and affordable for everyone to enjoy a taste of Birmingham’s diverse dishes and sips. BRW 2021 – Winter Edition aims to keep bellies full, restaurants cooking and jobs safe.

BRW is more than eating and drinking, it is about supporting local restaurants and giving people an opportunity to enjoy the South’s most vibrant culinary destination by offering incentives for patrons to revisit their favorite restaurants, bars and food trucks or to experience new ones.

The Restaurants Act

With business conditions deteriorating, assistance is critical for the survival of many restaurants as 209,900 jobs could be lost. Twenty-one percent of Alabama operators say it is unlikely their restaurant will still be in business six months from now, if there are no additional relief packages from the federal government. Until BRW 2021 – Winter Edition starts, the Birmingham community should use their voice on behalf of local restaurateurs to support the Restaurants Act that if passed will generate $1.8 billion economic benefits for Alabama.

To-go, curbside and dine-in

With almost 60 participants, BRW 2020 had a whole new recipe with the new to-go and curbside pickup options. Only locally owned businesses were allowed to participate, as nearly 65 percent of the revenue from local independent restaurants recirculates in the local economy. Other new additions included family-style meal options, cocktail kits and to-go alcohol, which were easily some of the biggest successes of this summer’s event.

Traditional dine-in was still an option for some restaurants and bars; however, socially-distanced tables, capacity limits and mask requirements were mandated to ensure safety for guests and employees. For the first time, BRW extended the normal 10-day event to 18, offering more days for patrons to partake and more opportunity for incoming sales for participating businesses.

Giving Back to the community

Giving back to the community has always been an essential component for BRW with more than $75,000 raised for local nonprofits in its 11 years of existence. After BRW 2020, organizers donated $2,500 to the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama (CFBCA) to help aid in its mission to end hunger tomorrow. The CFBCA feeds over 80,000 people at risk of hunger per month and supplies food to 250 food banks, shelters and children’s programs in 12 counties in Central Alabama.

“Right now donations are very important from the community because we’ve almost doubled the amount of food that is going out into the 12-county Central Alabama region this year,” said CEO of CFBCA, Brett Meredith. “We have gone from about 1.1 million pounds a month to roughly 2.2 million pounds a month right now, so that makes such a difference.”

BRW could not be possible without the generous support from sponsors, including Spire, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Birmingham Bud, Red Diamond, FOX6 WBRC, Coca-Cola, Birmingham Mountain Radio, Bham Now, the Birmingham Times and the Birmingham City Council.

Birmingham Restaurant Week Winter Edition is Jan 14 – 31