NEWPORT NEWS-The 2022 Newport News Restaurant Week, a collaboration between the Newport News Hospitality Association (NNHA) and Newport News Tourism, has been cancelled for January 2022.
The two-week event has been held every January for the past seven years. Since the beginning of every new year poses a slow period for most restaurants, the timing of Newport News Restaurant Week has been a helpful tool for local restaurant promotion and sales.
The decision to cancel this coming year’s event was made in response to supply chain issues, labor shortages in the restaurant industry, and soaring food prices. NNHA will reassess the status of the hospitality industry in March for a possible return of Newport News Restaurant Week in the summer or fall.
The Williamsburg Area Restaurant Association’s (WARA) annual Williamsburg Restaurant Week is currently slated for a return January 21 through 31.
Debi Schaefer, executive director of the Williamsburg Area Restaurant Association (WARA), said that she usually reaches out to restaurant owners around January 10 each year to inquire about participation.
“We had 38 restaurants participate last year, and 43 the year before,” said Schaefer. “If we were to have to cancel it, we wouldn’t know until January because we’re not going to make the decision this far out,” said Schaefer.
Nationally, Restaurant Week has grown in popularity because it lends the opportunity for customers to taste many varieties of discounted food items that ordinarily are out of their price range.