KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Another KC Restaurant Week is in the books, and despite a slow start because of subzero temperatures, organizers are happy with a strong finish.
“Especially toward Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, people really showed up for lunch and dinner, and restaurants were completely booked,” KC Restaurant Week Committee Member Derek Byrne said.
Café Corazón is one of this year’s participating restaurants, serving up a menu that represents a blend of both Indigenous and Latin American cultures.
“Drink and cocktail combos. Empanada or tamale and then also desserts, which is really delicious,” Co-owner of Café Corazón Dulcinea Herrera said.
It’s the perfect week for restaurants like theirs to show off what they do best, and Herrera says the increase in customers goes a long way in the success of their family business.
“It’s so important to us that people come to places like this, or other amazing restaurants and cafes because this is how we survive. Especially, these are slow months for the restaurant industry, so this helps us a lot,” Herrera said.
Besides finding some great new spots, there’s also a charitable aspect to KC Restaurant Week; ten percent of every dish sold goes back to several local non-profits including this year’s featured beneficiary, Kanbe’s Market.
Founder and CEO Maxfield Kaniger are on a mission to make healthy foods more accessible to people on Kansas City’s east side.
“If you want to be happy, if you want to be healthy, you want to feel good…it starts with what we put in our bodies and for us, the way we share love is through food and that’s what we want to do,” Kaniger said. “We want to share this opportunity to break bread with family, friends, and the people you care about.”
Byrne says their website saw some of the highest traffic in Restaurant Week history over the last few days, so some restaurants are extending their special menus, giving the community more chances to give back while also supporting local.
“If you found a new location that you absolutely loved, tell your friends and family about it,” Byrne said.
“Word of mouth matters so much to our local businesses and local restaurants, so use this opportunity to really be an advocate for the new places you found this week. That kind of makes this event go from just 10 days of the year to really being a support all year long and that matters a lot.”