PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia foodies will have to wait until the winter for the next Center City District Restaurant Week.
The promotion that highlights Center City's eclectic dining scene will not return this fall. Instead, Restaurant Week will be back in January 2026.
“Philadelphia was built on restaurants. It's what we've built our name on. It's a restaurant town,” said Steven Sansone, executive chef of Porcini, near 21st and Sansom streets. Sansone said the fall edition of Restaurant Week is typically packed with eager diners coming off of summer vacation. He worries that going without that revenue will hurt business.
"They did not consider what we had to say as the people who run the restaurants, who are the voices of the restaurants,” he said.
With participating restaurants offering three-course, prix-fixe dinners starting at $40, and two-course lunches for $20, the promotion has been popular.
Sansone said the district's decision to replace this fall’s Restaurant Week with alcohol-based events like Center City SIPS damages the character of Philadelphia's restaurant industry.
“They've taken away the vibrancy of our restaurant scene,” he said. “People aren't happy. It kicks our season off after a low summer. It's something that is not going down the right road for the restaurant scene.”
In a statement, Giavana Suraci-Pruiti, senior manager of retail marketing and events with the Center City District said in part, “According to annual surveys, post-holiday winter months have remained the slowest season for restaurants. With finite staff and resources, we’ve made the decision to focus on that timeframe.”
However, Sansone said Restaurant Week in the winter tends to be slower. “It snows, things happen. People already have done their Christmas stuff and it just made no sense at all,” he said, adding restaurants need help year-round, especially coming off of a slow summer season.
It isn’t clear if the District plans to bring back Restaurant Week in the fall of 2026. Meanwhile, Manayunk Restaurant Week is happening through Sept. 14.