NYC’s Record-Breaking Restaurant Week To Go Extended Through February

NYC Restaurant Week To Go — the takeout and delivery-focused version of the city’s long-running, semiannual Restaurant Week — has officially been extended for three more weeks, following a successful first run this week with an unprecedented amount of participating restaurants.

Originally, Restaurant Week To Go debuted on January 25 and was slated to run through January 31, with the option for participating restaurants to extend their promotional $20.21 menus through February 7. Now, according to NYC & Company, the city’s tourism office and host of Restaurant Week, the program has been extended through February 28.

Nearly 600 restaurants — including Middle Eastern favorite Tanoreen, Danny Meyer’s Union Square Cafe, and Michelin-starred New Zealand spot the Musket Room — are currently participating in Restaurant Week To Go, shattering the old record of participants taking part in the popular dining program. According to Chris Heywood, the executive vice president for global communications at NYC & Company, 92 percent of the restaurants that were a part of the initial record-breaking week have signed on to keep participating in the program.

“Many eateries have reported robust business, and others have inquired into how they can participate, which was a catalyst for its extension,” Heywood said in an email.

In the five days that the program has been running, it has attracted a lot of attention. Mayor Bill de Blasio threw early support behind Restaurant Week To Go, stopping by Italian spot Felice 83 on the Upper East Side to pick up items off the restaurant’s promotional menu on Monday. The restaurant had already packed up and sent out about 100 Restaurant Week To Go orders that night prior to de Blasio’s visit, the mayor said afterwards.

The tourism office has re-opened signups for new restaurants that would like to participate in the program for the weeks of February 8, 15, and 22. Registration will be open until 5 p.m. on February 2 to register. Restaurant participation fees have been waived for the program in light of the current crisis, according to the tourism office.