It was a bumper January for restaurants in Newcastle city centre thanks to NE1 Newcastle Restaurant Week, which delivered a major boost to business worth over £1/2 million.
As soon as the dates were announced back in December, things got off to a fantastic start with over 100 restaurants signing up to take part, the biggest number ever to register for the event, which is now a firm fixture in the city’s events calendar.
As well as the highest number of participating restaurants, other records were broken during the week, which ran from 16 22 January. Nearly 45,000 people dined out over the course of the event, 10,000 more than in 2016, and restaurants also reported a huge rise in sales, with an average increase of nearly 20% year on year.
NE1’s Get into Newcastle website, which publishes details of all participating venues and their Restaurant Week offers, also reported a huge spike in activity, recording its highest ever number of unique visitors, beating all previous records, with over 1.7 million Restaurant Week page views by the time the event was over.
January was the 13th NE1 Newcastle Restaurant Week held since the event was first launched in 2011, and the original idea came from New York, where twice a year diners get the chance to eat out at some of the city’s top restaurants for a fraction of the normal price. The formula translated well to Newcastle with its vibrant restaurant scene and has now quickly grown in stature. When the event was first held, 13 restaurants took part and now six years later, over 100 celebrated NE1 Newcastle Restaurant Week this January with more still expected in August this year. Venues devise show-stopping menus to attract new diners, many of whom are keen to try out venues for the first time, encouraged by the NE1 Newcastle Restaurant Week offer of dining out for only £10 or £15 per head.
Ben Whitfield NE1 Marketing and Events Manager said: “We are absolutely delighted that this January’s NE1 Newcastle Restaurant Week broke all previous records. The event continues to go from strength to strength reflecting the growth of the city’s restaurant scene. Newcastle is now the culinary capital of the North with more restaurants per square mile than any Northern city and Restaurant Week is a great way to celebrate this.
It is such a simple formula that is easy to understand and well received by diners and restaurants alike. We’re confident that we’ll keep breaking these records and are already gearing up for August.”
