Forever Sala Thai will be offering discounts as part of Restaurant Week for the first time. (Photo by Nick Sestanovich)

Hopefully, you will have a healthy appetite for the coming week because your favorite downtown Benicia restaurants will be offering their usual meals at a lower cost.

Benicia Main Street’s Restaurant Week is returning for the fourth week in a row from Saturday, Jan. 21 to Saturday, Jan. 28. The week is a way to honor California Restaurant Month by giving people motivation to visit their local eating establishments at a time of the year in which patronage tends to diminish.

“Historically, January is a slow month for restaurants,” Nancy Martinez, executive director of Benicia Main Street, said. “You add in the cold rainy weather, and people want to stay home. This is a way of trying to get them to come out and frequent our restaurants.”

Many past participants will be taking part again this year, including Aroma Indian Cuisine, Dianna’s Bakery and Cafe, Double Rainbow Cafe, First Street Cafe, Got Plate Lunch, Kinder’s, Lucca Bar and Grill, Rookies Bar and Grill, Rosanna’s Bakery, The Rellik Tavern, Union Hotel and Venticellos Ristorante Italiano. New this year will be Forever Sala Thai and Pacifica Pizza.

Martinez said Benicia Main Street sends out a letter in mid-December to all the downtown restaurants about participating, and they respond by January. The restaurants choose their discounts and Benicia Main Street gives suggestions of additional offers. This year, most of the restaurants will be offering a discount of 15 percent off meals costing more than $10, but some will have different offers. At Aroma, for instance, patrons who buy one entree will get 15 percent off the second entree of equal or lesser value.

Additionally, Martinez noted that the city should be expecting some state visitors next week.

“We have a couple of bloggers coming into town to write about our fabulous restaurants,” she said.

Restaurant Week will run from Saturday, Jan. 21 to Saturday, Jan. 28. For more information, to download a Dining Passport or view discounts, visit BeniciaMainStreet.org. Patrons can also pick up a Dining Passport at Benicia Main Street’s offices, located in the depot at 90 First St.

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