The time between New Year’s Day and Valentine’s Day can be tough for us and restaurants, but thanks to Terri Reifsteck and her team at Visit Champaign County, we have an oasis to keep us going.
January and February are some of the hardest hitting months of the year. We face the reality of another year older, and the Illinois weather keeps us inside and away from the cold. Businesses, especially restaurants get hit harder than anyone else; if no one is coming out to eat, how do they make money? Six years ago, that all changed for Champaign County.
Terri Reifsteck has worked with Visit Champaign County for 10 years and serves as their Vice President of Marketing & Community Engagement. Six years ago, she had an idea to revamp the restaurant scene of Champaign County. Prior to this, there had been a week of food specials like our Restaurant Week now, but with a lack of diversity. Seeing her chance, Reifsteck asked if she could take over and started a social media campaign called, “Eat Your Way Through January.” This went of for two years, where for each day in January they would make a post about a restaurant and ask that food lovers of the county go there, support, eat, and post about their experience. It turned out so well that they decided to bring it to the next level: a full week of restaurant specials.
The first year of installation saw 17 restaurants join, this year we have 39. To join as a restaurant, all you have to do is ask. Reifsteck has a philosophy of never turning away anyone; you don’t even have to be a “three course meal” type of place. This restaurant week there are at least three different dessert places and a couple bars. There is usually a marketing fee of $75, just a small bit to help the marketing team, but seeing has these past two years haven’t been “normal” that fee has been waved.
How can you enjoy this week? Start off by visiting their website: https://www.visitchampaigncounty.org/events/restaurant-week. Whether you live in Champaign, Urbana, Mahomet, or Rantoul, there are restaurants everywhere you can enjoy. Each restaurant has varying prices for different meal types, so pick a couple you think look the best and call ahead for your reservation; it’s going to be busy! Most of all, be kind to the restaurant staff and enjoy the experience of relaxing to a wonderful meal made and served by people who want your enjoyment.
When talking about restaurant week, Reifsteck said, “I am most excited and proud of what we as a county have to offer. It’s not often that you see this amount of diversity in a community our size and I think that says a lot about our special little community we have growing.” Food is what drives our bodies and powers our souls, just look at the movie, Ratatouille. Food by itself is wonderful, but what makes it amazing is the emotions behind each bite when surrounded by friends and family. It’s easy to feel beat down by all the negatives in our world, but let’s not forget that we are all people in one community trying our best.
