Riko Peruvian Restaurant
Oct. 9, 2020 By Michael Dorgan
An annual event celebrating the best of Sunnyside’s restaurants can be enjoyed from the comfort of your home when it launches this month.
The eight annual Sunnyside Restaurant Week kicks off on Oct. 21, and this year several participating restaurants are providing delivery and takeout options for customers.
In previous years customers would have to dine inside or outside at Sunnyside restaurants in order to avail of special offers like scoring a three-course meal for $25.
Sunnyside Shines, which runs the event, said that this year restaurants are adapting to COVID-19 restrictions and offering delivery and takeout options in order to reach more customers and generate some much-needed revenue.
“We are trying to honor the standard special by making it available for takeout and delivery,” said Jaime-Faye Bean, Executive Director of Sunnyside Shines.
“This will help boost restaurants who are already operating under thin margins at reduced capacity,” Bean said.
In all, there are 46 restaurants taking part in this year’s event which are all situated within or near the Sunnyside Shines Business Improvement District.
Around half of them have already committed to honoring the special offer for takeout or pickup, according to Bean.
Several establishments will also offer additional lunch specials which will also be made available for takeout or pick up, she said.
Bean said that this year some local restaurants are participating for the first time and deserve to be checked out.
Some of the new participants include Chihuahua, a Mexican restaurant located at 47-02 Greenpoint Ave. and Sylhet Fusion Cuisine, a south Asian restaurant located at 45-12 Greenpoint Ave.
“Chihuahua is one of my personal favorites and Sylhet Fusion Cuisine is a bit hidden away but serves some really nice Bengali food,” Bean said.
Bean said that one of the standout restaurants to try this year is Tangra Asian fusion, located on 39-23 Queens Blvd. which serves up a unique blend of Chinese-Indian food.
Regular favorites like the Lowery, Bar 43, Riko Peruvian Restaurant, Dazies Restaurant, Takesushi and Sotto le Stelle also make the list.
Establishments participating in Sunnyside Restaurant Week will serve a variety of cuisines including Italian, Japanese, Peruvian, Filipino, Indian, Turkish, Mexican, Irish, Colombian, Tibetan, Seasonal American, and Thai.
Bean said that restaurants need the support more than ever this year due to the economic crisis and is appealing to Sunnyside residents – and the surrounding area – to support the participating restaurants.
She wants people to dig a little deeper and set a goal to buy meals at the participating restaurants at least twice during the week.
“These businesses have struggled to stay open and to be there for us under some extraordinary circumstances,” Bean said.
“Sunnyside Restaurant Week is a great time to give back and show our neighborhood establishments how much we appreciate them, and to support the neighborhood we know and love,” she said.
Bean has also appealed to customers to order directly from restaurants where possible, instead of using delivery apps which take large commissions from restaurants and eat into their profits.
“Most restaurants prefer that diners order directly through them, so we are hoping to build more consumer awareness around this issue and encourage patrons to develop some new habits for ordering from their favorite spots.”
Bean said that there will be flash competitions held throughout the week on the Sunnyside Shines Facebook and Instagram pages and this will include a contest where a $250 gift certificate can be won and spent at a participating restaurant.
This year an outdoor pop-up market will also be held to coincide with Sunnyside Restaurant Week that will feature local artisans and vendors.
The market is a relaunch of the BID’s plaza pop-up market programming and each vendor table will feature a menu from one of Sunnyside Restaurant Weeks participating eateries.
A full list of all the participating restaurants taking part in Sunnyside Restaurant Week can be viewed on the Sunnyside Shines website here.
Restaurant Week menus will be posted as they become available.
