Via @thebonniebar on Instagram
March 28, 2025 By Shane O’Brien
The inaugural Astoria-Ditmars Restaurant Week is set to kick off on April 2 and run through April 8, with nearly 20 local businesses participating.
The week-long celebration aims to boost foot traffic and support local establishments by offering special menus and exclusive deals. Both residents and visitors will have the opportunity to sample the diverse cuisine available along Ditmars Boulevard and 23rd Avenue at affordable prices, showcasing some of the best dining options the neighborhood has to offer.
Tootles & French owner Chad Goldsmith, the chief organizer of the new restaurant week, said participating businesses were given the option of assigning $25, $35, or $45 three-item specials for the event. The upcoming restaurant week includes a three-item option rather than a traditional three-course deal to cater to businesses that may not offer desserts, Goldsmith said.
Chad Goldsmith (right) with his proud parents. QNS File Photo by Ramy Mahmoud.
Goldsmith, who opened Tootles & French in 2023 after living in the neighborhood for a decade, said the new event aims to reverse the trend of falling foot traffic along Ditmars Boulevard and neighboring streets, which he believes has been evident since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Goldsmith added that he hopes Restaurant Week will become a yearly fixture in the Ditmars area, with plans to even make it a twice-annual event if the inaugural event proves a success next week.
Furthermore, the new Restaurant Week website will be available to promote businesses and collaborations between businesses throughout the year.
“The whole idea is, anything that can get more restaurants working together, more than we already are, is something that we want,” Goldsmith said.
Prior to the pandemic, he said it would have been impossible to get a table on the boulevard on a Friday or Saturday night. Now, however, Goldsmith finds tables are readily available during the weekend dinner rush.
Tru Astoria on the corner of Ditmars and 36th Street. Via Google Maps
“Now you can get a table anywhere. There are restaurants that, on weekdays, only get one or two tables.”
Goldsmith hopes that Restaurant Week will introduce Astoria businesses to potential new customers, stating that one of the biggest draws of the concept is that it will show residents who are new to the area where they can find new places to eat and drink.
“One of the hardest things was making people know we exist. A year plus into opening, we would have people who live on the block walk by… who had no idea we were here,” Goldsmith said. “We’re not in Manhattan. It’s not the same traffic.”
Salvatore Barretta, owner of Alba’s Pizza on Ditmars Boulevard, said Restaurant Week provides local businesses with an opportunity to “show off their flare” and attract new customers.
Alba’s sits on the corner of Ditmars and 37th St. Via Google Maps
Barretta said he is excited for Alba’s, one of the oldest restaurants in the area, to take part in the new event.
“We’re going to be showing off our 40 years of experience to a whole new clientele,” Barretta said.
Rob Macropoulos, head chef at Italian restaurant Tufino Pizzeria, believes that Restaurant Week will showcase Ditmars Boulevard as a culinary destination.
“People that maybe wouldn’t always think about coming to Ditmars maybe now are given an incentive to check out and see what we want to offer,” Macropoulos said.
The classic sandwich at Tufino. Via @tufinopizzeria on Instagram
Macropoulos said he has noticed a “slowdown” in business on certain days, adding that it’s important for restaurants to “at least try” to attract new customers.
Queens Room owner Antonia Joannides said she signed up for Restaurant Week because she believes the event can help improve the neighborhood.
Like Goldsmith, Joannides believes that Restaurant Week can play an important role by introducing local residents to places they didn’t even know existed.
Via @queensroomnyc on Instagram
“Often we still get people who are like, ‘Oh, I live down the street, and I have never been in here,’ and something might attract them in,” Joannides said. “Hopefully, this will be one of those things for people to just give a try to the places they might not have been to.”
Several participants commented on the strong sense of solidarity between local businesses, with Joannides stating that Ditmars Boulevard establishments enjoy a “very communal” relationship.
“We like to encourage growth for all of us and not just focus on one place or another,” Joannides said.
Goldsmith, meanwhile, hopes future events will expand to include more businesses when restaurants that opted out of participating in the inaugural Restaurant Week see its positive impacts. Goldsmith emphasized that organizers were keen not to pressure any undecided businesses about signing up to the event, adding that the door will always be open to restaurants to join future restaurant weeks.
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