Sunnyside Restaurant Week returns this month to give Queens eateries a boost

Sunnyside Shines’ annual restaurant week starts Oct. 21. Eagle file photo by Jonathan Sperling

By Rachel Vick

The annual Sunnyside Restaurant Week is making a comeback this month, helping to boost Western Queens eateries devastated by the COVID crisis.

A total of 46 restaurants across Sunnyside and Woodside are participating in this year’s event, which offers patrons $25 meal specials from Oct. 21 to Oct. 28.

The event is organized by the organization Sunnyside Shines, which will host a pop-up market with “low-contact, socially distanced shopping” at Bliss Plaza on Oct. 25. The market will support local artists and vendors while promoting the main event. Patrons will be able to enterRestaurant Week contests that were moved online to minimize contact.

A full list of participating restaurants is available online, with information about which restaurants are open for indoor dining and which specials are available for take-out.

“The delivery apps like Grubhub and Seamless take large commissions from restaurants, and even with the temporary fee cap that has been imposed on these services, they still extract revenue from restaurants at a time that they are fighting for survival,” said Sunnyside Shines Executive Director Jaime-Faye Bean, who encouraged direct support for the businesses. 

“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.”