AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. – Restaurants on Amelia Island are gearing up for the upcoming Restaurant Week celebration. On Tuesday, 25 restaurants announced the divine cuisine chefs were crafting for the 10-day event.
In a time when business might be slow after the holidays, Marilou Welling, Director of Engagement at Amelia Island Business Convention and Visitors Bureau said Restaurant Week helps generate business. From 2022 to 2023, restaurants saw a 13% increase in visitors for the special week. This year, Welling is hoping for an even bigger increase.
“It really means a lot to our restaurant partners to be able to keep their doors open, keep their employees on the schedule, and just really keep things rolling,” Welling said. “It’s so important to visitation. It’s so important to tourism. And it’s just a great way to kind of get out and explore somewhere new. It’s a great trip up from Jacksonville. I would make a night of it make it a date night at the end of January.”
Restaurant Week runs from January 19 through the 28 and restaurants create special menus to give people a chance to try something different or new.
“We are a seafood restaurant, but we don’t just stop there,” Salt Life Food Shack General Manager Marcos Jovel said. “So, we have a couple of appetizers focused on grouper for main dishes, beach foil, come get some shrimp and crab legs.”
Roger Morenc is the owner of the Marlin and Barrel Distillery and A1A Cidery. He says some restaurants on Amelia Island carry a blueberry lemon zest vodka and will feature a blueberry Moscow mule during restaurant week.
This was the advice Morenc shared for those interested in attending.
“Come and have fun. You won’t regret it. Take a look at all the options we have here. It’s enormous. The variety and the quality here is… it’s especially for our community size, it’s unparalleled,” Morenc said.
For more information on Restaurant Week and to see the menus, visit ameliaisland.com