For Houstonians who have been bemoaning the upcoming end of Houston Restaurant Weeks, boy do we have some good news for Bayou City foodies. The fine folks at The Cleverley Stone Foundation and HRW have listened to local restaurants and Houston diners and have decided to extend Houston Restaurant Weeks until September 30, 2024.
That means another whole month to take advantage of some amazing deals across the city and its outer reaches. Some eateries had already taken to social media to lobby for an extended HRW, including Maison Pucha Bistro, a restaurant that we recently reviewed here in the Houston Press. While some participating restaurants do it for the charitable aspect, as the event raises funds for Houston Food Bank, others are grateful for the extra traffic HRW brings in during the month of August, a typically slow time for the dining industry.
This is only the third time in its history that HRW has extended the event. The first extension was because of Hurricane Harvey in August 2017, which completely made the last week of Houston Restaurant Weeks impossible that year as numerous houses and businesses flooded. The second time was during the COVID Pandemic in 2020 as many restaurants offered the HRW menu to go. This year, the decision to extend was made by The Cleverley Stone Foundation, due to the double whammy of the Derecho Storm, which hit Houston this past May, and Hurricane Beryl in July which, despite being a Category 1, caused widespread damage and unprecedented power outages for days, even weeks in some locations.
While many of us suffered property damage and the loss of refrigerated food due to Beryl, restaurants dealt with days of no income as the power outages continued, leaving their culinary inventory decimated. In an effort to alleviate the struggles for local eateries, HRW will lower the donation for the extended event to $1 for each HRW meal sold. That way, there will still be funds raised for Houston Food Bank while the restaurants get to keep a little more for themselves during the extension period.
Katie Stone, president of the Cleverley Stone Foundation, said in a press release, “After discussions with owners, operators and the Houston Food Bank the decision was made to keep HRW going until the end of September with a reduced donation amount…HRW has proven to be an annual traffic generator for the industry and this seemed like a positive decision for those who have supported us for 21 years.”
Established in 2003 by restaurant correspondent, radio host and philanthropist Cleverley Stone, Houston Restaurant Weeks has raised more than 21 million dollars to combat food insecurity in Houston and a number of counties in the region including Harris, Montgomery and Galveston. After Stone’s untimely passing in May 2020, her daughter Katie Stone took over the mission and created The Cleverley Stone Foundation in order to continue her philanthropic causes.
Be aware that not all the current participants will continue the HRW menu after September 2 so it is best to call ahead.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
