Wilmette’s first restaurant month promotes local eateries after ‘a very tough year’

Two local groups are shining a light on local eateries during the first-ever Wilmette Restaurant Month through April.

Eighteen restaurants are offering limited-time deals to diners throughout the month. The deals include special dishes and prix fixe menus.

View the participating restaurants and menus here.

The idea for Wilmette Restaurant Month was discussed between the Village of Wilmette and the Wilmette-Kenilworth Chamber of Commerce in years past, but it was never executed until now, said Lucas Sivertsen, the Village’s business development coordinator.

“It’s been logistically difficult to get everyone on the same page but all the restaurants have done a great job of updating their websites to communicate to residents during COVID,” Sivertsen said.

Since a lot of the restaurants have kept their information and menus up-to-date, Sivertsen said it was easy to work from that to build restaurant month.

“We used it as an opportunity to help (the restaurants) after a very tough year,” he added. “We are looking to do anything we can to help them out.”

As vaccinations ramp up and the weather warms, Sivertsen said it was an ideal time to launch the new monthlong event right now.

“At this time of year, people are wanting to get outside more and enjoy outdoor dining. Also people are feeling more comfortable going out to restaurants as more people are getting vaccinated,” he said. “So we’re using [Restaurant Month] as an opportunity to really kickstart our summer.”

Assuming everything goes well, Sivertsen said expect Wilmette Restaurant Month to return in future years ahead.

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