Business owners hopeful Oakland Restaurant Week will entice people to eat out

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Restaurant Week 2024 will start up in Oakland on Thursday and go through March 24.

For the next week and a half, Oakland restaurants will offer specials in an attempt to bring in more people. Even hotels in Oakland are offering specials to those who may want to stay in The Town.

Business owners are excited and hopeful about what is to come after what has been a very challenging year.

Mouthwatering ribs at Everett & Jones Barbeque near Jack London Square are only some of the things on the menu for Oakland restaurant week 2024.

"We have the pork ribs, our homemade beef links, smoked chicken. You could have the yams, the mac and cheese, the collard greens, the baked beans," said Dorcia White of Everett & Jones Barbeque.

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Everett and Jones is one of more than 160 restaurants participating, meaning you'll see more than 160 discounts since those are part of restaurant week, too.

"We're pretty much reducing our prices across the board on all the main items around 15% because we want people to try different things on the menu," said chef Nigel Jones.

Chef Nigel owns Calabash and is also all about the food.

"Well, here you're going to get some really delicious oxtails that we braise for more than three hours and fallen off the bone - our jerk chicken that we marinate and smoke."

Chefs Nigel and Dorcia White are not shy about the fact that it has been a challenging past 12 months for both of their restaurants. They say foot traffic is down partially due to safety concerns in Oakland, but now it's time to shine.

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"Every major city I think is dealing with some form of crime and you know, it's gotten better. It's not all the way gone away and just to highlight positive things in Oakland," said White.

Many workers at nearby buildings have still not yet come back to the office and Chef Nigel is hopeful that restaurant week will bring them back.

"I'm looking for us to bring some fun back into Oakland over the next 10 days," said Chef Nigel.

And who doesn't have fun stuffing their face with delicious food - but remember one thing.

"You don't have to wait until restaurant week to visit an Oakland restaurant, come anytime we'd appreciate that," says White.

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