Jacksonville, FL
(August 29, 2007) – Last week, Downtown Vision, Inc. (DVI) sponsored Downtown Jacksonville’s first dining week,
Eat Up Downtown. Each of the Downtown restaurants created special 3-course dinner menus for $25 per person.
Fifteen restaurants participated and more than half reported a significant increase in reservations and gross sales
generated from the event as compared to the same time last year.
“The success of Eat Up Downtown exceeded our
expectations for a first year event,” said Terry Lorince, Executive Director, Downtown Vision, Inc. “More
people dined Downtown and we estimate that sales for that week were up 30 percent on average.”
Owner
of Plaza III Steakhouse J. Bard McLean said, “We had more than 1,000 people come out to support the event and we were
excited by the response. The event introduced our restaurant to a whole new group of customers and they
all said they would be back again. We had never offered a fixed-price dinner before, and now we’re
planning to introduce something like this in the fall.”
Several restaurants noted that reservations were completely
booked for various nights during the week. All restaurants that submitted post-event comments said they
would participate again next year and recommend it to other Downtown restaurants.
About Downtown Vision
Downtown Vision, Inc. (DVI) is a not-for-profit 501(c)6 organization whose
mission is to build and maintain a healthy and vibrant Downtown community and to promote Downtown as an exciting place to
live, work, play, and visit.
Founded in 2000, DVI is dedicated to promoting the Downtown
area, building a neighborhood Downtown, serving as a one-stop shop for information on Downtown and advocating the interests
of local businesses and property owners.
