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Scottsdale gears up for Restaurant Week

BY KRISTINE CANNON

Progress Staff Writer

The pandemic won’t stop Arizona Restaurant Week from returning for its 13th year.

With restaurants reopening with new service protocols, ARW will now take place June 19 through 28.

The Arizona Restaurant Association has adapted to social distancing for the more than 200 Valley-wide participating restaurants.

“As Arizona Restaurant Week returns in a modi�ied format to include dine-in, take out and liquor to-go options, we are hopeful that our wonderful community of food enthusiasts will continue to show their support in any way they feel comfortable,” said ARA President and CEO Steve Chucri.

ARW gives patrons the opportunity to try three-course, prix-�ixe menus for $33 or $44 per person. Some restaurants even offer wine pairings at an additional cost.

New to ARW this year are two Scottsdalearea restaurants, the House Brasserie and Sel.

“It’s a great way to introduce our establishment to a new audience, to transition from season to summer, [and] to be knitted into the community,” said the House Brasserie owner and manager Joe Ieraci.

This year means more to us, a chance to gain new guests for summer and future visits, a chance to create some buzz and interest, a chance that all restaurants need coming out of this shutdown,” he added.

Located on Main Street downtown,

ZuZu at Hotel Valley Ho is one of many Scottsdale-area restaurants participating in Arizona Restaurant Week next month. (Hotel Valley Ho)

House Brasserie serves a re�ined New American menu.

Its ARW menu includes guests’ choice of three diverse entrees: Peruvian Rock Shrimp Linguini, Creekstone Skirt Steak, or Veal Jaeger Schnitzel.

“We chose these dishes to show our creativity and diversity,” Ieraci said.

The House Brasserie is operating at 30 percent on weekdays and 50 percent on weekends. Typically, the restaurant allows for 150 guests.

“Some of the challenges consist in staffing and inventory, not knowing what to expect on guest count ... Other challenges are simply making the guests feel comfortable, sanitizing, spacing tables, and trying to conduct business with some kind of normalcy,” Ieraci said.

According to recent stats from Open-Table, a real-time online restaurants reservation service, dine-in seating at restaurants surveyed in Arizona is down 60 percent from the same time last year.

Chucri said the ban on in-house dining has cost restaurants statewide a collective $27 million a day in lost revenues.

This has pushed restaurants like ZuZu at Hotel Valley Ho to make smarter choices when it comes to reservations – “and using forecasting to determine how much space to leave open for hotel guests,” said Seth Widdes, ZuZu general manager.

“Our top priority is providing a safe environment,” he said, “and this includes reduced capacity, which can be limiting on busier periods like weekends.”

Because ZuZu’s currently running at 50 percent capacity, they encourage reservations, including for ARW, in which the restaurant has participated for the better part of a decade.

“Before dine-in service was suspended, we were about to launch our new menu. So, for Arizona Restaurant Week, we will be rolling out some savory new menu items, including Crispy Cast Iron Chicken Thighs, Sweet Corn Agnolotti, and a Tropical Cheesecake Crème Puff with Pineapple Sorbet, just to name a few,” Widdes said.

Marcellino Ristorante is another ARW returner for their fourth year.

“We are �inding a surge of people wanting to dine with us, and we have had to turn people away due to diminished seating,” said Sima Verzino, who co-owns the restaurant with husband and chef Marcellino Verzino.

“The second challenge we have been facing is that we cannot offer our live music program every Thursday and Saturday evenings due to the fact that we would have to take out more tables to house our musicians,” Sima added. Marcellino Ristorante’s ARW menu this year showcases “the diversity of Chef Marcellino’s cuisine,” including his hand-crafted pastas and homemade desserts.

“We have all been crushed economically due to closings and the challenges that continue now with having to work at less than 50 percent capacity of our restaurant. We need the support of our public more than ever and are so very grateful for them,” Sima said.

Other participating Scottsdale restaurants include Barrio Queen, the Canal Club, Charleston’s Restaurant, Los Sombreros, Pasta Brioni, PHX Beer Co., Prado, Preston’s Steakhouse, Roaring Fork, and Weft & Warp Art Bar + Kitchen.

ARW will return Sept. 18-27.

“We are so grateful for the support of our local dining community in the weeks that followed restaurant closures in March,” Chucri said. “The quick creation of Arizona Takeout Weeks and Arizona Restaurant Strong efforts could not have been possible without them.”

Visit arizonarestaurantweek.com for the full list of participating restaurants.

Charleston’s Restaurant

Where: 17001 N. Scottsdale Road Call: 480-563-7666 Website: charlestons.com

Los Sombreros

Where: 2534 N. Scottsdale Road Call: 480-994-1799 Website: lossombreros.com

Pasta Brioni

Where: 4416 N. Miller Road Call: 480-994-0028 Website: pastabrioni.com

LOCAL PARTICIPANTS INCLUDE:

Preston’s Steakhouse

Where: 8700 E. Pinnacle Peak Road, #115 Call: 480-629-5087 Website: prestonsscottsdale.com