U.S. Cities Are Trying To Figure Out Restaurant Week In The Pandemic

Copyright 2021 KCUR 89.3. To see more, visit KCUR 89.3 . MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: Restaurant Week was designed to get diners in the door during the slow post-holiday period. The promotion looks very different this year. For starters, the food industry is just trying to survive. From member station KCUR, Laura Ziegler has more. LAURA ZIEGLER, BYLINE: Tim Zagat, creator of the influential Zagat Restaurant Survey, first rolled out Restaurant Week in New York City in 1992. It's since expanded to become a winter celebration for foodies across the U.S. From Santa Monica to St. Louis to Boston, restaurants are offering three or four-course meals at a fixed price, traditionally $35 at the high end. At Le Fou Frog, a French bistro in Kansas City's River Market, owner and executive chef Mano Rafael and his wife Barbara talked with kitchen staff and servers about whether it was even smart to do Restaurant Week this year. MANO RAFAEL: I'm very sorry. This year, we won't do that. It's not because I