Kitchen staff were hard at work Wednesday slicing meat, mixing dough and washing dishes in the back of Napa on Providence in Myers Park.
The restaurant is one of 109 restaurants in nine counties across the Charlotte area participating in Queen's Feast: Charlotte Restaurant Week, which runs from Jan. 17 to Jan. 26.
The event takes place twice a year — once in January and again in July — as a way to drum up business during what are typically slow months for restaurants.
Participating restaurants offer three-course prix fixe dinners (meaning diners can choose from a limited menu with fixed prices), and meals are offered at a discount to get diners in the door — and hopefully try new places. All dinners range from $30-$50.
Bruce Hensley started the promotional event in July 2008 with his wife, Jill, as an extension of their public relations business, Hensley Fontana.
"The restaurants get a spike in business, and the customer gets a really good deal," he said. "So it's a win-win situation."
The event started with 42 restaurants in Mecklenburg County and grew to 143 restaurants spread over 10 counties in January 2020.
Fewer restaurants have been participating since the pandemic, Hensley said, but the event is building back to its pre-pandemic level of participation.
Napa on Providence has been participating since 2013, and often comes up with new menu items for restaurant week. This year, diners can try parsnip and apple bisque, herb-whipped goat cheese and shrimp capellini.
"Every dish that we create, we curate it around a flavor that we have in our wine selections," said Executive Chef David Sears.
The restaurant is hoping to bring in diners and reverse what's been a tough few months, said Aimee Larson, president of Conway Restaurant Group, which owns and manages Napa.
"It's been a notoriously tough season for restaurants right now in Charlotte," she said. "Traffic is down. People are spending less. Food costs are what they are ... so we're hoping that we have a lot of people coming in and enjoying what we have to offer."
Find more information on participating restaurants at charlotterestaurantweek.iheart.com.
