Transcript: Mayor Eric Adams Kicks Off 30th Anniversary of NYC Restaurant Week

July 18, 2022

Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xN6tscVcps

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you. Thank you, Fred. I appreciate you. Favorite place here, many years here. This is not only a historical place and great food, but it has a rich history. It was part of the reviving of Brooklyn during a difficult time. When you wanted fine dining, you came here. Many of the men and women who used the downtown area to shop would come here. And just look at the beautiful ambiance, it tells you why people enjoyed this place so much. And it's one of the original voices 30 years ago of the Restaurant Week, and so happy celebration to see it open again and great to... Gage & Tollner was one of the original restaurants from one of the original participants when it launched 30 years ago. It was supposed to be a one shot deal just to encourage people to come back and get people back in seats.
Mayor Adams: But you see, 30 years later, the excitement is still here. This year, approximately 630 restaurants across all five boroughs are participating, spanning 85 neighborhoods with more than 60 different cuisines. And our restaurants and bars, I say it over and over again, they're the heart and soul of the city. Many people focus on 9:00 to 5:00 but this city comes alive from 5:00 to 1:00 am, 2:00 am, and it's more than a place of entertainment and tourism. It's a place that employs countless numbers of people, dishwashers, waiters, waitresses, bartenders, hosts. It is a major part of our financial ecosystem. Without it, we would probably be just London, but we're not. We're New York, and that is why people come here. They come here because of the excitement and diversity in our food. And NYC & Company, when they go abroad to sell New York, they sell our nightlife industry, Broadway, the restaurants, the theaters, Mickey Mouse on 42nd Street.
Mayor Adams: All of this is part of the uniqueness of our city, and New Yorkers know they don't have to leave somewhere else to get that diversity in food. So it doesn't matter if it's Sylvia's in Harlem. If it's one of our restaurants in downtown Brooklyn, or this great restaurant here, you can find the food and entertainment and ambiance that you look for, but we don't want just visitors to come here and visit the restaurant. We want them to enjoy the food and the experience that you have here with some of our amazing chefs and cooks. That is why NYC & Company, they are launching Savor New York City, a year long culinary experience across all five boroughs. And I'm telling you, I went to a restaurant the other day that had an amazing - they call it the Eric Vegan Corner. They have some great vegan dishes that are really amazing up in the Bronx, where you could get some healthy food from real famous eateries to immersive cuisines, centric tourists, finding a delicious experience in any part of this city is going to be effortless on what NYC & Company has put together.
Mayor Adams: The hospitality industry, it is our lifeblood. It's the lifeblood of entertainment, food, and interaction. You go to your favorite eatery for so many different reasons, a celebration of a new job, graduation, of a marriage, a divorce. People celebrate so many different things, but it's inside the restaurant and you go and do as I do, talk to some of the bartenders, and they'll tell you stories after stories how they are not only bartenders, but they're also psychologists as they help people during a difficult moment in their lives. Pre-pandemic, the industry had a $72 billion annual economic impact. Reviving it is key to our economy. It's a major part of our economy as we continue to revive it. So more people are coming to New York City as we cycle out of COVID, of this, the week of June 25th, showing hotel demand being a milestone at 94% of recovery to pre-pandemic levels.
Mayor Adams: That is amazing as we continue to move forward. In Broadway, attendance and gross sales earlier this month hit the highest levels since Broadway restarted in September 2021. And so Restaurant Week and Savor New York City are so important to our recovery. They're very much a part of that, and we want to make sure everyone is part of our recovery and every employee that's there, our hourly employees, and the owners of these establishments.
Mayor Adams: They went through some tough times. We were creative with the outdoor dining. We were creative by removing the taxes on alcohol for a period of time. We want to continue to be creative in helping the industry recover. So New York City is open for reservations. Make those reservations. Let's enjoy what Restaurant Week has to offer. And I want to thank this beautiful establishment for allowing us to come here. It's a symbol of what we can do as we continue to recover and thank NYC & Company for great work done selling New York. It's a great deal to be here in the city, and we only ask tourists to do one thing, and that's spend money, spend money, spend money. Thank you very much.
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