Evanston seafood spot Oceanique has embraced participating in Chicago Restaurant Week for more than a decade, according to chef de cuisine and owner Mark Grosz. The reason: for the 17 days that the event is now held, his restaurant sees a full dining room — a rarity during the winter months.

Oceanique is one of three Evanston restaurants taking part in the 18th annual Chicago Restaurant Week. Soul & Smoke and Double Clutch Brewing Company are also participating. 

Marketing organization Choose Chicago coordinates the event, which runs from Jan. 24 to Feb. 9. This year, it features a record-breaking 500 restaurants across Chicago and its suburbs. 

As part of the event, all participating restaurants offer multi-course meals at a fixed price. Restaurants serve their choice of $30 brunch or lunch meals and either $45 or $60 dinners.

“People come from all over Chicago and the suburbs to come to dinner, and I think it’s an opportunity for them to try a restaurant that maybe they would never try, because of the pricing, or maybe the location’s a little bit out of their reach,” Grosz said. 

Grosz said he primarily appreciates the exposure and increased revenue the event brings. He said Choose Chicago offers numerous promotional opportunities and has many “great” ways of advertising what participating restaurants have to offer. 

Soul & Smoke co-founder Heather Bublick said that while her restaurant’s Avondale location has taken part in the event before, this is the first year its Evanston location is joining in. It is currently undergoing renovations but remains open for business.

“We had thought that our full restaurant would be open by this year, but since it wasn’t, we thought that we would do Restaurant Week this year and see if we can drum up that same excitement,” Bublick said. 

Both Grosz and Bublick highlighted how Restaurant Week helps generate repeat customers. Grosz said Oceanique will even have restaurant-goers who return several times during the week alone. 

Patrick Wasserman, the head chef at Double Clutch Brewing Company, said that his restaurant, when possible, tries to offer choices in its special menu to fully showcase its everyday options. Wasserman said that the restaurant even incorporated past favorite dishes. 

Wasserman said he appreciates the opportunity to “show off” his staff’s skills in the kitchen. 

“I can’t talk enough about my brisket sandwich,” Wasserman said. “It’s really good.”

Grosz, Bublick and Wasserman each spoke to the typical downturn their respective restaurants face during the winter months and pointed to Restaurant Week as a solution. 

Bublick said Soul & Smoke’s Avondale location saw roughly 60 reservations a day throughout the event last winter, during what would normally be a difficult time for business. 

“January is typically a very slow time for restaurants,” Bublick said. “It’s that point where you decide if you’re gonna make it another year. So, doing things like this that can help make January busier is certainly welcome.”

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