In an effort to drive more foot traffic into restaurants hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic, Paterson plans to hold its first-ever Restaurant Week starting Nov. 25.

Scheduled to run through Dec. 2, participating restaurants will offer diners a prix-fixe menu for lunch or dinner at a cost of $17.92 — an homage of the year that Paterson was founded by Alexander Hamilton.

“Alexander would be proud,” Mayor Andre Sayegh quipped during a Nov. 18 press conference announcing the promotion.

“During the pandemic, many of our small businesses suffered – specifically restaurants. We want to do everything we can in Paterson to help our restaurants rebound and to help our restaurants recover,” said the mayor.

“We’ll have a wide variety of options for people to satiate their respective palates. As a matter of fact, we have a multicultural cuisine here in Paterson. We have Peruvian, Dominican, Jamaican, soul food, seafood, Palestinian. You name it, it’s all here,” Sayegh said.

As a way to encourage local shopping and dining, Sayegh noted that restaurant week was scheduled to coincide with Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. It’s also part of an ongoing push to rebrand the city, which is the home to the Great Falls National Historic Park, as a destination for tourism and foodies, according to the mayor.

Orlando Cruz, president of the Greater Paterson Chamber of Commerce, said, “There’s no better way to highlight our restaurants and our international cuisine than celebrating a restaurant week where they all can showcase what they have to offer to our local community, but also to outsiders.”

Cruz went to say he hopes visitors will become repeat customers after sampling some of the city’s culinary scene.

The promotion is sponsored by the City of Paterson, the Paterson Urban Enterprise Zone, the Greater Paterson Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Special Improvement District and Celebrating Paterson.

Participating restaurants include:

• Al Basha – 1076 Main St.
• Al Mazaq – 46 East Railway Ave.
• Gub Khao Thai – 951 Main St.
• Mexico Bar & Grill – 246 McBride Ave.
• Cafecito – 27 Park Ave.
• Tadim – 959 Main St.
• Mamma’s Kitchen – 136 Vreeland Ave.
• Chloe’s Restaurant & Tapas – 304 Grand St.
• Toros Restaurant – 1038 Main St.

More information is available here.