Support Hudson Valley Restaurants During 'Time To Dine' Coming Up

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — It's time to pick some restaurants, peruse some menus, and make plans for Time To Dine, the new event Aug. 17-30 that features nearly 200 eateries that would have participated this spring in Hudson Valley Restaurant Week.

The event offers the region's residents the opportunity to help support local restaurants as they work to reopen after New York's new coronavirus crisis — whether ordering take-out or dining in.

"Restaurants are the lifeblood of our community and need our patronage. Consumer confidence is low right now, and some people are hesitant to venture out," said Mike Martinelli of "The Valley Table."

Restaurant Week for spring 2020 was canceled in mid-March as the new coronavirus outbreak began to expand. On the day the state shut down restaurants and bars, Rockland County, the site of the region's first new coronavirus death, declared a state of emergency. Westchester County, the site of the state's first intense cluster, did as well.

At that point New York had reached 950 confirmed cases, and the plan was to use social distancing to slow the speed with which the virus was spreading to prevent crashing the healthcare system. By the time the outbreak peaked in New York a month later, there were almost 19,000 people hospitalized in the state with COVID-19.

New York used the shutdown and pandemic protocols including masks and handwashing to end the outbreak. The rate of positive cases in the state has dropped below 1 percent, making New York one of the few states in the nation to have reopened safely.

Now it's time to treat ourselves for our hard work!

Along with special offers and promotions from participating restaurants, Time To Dine will also feature a daily social media winner. Prizes will range from restaurant gift cards, to event tickets and more. Diners will simply need to post a photo of themselves at a participating restaurant or the meal they got from take out, tag the restaurant, and use the hashtag #TimeToDine. Winners will be chosen on a random basis from all social media posts.

Read an FAQ about the event here.

"We wanted to create a dining event that had the excitement of Hudson Valley Restaurant Week, but also the flexibility to allow people to engage with restaurants in a manner they are comfortable with, whether outdoor or indoor dining, take out or family style meals," Martinelli said. "Many crave the sense of comfort and a ‘return to normal feeling’ that eating at restaurants had for them."

Martinelli said it's not just about comfort, but safety for customers and staff. "We are asking both sides to make a Safety Pledge and do the best they can to be exemplary."

Take a look at the safety pledge.

Go here for a list of participating restaurants.