by Kristen Wile

Restaurants around the city are serving special menus, hosting events, and serving discounts as part of Savor Charlotte. The event takes place through March 26, and more than 65 restaurants, bars, and breweries are taking part. Throughout Savor, which is hosted by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, heavy marketing will encourage guests to visit Charlotte. This is the second year of Savor, which CRVA hopes to build over the coming years.

“It’s really important that we connect with the local residents and create ambassadors out of them so that when they bring friends and family to Charlotte, they’re able to take them out to experience the restaurants and see what it’s all about,” CRVA’s Gina Sheridan told us ahead of the debut Savor last year. “So our goal with this, which is similar to what we had done at Charleston Wine and Food, and then also at James Beard House, is really threefold: Raise awareness of Charlotte’s diverse culinary offerings, to really tell the story of Charlotte, and to establish a strong branding presence in target markets.”

Some restaurants will offer special menu items, such as a secret menu at Pizza Peel and a strawberry buttermilk gelato from Cold Hearted Gelato. Mimosa Grill, The Goodyear House, Fin & Fino, and Stagioni are among concepts offering a tasting menu. There are also several one-time events, including a margarita class at Superica.

There’s no cost for restaurants to participate in Savor Charlotte, or to take advantage of CRVA’s marketing. Restaurants are still able to sign up.

“Charlotte’s culinary community is integral to our efforts in promoting the region, enhancing Charlotte’s perception as a leisure destination, and creating powerful economic impact through visitor spending,” says Steve Bagwell, Chief Executive Officer at the CRVA. “Culinary continues to be a top activity for visitors upon arrival and the second-highest travel motivator for Charlotte. Visitors spend $7.3 billion in the region annually, with 25 percent of that spending attributed to food and beverage. We’re committed to promoting culinary and growing Savor Charlotte year after year.”

Participating restaurants and their offering are below. This list does not include special events or non-restaurant participants. See the details of each participating concept here.

• 300 East: Fixed-price menu
• Angeline’s: Fixed-price menu
• Beyond Amazing Donuts: Special menu item
• Calle Sol Latin Café: : Special menu item
• Catalina Kitchen & Bar: Free appetizer with entree
• Chapter 6: Fixed-price menu
• Church & Union: Fixed-price menu
• Cold Hearted Gelato: Special menu item
• Counter-: $25 off with code SAVOR
• Cuzzo’s Cuisine: Discounted menu items
• Dilworth Tasting Room: Special whiskey flights
• Dressler’s Restaurant: Fixed-price menu
• Edge City Brewery: Special menu items
• Ever Andalo: Special menu items
• Fahrenheit: Fixed-price menu
• Fin & Fino: Fixed-price menu
• Franklin Court Grille: 15 percent discount with code savorcharlotte
• Growlers Pourhouse: Special menu items
• Haberdish: Special menu items
• Harper’s Restaurant: Fixed-price menu
• Heist Brewery: Special menu items
• Joan’s Bakery & Deli: Free slice of cake with sandwich purchase when mentioning Savor
• La Dolcekca Bakery Café: Special menu items
• Lincoln Street Kitchen & Cocktails: Fixed-price menu
• McNinch House: Special wine offerings
• Merchant & Trade: Special menu items on Fridays
• Mimosa Grill: Fixed-price menu
• Mizu: Fixed-price menu
• The Pizza Peel: Special menu items
• Reigning Doughnuts: Special menu item
• Resident Culture South End: Fixed-price menu
• Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse: Fixed-price menu
• Salted Melon Market & Eatery: Free dessert with entrée purchase
• Sea Level: Special menu item
• Seoul Food Meat Company: Discounted drink menu
• Sip City: Exclusive menu items
• Stagioni: Fixed-price menu
• Stoke: Special menu items
• Superica: Fixed-price menu
• SupperClub South End: Special menu items
• Supperland: Special menu items
• The Asbury: Special menu items
• The Fox & Falcon by David Burke: Special menu items
• The Goodyear House: Fixed-price menu
• The Pauline Tea-Bar Apothecary: Tea flights
• The Waterman Fish Bar: Special menu items
• Wentworth & Fenn: Special menu items