Masuk Free Press

This past week in Monroe, Connecticut, the 14th annual Restaurant Week took place. Featuring 21 local restaurants all over town, the goal of restaurant week is to push citizens of the town to go out and support Monroe’s local dining scene instead of fast-food chains that are all over the world. Many citizens in the town of Monroe were excited about this year’s restaurant week, well, those who knew it was taking place.

Graham Cybart, a Masuk High School student and proud citizen of Monroe, stated he “wasn’t even aware it was going on, I haven’t seen anything about it online or anything”. 

Cybart wasn’t alone. Several Masuk students, Matt Boyle, Ryan Ewald, Nate Brito, Mikey Naughton, and Trent Dellacato, also said they had no idea  Restaurant Week was happening this week. Advertising around town has appeared to be kept minimal except for an occasional sign on the side of the road.

Despite the lack of awareness among students and townspeople, some people were genuinely very excited about the event. Masuk student Luke Kondub, who is very passionate about his town and who frequently attends town events, expressed his enthusiasm for Monroe’s local restaurants. “I always love going to some restaurants that are homemade from the heart, you know, Bills, been going with the guys a lot, love having some breakfast and a milkshake,” Kondub expresses the craze children in town have for the local restaurants, Bills being one of these places, however it isn’t the only one teens in Monroe crave. “ Last drop, you know, they got some amazing coffee. Like, some of the best coffee I’ve ever had, like, I love going there after morning hockey practice, you know, get energized for the school day ahead. The food wasn’t the only good thing about the week, though, the service at the last drop this week was really good, and the workers there treated me a little nicer  than usual.” Kondub added. 

Luke’s passion highlights what Restaurant Week is all about: celebrating Monroe’s homegrown food scene and the local businesses that help express the town’s identity.

Rosamaria Rodriguez, waitress, and daughter of David Rodruiges, owner of Bella Rosa Pizzeria Ristorante, one of the participating restaurants in Monroe’s Restaurant Week. According to Rosamaria, Monroe’s Restaurant Week does actually help with advertising for Bella Rosa.

 Despite young civilians of Monroe not noticing advertisements around town Rosamaria claims “it definitely does give us better advertisement as people are looking to try new restaurants and new things on the menu when they come in so it’s definitely very beneficial for the restaurant.” So even if young people haven’t noticed all too much about Restaurant week it seems to still play an important role in the small businesses in Monroe.

Those of you who did not dine at any local restaurants featured in the event this week may not know that Bella Rosa, along with many other competitors, offers a new specialty menu during the week, expanding the variety of food offered as well as lowering the typical prices

 “During restaurant week we make a different menu that is specific to this week and gives the customer the opportunity to get a wider variety of food off the menu for a smaller price than it typically would be to order all of the food they did. for example they choose an appetizer, a salad, an entree, and a desert all for only $30 while on a typical day that would all probably come out to $50+” said Rodruiges.

Restaurants in town lowering prices and expanding their menus is a great way to advertise the event, drawing in more people and encouraging them to try foods outside their comfort zone. From a business perspective, an increase in customers may seem like a great boost for the restaurant. However, it’s important to consider how the workers are affected by the sudden surge in the workload. 

As Rodruiges shared, “Employees like myself are used to the normal flow of customers and not being too busy, especially during the week. It doesn’t usually get too busy, but this week, even on our typical slower days, it’s been busy. So, not necessarily harder, but definitely more stressful and busier”. 

This shows that while the event boosts visibility and profits, it also places added pressure on staff who are accustomed to a steadier pace.

The 2025 Restaurant Week seemed to be a success for restaurants and the town of Monroe, however, it seems like the town has some improvements they can make next year to improve Restaurant Week to benefit both, restaurants and customers. Terry Stroz, a new resident in Monroe, claimed “The town can improve on the advertisement aspect of the event. I think they can put more signs in busier places, so people know more about it, on top of that they should put ads on social media.” Since Terry is new to town he may not know too much about what the restaurants in Monroe have to offer, therefore significant changes in the advertising department would be beneficial in bringing attention to the town of Monroe.