DENVER, CO – May 18, 2012 – The 8th annual Denver Restaurant Week (DRW) broke all records in 2012, including setting a new record of 339 participating restaurants – the most restaurants to participate in any restaurant week in the nation, according to VISIT DENVER, the organizers of the event.

The culinary festival was held Feb. 25 to March 9, 2012 with participating restaurants offering a multi-course meal for the “mile high” fixed price of $52.80 for two, or $26.40 for one.  

Based on surveys, a record 404,400 meals were served during DRW 2012, up 12 percent over the 360,480 total meals served in 2011. Website traffic on the DRW site saw 6.97 million page views.

“The record-setting numbers for Denver Restaurant Week 2012 are a great indication of how much is happening in Denver’s dining scene,” said Richard Scharf, president & CEO of VISIT DENVER.

Denver Restaurant Week began in 2005 with the goal of stimulating local restaurant business, while also creating national “buzz” about Denver’s dining scene. 

“We are particularly happy to see nearly 7 million website views because one of the primary reasons we sponsor Denver Restaurant Week is to get people talking about restaurants. Each of the 7 million page views was someone looking at a restaurant menu, learning what the restaurant has to offer and seeing just how many choices there are today in Denver,” Scharf said.  He stated that all tourism marketing begins with local awareness. “When locals feel Denver excels in offering fine dining, it is much easier to market that message to out-of-towners, and that helps build Denver’s national reputation as an outstanding destination,” Scharf said.

New in 2012 was the ability to earn social media badges, including a “First Timer” badge for those going to their first DRW meal, a “School Night” badge for those eating out mid-week, and the coveted “Fourteener” badge for those brave souls who went to a restaurant on all 14 nights of DRW.  A total of 1,826 badges were given out, with three qualifying for the “Fourteener” badge.

Denver Restaurant Week 2012 was presented by VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau.  Sponsors include: Mirassou Winery, Alamos, William Hill, Louis M. Marini, the “Denver Post”, 5280 magazine, RTD, 9 News, Colorado Restaurant Association, “Westword”, Johnson & Wales University, Downtown Denver Partnership Business Improvement District, Open Table and Eat Denver.

To learn more about Denver’s dining scene all year-long, visit EatDrinkDenver.com, a new blog dedicated to the local flavors in and around the Mile High City. 

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About VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau

Celebrating more than 100 years of promoting the Mile High City, VISIT DENVER is a nonprofit trade association that contracts with the City of Denver to market Denver as a convention and leisure destination, increasing economic development in the city, creating jobs and generating taxes. A record 12.7 million visitors stayed overnight in Denver in 2010, generating $3 billion in spending, while supporting nearly 50,000 jobs, making Tourism the second largest industry in Denver. Learn more about Denver on the VISITDENVER website and at TOURISMPAYSDENVER, on Twitter @iknowdenver and the VISIT DENVER Facebook page, or by phone at 800 2 DENVER.