The third annual KSQ Restaurant Week will look a little different in 2021, with a focus on Kennett’s diverse takeout options and safely distanced indoor dining. But the expertise and creativity of award-winning local chefs, as well as the care and attention of talented restaurant professionals, will shine as bright as ever. 

In addition to special prix-fixe menus that many chefs will be offering for KSQ Restaurant Week from March 1 to March 7, Historic Kennett Square has designed a special KSQ Restaurant Bingo promotion. Guests can pick up a bingo card at any one of the 25 participating restaurants and cafes and then collect a sticker from each establishment they patronize between March 1 and March 29. Once someone has bingo, they snap a picture of their card and email it to Historic Kennett Square to be entered into a drawing to win one of three $50 restaurant gift cards. Bingo players have the entire month of March to participate and can submit multiple completed bingo cards to be in with more chances to win.

“The aim of KSQ Restaurant Bingo is to highlight the great diversity of restaurants we have here in Kennett and to encourage people to try some new places,” said Historic Kennett Square executive director Bo Wright. 

The bingo program also extends the spirit of Restaurant Week through the month of March and reminds people of the vital importance of supporting local restaurants through to the warmer weather when outside dining will be an option once again. “We also wanted to add an element of fun to it, and we hope people will enjoy participating,” said Wright. “The unique diversity of our vibrant local restaurant scene is definitely something to celebrate.”

Wright said that a lot of people in the community work hard to make Kennett Square what it is.

“Historic Kennett Square is the nonprofit that works hard every day to make Kennett Kennett,” he said. “As a nonprofit, we couldn’t do any of our programming without our valued sponsors, and KSQ Restaurant Week couldn’t have happened this year without the generous sponsorship of Core Family Practice. Ricky Haug and Paul Yerkes and their team are some of the biggest champions of Kennett Square. Not only do they support the ongoing work of HKS, but they were also generous donors to our Small Business Response Fund (SBRF) last summer. At HKS we talk a lot about the value of Kennett Square being a walkable town where people can find essential services right in our own community. This past year has only served to highlight how broken our healthcare system is, but Core Family’s direct primary care model, providing excellent and affordable healthcare in our community, is more important than ever right now. Ricky jokes about being the Marcus Welby of Kennett Square, but he and Dr. Paul Yerkes really are our hometown docs and they walk the walk of supporting local businesses.”

Dr. Ricky Haug said, “We’re incredibly fortunate to be part of the Kennett Square community and even more fortunate to enjoy so many incredible restaurants in our area. In this trying time, Core Family Practice is proud to support all Kennett Square area restaurants as well as continuing to serve the healthcare needs of the Kennett community by providing affordable, high-quality care with a small-town feel. Please support local—we are all stronger together.”

In a recent roundtable discussion hosted by Historic Kennett Square, local restauranteurs shared some of their struggles, COVID-friendly pivots, and hopes for 2021 with business and community leaders and elected officials. Among the common themes that emerged from the conversation were gratitude for the generous support of the Kennett community and for initiatives like street closures for outdoor dining and the parklet. But tourists and people coming into Kennett from outside the community play a big role in helping local restaurants to thrive and until tourism is back, restauranteurs say, they will continue to struggle. Many have had to draw from their personal savings to keep their businesses afloat and say it will take them years to recover from the effects of the pandemic. 

In the meantime, all local restaurant owners and staff are working around the clock to serve their customers safely. “Restaurant Week and KSQ Restaurant Bingo are one way we can all help,” said Wright. “I know from many conversations with local restauranteurs that they just want to do what they love to do and what they do best—to cook for and serve their guests.”