Santa Monica Partners with Local Businesses for Santa Monica Restaurant Week

January 3, 2020 9:00 AM
by Jodi Low, Jennifer Taylor

The Santa Monica Farmers Market provides both home cooks and local chefs alike access to high-quality fresh produce, flowers, nuts, meat and dairy products sold directly by farmers who grow them. Throughout the year, local chefs can be seen scoping out the seasons best, collaborating with farmers on what to grow next season and sharing culinary trends. One way this collaboration is highlighted is through Santa Monica Restaurant Week, a collaboration between Santa Monica Travel and Tourism, and the City of Santa Monica's Farmers Market and Buy Local Santa Monica program.

Early morning shopping at the Wednesday Farmers Market.

Santa Monica Restaurant Week

Santa Monica Restaurant Week (January 6 – 12, 2020) highlights Santa Monica as an award-winning, health-conscious culinary destination. Throughout the week, thirty-seven local restaurants, are participating and their chefs will craft delicious, healthy, and custom dishes centered around this year’s special restaurant week ingredient – the KUMQUAT. It is a small orange citrus the size of a large olive and it native to Asia. The fruit can be eaten whole, raw, stewed, pickled or made into marmalade. Find the full list of participating restaurants and their restaurant week dishes here: santamonica.com/restaurantweek. 

Santa Monica Restaurant Week is also a great opportunity to eat local in support of our local businesses, our community, and our schools. Not sold on Santa Monica's Restaurant Week yet? Here are a couple of fun facts about eating and buying local:

• Purchases made at Santa Monica businesses, including our restaurants, helped to generate $16 million in funding last year directly for Santa Monica-Malibu Unified Schools thanks to the special use taxes, Measures Y and GSH that were approved by our residents over the last five years.  
• Farmers markets bring business to neighboring stores and communities where the market is located.
• Spending money at farmers markets keeps your money in circulation within the local community, preserving and creating local jobs. 

We encourage you to kick off the new year by visiting some of your favorite Santa Monica restaurants, buying local and trying the featured kumquat dish during Sant Monica Restaurant Week.

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For more info on the Buy Local Santa Monica campaign and benefits to our community: BuyLocalSM.com and for our SM Farmers Market upcoming events. 

Learn more about the Farmers Market at farmersmarkets.smgov.net and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Authored By

Jodi Low
Farmers' Market Coordinator II

Jennifer Taylor
Economic Development Manager