Houston Restaurant Weeks Returns In August

Houston Restaurant Weeks, the annual dining event that raises money for the Houston Food Bank, has officially set a date for 2020.

The annual event is set for August 1 through September 7, according to a press release, and it’s going to look decidedly different than in years past thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement comes less than a month after Houston Restaurant Weeks founder Cleverley Stone died from uterine cancer.

Stone, who died on May 28 at the age of 68, founded the event in 2003 and raised more than $16 million for the Houston Food Bank during her lifetime. According to the event’s organizers, Stone’s final wish was that HRW continue in her memory. Her daughter Katie will take over the event this year. More than 250 restaurants from The Woodlands to Galveston and in between participate in Houston Restaurant Weeks, which is entirely coordinated by volunteers.

The event also comes in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, when restaurants across Texas have been forced to close temporarily due to social distancing, or permanently due to the economic fallout of the pandemic. During Restaurant Weeks, participating restaurants are typically so busy that they operate on a reservations-only basis. It remains to be seen if social distancing and limited capacity rules will still be in effect come August, and how that might affect this year’s Houston Restaurant Weeks crowds.

Participating restaurants will be listed on the event’s website starting in July.

• Houston Restaurant Weeks Founder Cleverley Stone Dies at 68 [EHOU]