175 restaurants offer dining specials

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Get your appetite ready because area restaurants are ready to welcome you all this week with their most enticing dishes. They want to you eat local this week.

175 independently owned restaurants across western New York are taking part in the second annual Local Restaurant Week. This year's theme is food is culture. The best part is, you get to enjoy dining specials for only $20.10. With all the restaurants added in, 12,000 seats are available each night. Local restaurant week is expected to pump an estimated $2 million into the local economy.

Peter Longo of the NYS Restaurant Association said, "Moneys spent at local independently owned restaurants recirculate through the economy five times greater than those of the chains. And so it's very important that we help continue the nice work and the nice food that comes out of our local restaurants."

"You can go to your neighborhood, you can go buy cuisine, however, you want to seek out a restaurant there's 175 options for you. There's only seven days, so you might have to go twice a day. I'd suggest that," said Dan Garvey of the Roycroft Inn.

41 new restaurants have joined on this year because the success of last year's Local Restaurant Week. It runs through Sunday. You can find a complete listing of participating restaurants here .