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BUCHANAN — A week full of specials is cooking up in Buchanan.

The Buchanan Chamber of Commerce will host its first Restaurant Week from Wednesday, March 24 to Wednesday, March 31. The inaugural celebration will feature 18 area restaurants, many of which will be offering specials for diners supporting local businesses.

“All of our restaurants are participating,” said Karol Behrle, chamber vice president. “We’ve had many restaurants that were closed for months [due to the COVID-19 pandemic]. This is just one way the chamber wanted to help our own people.”

Behrle said the chamber was inspired to host the week-long event by other regional municipalities hosting restaurant weeks, in addition to Berrien County’s declaration of March as Restaurant Month.

“We figured, let’s promote them all, because they have all struggled, whether it’s the wineries or the restaurants,” she said. “They are all a part of this town and a part of what makes Buchanan so special. … We wanted to support all of them.”

The planning for Restaurant Week came together in just over a week. Behrle said the business community’s response has been overwhelming and that not one area restaurant hesitated about participating.

One downtown Buchanan business owner excited about participating is Mariah Molitor, owner of Gary Z’s Sub Shop. Primarily a take-out business, she said her shop had not been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the same way dine-in restaurants have been. Still, she said she is excited to see Restaurant Week bring people to Buchanan to promote local businesses.

“I think [Restaurant Week] is awesome,” Molitor said. “I think it’s going to be amazing not just for the restaurants, but it will just bring people to the community to see what we have to offer.”

A block down Front Street, Leland Payne owns Bucktown Nutrition with his wife, Kati. In addition to bringing a boost to his sales, Payne said he hopes Restaurant Week will be a way for local businesses to come together to support each other and the community at large.

“I was born and raised in Buchanan, and we are always giving back to our community, and this is a time when our community should be coming together most,” he said.

As Restaurant Week gets closer, Behrle said her excitement keeps growing. Already, she is hoping the event is enough of a success that the chamber can host it yearly or twice yearly.

“I definitely think this is going to be a huge hit,” she said. “Hopefully, this is such a huge thing we can do it every year, maybe even again in the fall.”

Until then, Behrle encouraged community members from Buchanan and beyond to come out and support local restaurants next week.

“Come out and support this awesome town that was voted the Nicest Place in America by Reader’s Digest,” she said.

Participating restaurants include:

• B&W Olde Village Inn, 116 Main St., Buchanan
• Bucktown Nutrition, 113 E. Front St., Buchanan
• Cameron’s, 1021 W. Front St., Buchanan
• Gary Z’s Sub Shop, 254 E. Front St., Buchanan
• Hickory Creek Winery, 750 Browntown Road, Buchanan
• Hilltop Café, 708 E. Front St., Buchanan
• JD’s Family Diner, 1655 Mayflower Road, Niles
• Lehman’s Brewery and Farmhouse, 204 N. Redbud Trail, Buchanan
• McCoy Creek Tavern, 215 E. Front St., Buchanan
• McDonald’s, 813 Front St., Buchanan
• Milano’s Pizza, 109 Days Ave., Buchanan
• Orchard Hills Country Club, 2841 Niles-Buchanan Road, Buchanan
• Pizza Hut, 817 E. Front St., Buchanan
• River Saint Joe, 15475 Walton Road, Buchanan
• Subway, 714 E. Front St., Buchanan
• Tabor Hill Winery and Restaurant, 185 Mt. Tabor Road, Buchanan
• Tasty Chen’s Restaurant, 714 E. Front St., Buchanan
• Union Coffee House, 115 E. Front St., Buchanan

For more information and specials, visit Buchanan.mi.us or follow the Buchanan Area Chamber of Commerce on Facebook.