From right, Seventh grader Emma Zitrick, second grader Evan Zitrick and seventh grader Ellie Reece relax in the Shepherdstown Sweet Shop Bakery on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Jefferson County Restaurant Week came to a close on Sunday, with a mixture of successful and not-so-successful results, related to the post-pandemic inflation spike.

Thirty-two restaurants from across Jefferson County took part in the event, by offering menu specials or discounts to draw in customers during the local restaurant slow season.

Over at Mountaineer Popcorn, customers were being given 15 percent off any purchase of $25 or more for Jefferson County Restaurant Week.

“If people come in and order $25, it’s something that we give to them, regardless of if they ask for it,” said Mountaineer Popcorn employee Leslie Davisson. “We want people to come back, to say ‘Oh! they gave me 15 percent off!'”

Davisson indicated sales were stronger over the two weekends bookending restaurant week, as is typical for the business year round.

“It was definitely busier this year than last,” said Maria’s Taqueria employee Olive Sipes on Saturday afternoon. “Most business comes toward the tail of restaurant week. Earlier in the week, we have the regulars who come in and maybe they’ll get the special, but then toward the end, for three hours no one will order anything but the special. As we get closer to the weekend, I feel like more of the business is related to the specials that we have.

“The weather plays a major role in the success of restaurant week, as well,” Sipes said. “It was really nice yesterday morning and afternoon, so we had a lot of business. When it’s nicer to get out and about, people are more likely to partake in restaurant week.”

Her colleague, Tai Sommers, noted that their next-door neighbor, MJ’s on German Deli Cafe, reported a similar upturn in business from last year’s restaurant week.

“Next door, they said that last year nobody came in for their special, while this year a lot of people have,” Sommers said.

This year, Maria’s Taqueria offered a special price on its fish tacos, while MJ’s on German Deli Cafe offered a wider variety of menu options, including a half sandwich and cup of soup combo, a Peanut Butter ‘n Jelly Smoothie and a Toffee Brown Butter Latte. A similar kind of combo — a choice between two specialty sandwiches, kettle chips and Olipop soda — was being offered at the Community Garden Market throughout the week.

“It’s been going really well! It’s a great way to get our name out there, and we’ve also had a lot of people come in and buy sandwiches,” said Shepherd University business student Joe Anderson, as he baked apple cider donuts in the back of the market. “We’ve never done restaurant week before.”

Unfortunately, for the higher-end restaurants participating in Jefferson County Restaurant Week, the turnout noticeably fell from last year’s restaurant week.

“We’ve been steady, but we haven’t seen a lot of people taking advantage of it. I’d say it’s 50/50. People weren’t actually coming in for restaurant week,” said Lilah Restaurant owner Connie Heyer. “This is slow season for us, and I don’t think restaurant week boosted it.”

Lilah offered a three-courses for $30 special and a Build Your Own Breakfast and Bottomless Mimosas for $30, throughout the week.

“People are struggling right now. They don’t have money to go out and do the things they used to do,” Heyer said. “A lot of people aren’t willing to spend their discretionary cash by going out so much anymore. It’s more of an economic reason for the downturn in business during restaurant week.”

According to Lilah Restaurant bartender Chad Silveous, marketing efforts on social media received positive results, which were not reflected in the customer turnout.

“We got a lot of feedback on the posts. They’re seeing the posts, they’re liking the posts, they’re commenting on and interacting with them, but they’re not coming in,” Silveous said.