Pictures courtesy of Eat LBC.

The organizers of Eat LBC polled both its participating restaurants and guests to find out just how effective the Second Annual Long Beach Restaurant Week was this year. The results showed benefits for both parties, with more than 85 percent of the participating restaurants reporting that Eat LBC introduced new guests to their establishments, with restaurants showing a five to 30 percent increase in both revenue and guests for the week.

More than 50 percent of the guests surveyed, who took their tasty time to try out some of the City’s most delectable fare, said they dined at two or more participating restaurants. Eateries from 4th St.’s Retro Row and from downtown Long Beach to the balmy Belmont Shore were excited to share their concepts with new guests. It’s safe to say that Eat LBC was a more-than-satisfying success, while the organizers will be announcing plans for the next event in the next few months.

“I think what this second year has demonstrated is that Long Beach can support an annual Restaurant Week,” said Eat LBC Co-Founder Elizabeth Borsting in a statement. “We have great restaurants and dynamic neighborhoods, and Eat LBC is just an added motivator for people to explore the city and their palate.”

“We were very pleased to see the amount of new guests during Eat LBC,” said Chef Arturo Gonzalez of Panxa in Belmont Heights in a statement. “Since we are a new restaurant, it really helped give exposure to people who didn’t know about us!”

For the foodies who were surveyed, more than 50 percent said they dined at two or more participating locations during Long Beach Restaurant Week, which was a 10 percent increase from last year’s numbers. According to Eat LBC, most of those who dined out said they did so with the intention of supporting the Long Beach culinary community, were intrigued by the innovative menus and didn’t want to miss the opportunity to try a new restaurant.

Erwin Angeles of Kihon Sushi + Japanese Tapas said in a statement, “We had a lot of large parties come in during Eat LBC and Long Beach Restaurant Week is definitely giving the city some recognition as a dining destination. We welcomed many guests who were from outside the area, which is great.”

Fifty restaurants participated in Long Beach restaurant week, with over 40 percent of those eateries joining the feeding frenzy for the first time.

“The feedback we’ve received from both the restaurants and their guests has been overwhelmingly positive,” added co-founder Terri Henry in a statement. “We hope to continue to grow Long Beach Restaurant Week each year by adding more restaurants and increasing public participation and awareness.”

Next year’s event will be announced in the next few months, according to Eat LBC organizers, while those who are interested in participating or sponsorship opportunities can email [email protected] for more information.