When Tony Gorick talks about Restaurant Week, he doesn’t start with the food. He starts with the people.

“It’s more than just the transaction of buying some sort of food item from somebody,” he told me. “It’s about supporting this incredible group of restaurateurs that we have in this community.”

Tony is the Sales and Marketing Manager at Decades Lancaster, and he’s been leading the coordination and promotion of Lancaster City Restaurant Week since 2022. But the story goes back further than that. A group of about five restaurants clustered around the square held the first Lancaster City Restaurant Week in 2014. It worked. What started as a small experiment around the square has grown into a City-wide event featuring more than 50 restaurants.

The event continues to grow each year. The 2026 newcomers include Ragamuffin Kitchen, one of the new chef stations at Southern Market; Rincon, the spot on Queen Street that just went through a full refresh; Empanda Gourmet on Prince; and Vécu, a new French restaurant on King Street. 

Tony didn’t come to this role by accident. His career has included work at Landis Communities, Ten Thousand Villages, Fig Industries, and the Lancaster Chamber. As a part of his work at the chamber, Tony helped lead communications for Recovery Lancaster during the pandemic, funneling federal funds to struggling small businesses, many of them restaurants.

Kris Bradley, who owns NameSpark and runs social media ads for the event, put it this way: “Lancaster City Restaurant Week is a big event with a lot of moving pieces; it needs to be organized by somebody who has a lot of energy and creativity, Tony’s that person. He’s got the marketing skills, he knows everyone, and people love working with him.”

Tony said he relies heavily on Chris Trendler, Partner of Decades Lancaster and Creator of Restaurant Week, and Kathlene Sullivan, Digital Media & Engagement Manager at Lancaster City Alliance and Marketing Coordinator for Restaurant Week. The three of them, with support from other local restaurant leaders, work hard to ensure Restaurant Week’s continued success and growth.

This year, they oversaw a full rebuild of the Restaurant Week website. You can see the results at LancasterCityRestaurantWeek.com. The revamped site lists every participating restaurant, what they’re offering (exclusive items, promos, and deals), and the mission behind the whole event.

Tony also wants people to slow down and notice the people behind the food: “I encourage everyone to make a list, support all the restaurants that you can, and take time to meet the people and the faces behind these local spots.” His advice for getting the most out of the event? Pick a restaurant you’ve been meaning to try, try a cuisine that’s not in your usual rotation, and when you’re done, leave a review online. “That speaks volumes,” he said. “And it really helps the local community.”

As for Decades, they’re offering a voucher for one free scoop of ice cream with any food purchase through Sunday. Their ice cream bar is reopening this weekend, and Tony shared two flavors to try: Coindexter Crunch (a Cap’n Crunch cereal-inspired ice cream) and Chilling With My Peeps (a marshmallow-and-Cadbury-egg concoction). Both are made in-house at Decades.

Lancaster City Restaurant Week runs through this Sunday. The full list of participating restaurants and their offerings is at LancasterCityRestaurantWeek.com.