President and CEO Dave Herrell says it's been a long two years for hundreds of restaurants and their employees.
"They're small businesses and the majority are family-owned and they're incredibly authentic and just a huge part of our brand."
Local restaurants are also important for tourists, and their contribution to our economy.
"When people are traveling, they're looking at a few key things and restaurants always trend very high in terms of delivering a high quality experience. So we have to make sure they're thriving and successful, because it's so key to what we do every day to market and promote our destination."
Through Tuesday, Visit Quad Cities is accepting nominations for the best restaurant employees, and so far more than 200 have been received (qcrestaurantweek.com)
Herrell says more than 60 restaurants have put together special menus and promotions for this year's QC Restaurant Week.