Community by  community, our region is beginning to get behind a concept called California Restaurant Month.

That month would just happen to be January, a time when many diners, dives, drive-ins and gourmet bistros are hurting for customers.
Santa Barbara, the Santa Ynez Valley and San Luis Obispo have been early adopters of the Restaurant Month idea with plenty of our favorite spots offering specials and wine and dine packages.

This year, Ventura County is jumping on board with a big new promotion. Like the locovore craze in food sourcing or Small Business Saturday for local retailers, these are ideas that take time to catch on. But when it comes down to it, most restaurants are quintessential small business operations.

Oxnard, a city that has worked tirelessly in recent years to try to carve out a tourism niche for itself, is promoting  Restaurant Week as a platform for showcasing its diverse culture. “This is an exciting opportunity to highlight the fact that Oxnard is a multicultural city with distinct and one-of-a-kind restaurants,” Janet Sederquist, President & CEO of the Oxnard Convention & Visitors Bureau, said in a news release.

Partaking of California Restaurant month is a great way to support small business and promote entrepreneurship. And heck, a date with your sweetie also might just make for a fun night out!