What could have once been described as a dining desert is now a vibrant culinary scene that is somewhat of a foodie destination. Once-empty storefronts are now lined with booths, the aroma of handcrafted dishes replaced the dust, and new life is breathed into a city that has always had the capacity to shine. It just needed a little boost.
The local dining scene in Waco has seen a major shift in the last decade. A Friday night out, a date night dinner or just a casual get-together with friends looks a lot different today than it did a handful of years ago.
In this shift, Carole Fergusson saw an opportunity.
“I started Restaurant Week back in 2019 out of the goodness in my heart and to benefit multiple organizations over the years,” said Fergusson who also serves as executive director of Keep Waco Beautiful. “In 2019, we fundraised just under $10,000 for Caritas of Waco. It was a really great event, and we had 65 local restaurants participate. [It was] very grassroots, very much boots on the ground trying to get this off the ground. And it was such a great turnout.”
So, what is Waco Restaurant Week? In short, it’s a week, typically in October, of unique deals and special menu items at restaurants across town, all designed to uplift the culinary community that serves us.
“Restaurant Week is a great economic boost to our local economy,” Fergusson explained as we chatted over drinks — a matcha with ube syrup for me — at Be Kind Coffee, one of the participants of WRW. “We all love our local businesses. We all have our favorite coffee shops and so it’s a great way to engage with local businesses and enjoy our vibrant culinary scene.”
Fifty restaurants are registered to participate this year, showcasing a wide range of cuisine from old favorites and new hot spots. Several familiar faces are returning for WRW, including Cha Community.
“One of my favorite restaurants that is coming back this year, and they’ve been on since the inception, is Waco Cha,” said Fergusson. “Last year they did these amazing soup dumplings — my mouth is watering just thinking about it — it had soup inside of the dumpling, like a flavor bomb. I still dream about those soup dumplings.”
Though the soup dumplings have not been confirmed for this year’s menu, Cha Community sees WRW as a chance to experiment with new dishes.
“That actually became a really good time for us to release something new, since there’s a lot of momentum [and] marketing,” said Cha Community co-owner Devin Li. “We always used it as an opportunity to do something new, and it’s always worked out for us.”
Milo is also returning to the WRW lineup with fun, creative dishes. This year’s Restaurant Week falls across the last week of October, and Milo is taking advantage of the holidays.
Aptly dubbed “Friki Tiki,” Milo is crafting a menu of spooky, tiki-themed food and drink to highlight Halloween and Día de los Muertos. WRW is partnering with the Waco Día de los Muertos parade to conclude the event by bringing together two celebrations of culture.
“Corey [McEntyre] is hyper creative, and so is Carole Fergusson, so it’s really good synergy and connection around creative ideas that bring people together around local business, food and all the things that we care about at Milo,” said April Leman, brand and marketing strategist for Milo.
But more than food, WRW is about community.
“A lot of people probably don’t even realize how much Waco has to offer when it comes to food and beverage,” Fergusson said. “We have some amazing chefs, we have some amazing bartenders and mixologists, we have some amazing bakers. There’s an incredible threshold of people who are creating incredible culinary experiences right here in Waco. We’re helping connect [restaurants] to both locals and tourists.”
To kick off WRW, chefs from several of the participating restaurants will compete against one another in a collaboration with Balcones Whiskey Distillery — all in good fun of course. Ticketholders will enjoy small bites and the chance to vote on their winning dish.
“I’m most excited about the community that [WRW] keeps building,” said Alejandro Najar, co-owner of The Butcher’s Cellar, which is returning for their second year. “Last year, we were the new kids on the block, so we felt like we needed to take advantage of whatever opportunities came our way. One of the big things moving to Waco was to help create a better community in the food industry. We’re excited to work with a bunch of chefs and people who are like-minded and ready to put Waco on the map for the food scene.”
At Milo, Owner and Executive Chef Corey McEntyre expressed a similar sentiment: “Milo has always been about creating a place where Wacoans can gather over soulful food with a purpose. Waco Restaurant Week is a natural extension of that — it’s a chance to celebrate the creativity and community that make Waco so special.”
A few new names are on the list of participating restaurants this year, bringing even more diversity to the lineup.
Blaine’s Restaurant & Wine Shoppe opened early this year, and owner and executive chef Blaine Fischer is excited to be joining the WRW family.
“It’s community coming together with other chefs, talking face-to-face and sharing ideas and our hopes and futures for Waco and the restaurant scene,” Fischer said. “I’m excited to showcase my food and see what other people bring to the table and celebrate everyone’s progress.”
This year’s Waco Restaurant Week is going to be “jam-packed,” Fergusson said. Several events are planned throughout the week, corresponding with Baylor’s Homecoming, Día de los Muertos and even a celebration of Waco’s Best (more details to come…).
Fergusson has designed an app to make navigating WRW as easy as possible, with a few perks. An interactive map is in the works to help locate participating restaurants and, this year, there is a passport to encourage diners to venture out and try as many new dishes as possible. People can participate in a “Taco Crawl” or “Hot Dog Crawl,” utilize check-ins to earn points for WRW merch and more.
“This year we really feel like it’s going to be bigger and better than ever,” said Leman.
The 2025 Waco Restaurant Week is Oct. 24–Nov. 1 where diners can enjoy special menus, discounted items and fun Green and Gold Day dishes. WRW registration fees supports Keep Waco Beautiful and all restaurants keep 100% of their sales during the week. A full list of events will be available at wacorestaurantweek.com in the coming weeks. Stay up-to-date on each restaurant’s specialized menu on Instagram @wacorestaurantweek.
