Record 127 Restaurants Join Southwest Florida’s Sizzle Dining Event Supporting Child Hunger Relief

Sizzle Dining 2025 is currently in its second week across Southwest Florida, uniting food fans and local businesses for four weeks of dining deals and community engagement. There are a record-setting 127 restaurants participating in Sizzle Dining, and more than 75 of those are in Collier County. Every type of eatery is involved, from family-friendly places to extremely high-end restaurants.

The overall spending may be down a bit (3-5%), but Sizzle Dining draws plenty visitors and has an economic impact of more than $3 billion. The event provides a vital boost to the local hospitality industry, which employs over 32,000 people in Collier County and 84,000 across the region.

Participants are encouraged to make reservations, try new restaurants — including several featuring Asian cuisine for the first time — and consider staying at participating hotels for a weekend getaway. The event also serves as a lifeline for restaurants during the slower off-season months, helping them stay afloat while supporting tourism and generating tax revenue that funds essential community projects like hurricane recovery.

“It's the third year in a row we've broken the record, and we've expanded to four weeks,” said Sizzle co-founder Guy Clarke.

“Our challenge this year to everybody is to try and hit at least one restaurant per week. Try to go to some places you haven't been to, and let's help feed the kids,” Clarke said.

“The restaurants need this so bad,” Clarke said. “From the feedback I've been getting from talking to 100-plus restaurants is this is a lot of last-ditch hopes. There are a lot of restaurants out there that are really in desperate need of some business right now. They're just not as busy as they used to be and really struggling.”

“We banded together after Ian and after Irma, and everybody really went out and helped the community. We need that again,” he said. “We need that help this year. This is the time to do it. The restaurants need it.”

$1 from each meal is donated to Blessings in a Backpack, which provides meals to local children facing food insecurity. Last year's event raised over $50,000. Information and participating restaurant lists are available through SizzleDining.org.