Press Releases
Return of Downtown Riverside Restaurant Week
in 2013, RDP introduced Downtown Riverside Celebrates Restaurant Week as a promotional effort to attract visitors to downtown Riverside restaurants and introduce them to the various dining options available. It was expanded city-wide in 2014 but discontinued after 2016. With the increase in downtown dining options, RDP has decided to revive Restaurant Week in downtown Riverside. The promotion will take place from March 28th to April 5th to include two weekends as well as the Artswalk on April 2nd.
To participate, restaurants must offer either a new three course menu or a unique item which is clearly identified as a Restaurant Week special. The intent is to draw customers downtown for something only available during the promotion. It’s also an opportunity for restaurants to try out new menu items.
There is no cost to participate in Restaurant Week. Social media posts will be developed by RDP’s marketing partners and provided to participating restaurants. There will be minimal print collateral as the goal is to drive traffic to your Facebook and Instagram. Restaurant and diners will be encouraged to post pictures of their dining experiences on Instagram. At the end of the promotion, the five restaurants with the most pictures posted will be recognized as the 2026 Restaurant Week Top Choices.
RDP Ambassadors will be distributing participation forms in late February to downtown restaurants as well as being emailed out. Please contact Janice Penner for more information or if you have questions.
RDP releases Downtown Economic Impact Study.
Why an Economic Impact Study?
RDP believes that downtowns are not only ‘gathering’ centers but also economic and cultural centers, and that investment in downtown is necessary for continued growth and prosperity.
RDP commissioned the study to provide data on the financial contributions of the downtown economy to the city as a whole to provide the rationale for investment in Riverside’s downtown.
While RDP was the lead, funders included Raincross Hospitality Corporation, the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce Downtown Business Council, Overland Development, and the Raincross Group. The Riverside County Office of Economic Development provided the data for this study.
Key Findings:
Downtown Riverside employs more than 13,000 public-sector workers, roughly 34% of total government employment in Riverside.
Downtown Riverside is home to more than 11,000 private-sector jobs, which accounts for roughly 7.5% of total employment in the City of Riverside. Together, Education (private), Health Care, and Leisure / Hospitality account for nearly 60% of private employment in downtown.
After the pandemic, Downtown Riverside has added jobs at a faster rate (25.3%) compared to the state (23.6%) and national (16.4%) economies, yet a slower rate than the rest of the city (42.2% driven by warehousing and logistics).
Downtown Riverside is home to a greater number of higher-paying private-sector jobs than the rest of the city with the average downtown worker earning a wage nearly 30% higher than the citywide average. Since 2020, inflation-adjusted earnings in Downtown Riverside have grown 5.5% compared to 1.3% citywide and 1.8% across California.
Downtown Riverside is home to a disproportionately high share of the city’s highest-paying jobs, such as Professional, Scientific, and Management Services, as well as Information. Each job created in Downtown Riverside has a bigger impact on the city’s economy than jobs created elsewhere in the city because of the greater spending power.
Call to Action
There is a growing nationwide movement to revitalize city downtowns driven by factors such as the increasing importance of walkability and sustainability, the desire to create more vibrant and attractive urban spaces, and the need to attract young professionals.
Downtown Riverside can continue to become a vibrant and economically prosperous area that is attractive to people and businesses. Investment in public transportation, construction that favors mixed-use development, tax breaks, and other incentives for new and existing businesses — as well as support for arts and cultural institutions — can help revitalize Downtown Riverside into a place where people want to live, work, and visit.
Impact of Arts and Culture
In the City of Riverside, Arts and Culture generated $26.2 million in economic activity during 2022 — $12.2 million in spending by arts and culture organizations and an additional $14.0 million in event-related expenditures by their audiences.
Nonprofit arts and culture organizations supported 291 jobs and generated $2.8 million in local, state, and federal government revenue.
Attendees spend $40.85 per person per event, beyond the cost of admission. 25.9% of attendees are nonlocal visitors who traveled from outside Riverside County and spend an average of $46.50, and 72.5% of nonlocal attendees reported that the primary purpose of their visit was specifically to attend the performance, event, exhibit, venue, or facility where they were surveyed.
Areas of Future Growth
In Riverside, Education, Health Care, Construction, and Logistics have accounted for nearly 63% of net jobs added in the last decade, while Education, Health Care, and Leisure / Hospitality have accounted for nearly 86% of net jobs added in Downtown Riverside. Education and Health Care alone accounted for half of the jobs added in Downtown Riverside.
Beyond its importance to total citywide job growth, Downtown Riverside has been a contributor to the employment growth of several industries within the city. Notably, downtown has accounted for nearly 20% of the city’s employment growth in Leisure and Hospitality in the last decade (2Q 2012 – 2Q 2022).
Next Steps
RDP with others will meet with senior City and County officials to discuss the report. Based on those meetings, additional work may be undertaken with Beacon Economics to refine the data.
Downtown Economic Impact Study – Final February 2024
Update to Downtown Economic Study Feb 2024
