SYRACUSE — More than 40 downtown Syracuse restaurants are participating in the first “Delicious Downtown Deals” promotion.

The restaurants include five new eateries that just opened at the Salt City Market. The meals are available for dine in, curbside, and to go.

The promotion started Feb. 1 and continues all month long through Feb. 28, according to the Downtown Committee of Syracuse, Inc.

The specials and deals vary from restaurant to restaurant. Some eateries are offering package deals, including some for $20.21, reflecting the calendar year. Others are serving up three-course lunches and dinners at a fixed price point, similar to what the community has come to expect during the traditional “Downtown Dining Weeks” promotion, which the Downtown Committee plans to present “later this spring.”

“Right now, there is an exciting energy in our community as we continue to show our love for our local restaurants, retailers, and the cultural institutions that make this city center so special,” Merike Treier, executive director of the Downtown Committee of Syracuse, said in a statement. “We plan to hold the traditional Dining Weeks promotion later this year, but we didn’t want to miss out on celebrating the flavors that so many have come to look forward to each year around this time. We hope you’ll visit your favorite restaurants — and discover new ones — in whatever ways you and your families are most comfortable with. Enjoy dining in, curbside pick-up, and/or takeout.”

Passport-promotion contest

As part of the promotion, the Downtown Committee is also hosting a passport-promotion contest.

Throughout the month of February, as patrons visit one or more participating restaurants, they can earn stickers when they purchase a restaurant’s specified “Downtown Deal.”

Seven or more stickers (deal purchases) earn patrons one entry in the prize drawing, 14 or more earn two entries in the prize drawing, and 21 or more earn patrons three entries in the prize drawing. 

Participants may also email Mail@DowntownSyracuse.com, sharing their favorite 13202-zip-code restaurant, specifying their favorite meal and why it is, to earn an entry into the drawing.

Passport cards may be picked up at participating restaurants or downloaded at the Downtown Committee’s website. To redeem passports, patrons can email a picture of their card (front and back) to the Downtown Committee at Mail@DowntownSyracuse.com. 

If you don’t have a smartphone, please mail it to the Downtown Committee of Syracuse, Inc. at 115 West Fayette St, Syracuse, N.Y. 13202 c/o “Passport Promotion.” 

All submissions must be received by March 1. The drawing will be held during the first week of March.

Meal and a Museum 

Four museums are also joining the “Delicious Downtown Deals” campaign. Throughout the month of February, visitors are encouraged to visit any of the participating restaurants to pick up a pass that will grant them a 10-percent discount at the Onondaga Historical Association’s gift gallery or at the Erie Canal Museum, one free admission at the Museum of Science and Technology (MOST), or one free admission at the Everson Museum of Art. 

“Meal and a Museum” passes are only available at participating restaurants, the Downtown Committee said.