"When you think about dining, dine local."

Those words - spoken by Charlie Goodson, owner of Charley G's in Lafayette - sum up the mission of Eat Lafayette, which opened up their 10th year of successfully promoting local restaurants at a press conference on Thursday hosted by the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce.

"I'm looking forward to loosening up my belt a couple of notches," joked Chamber President and CEO Jason El Koubi when talking about the delicious food that will be featured over the next three months.

"There would have been no awards without our locally-owned restaurants," said Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission Executive Director Ben Berthelot. He pointed out how these participating restaurants have seen 7-10% growth in revenue during the Eat Lafayette campaigns. This is just one of the reasons why the number of participating restaurants has grown from 18 in the first Eat Lafayette campaign to 83.

Anne Falgout, Director of Market Intelligence with Lafayette Economic Development Authority, pointed out that $681 million was spent on restaurants in Lafayette within the city limits.

The title sponsor for the 2014 campaign is The Fly Lafayette Club, which is Lafayette Regional Airport's way of thanking people in the Acadiana area for flying Lafayette.

Next up is the Eat Lafayette Kick off Party on June 17 when participating restaurants and sponsors create a taste of what is to come for those who attend. Make sure you listen to Newstalk 96.5 KPEL, as well as other participating Townsquare Media stations, for your chance to win tickets to this great event!

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