Maine’s Midweek Dining Deals + Offers to Beat the Winter Blues

Winter in Maine is a season of charm. Snow-dusted streets. Cozy, fireside dining. For restaurants and other eateries, the cooler months can also mean quieter days and less foot traffic. That’s why Winter Wednesday was created—a community-driven initiative to bring people together, encourage midweek dining, and support our vibrant hospitality industry during the heart of the season.

What is Winter Wednesday?

Every Wednesday through March, participating restaurants, bars, and eateries across Greater Portland are offering exclusive deals and promotions to encourage diners to enjoy a midweek meal out. Whether it’s discounted menu items, special prix-fixe meals, or creative winter cocktails, Winter Wednesday is all about giving food lovers a reason to support their favorite local spots while enjoying the best of Maine’s winter dining scene.

Bringing Attention to Local Businesses

Visit Portland, the Portland Regional Chamber, Portland Downtown, Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce, and HospitalityMaine have launched a coordinated promotional campaign to spread the word and drive diners to restaurants and bars across the state. Several public relations efforts have already helped amplify this, with more to come in the weeks ahead.

Radio Advertising to Reach Maine Listeners

Winter Wednesday has been featured on some of Maine’s most popular radio stations, thanks to a partnership with Townsquare Media. The campaign has been running on WBLM, WCYY, WHOM, and Q97.9 to encourage listeners to dine out on Wednesdays. With an additional four weeks of advertising now secured, the initiative will continue through March.

Statewide + Local Media Coverage

Winter Wednesday has gained attention from multiple media outlets, helping spread the word to potential diners.

• WGME’s ARC Maine featured the campaign, highlighting how local restaurants are getting involved. Watch the segment here.
• Maine Public’s Maine Calling hosted a discussion on restaurant trends, with HospitalityMaine and Visit Portland joining to talk about Winter Wednesday. Listen to the segment here.
• MaineBiz covered the initiative, offering insights on its impact and goals. Read the article here.
• WBLM 102.9 feature article about brightening Maine Winter with Winter Wednesday deals and offers. Read the article here.

Winter Wednesday Promo Snippet

Boston Media Exposure Through Mix 104.1

As part of an ongoing media collaboration, Boston radio host Gregg Daniels of Mix 104.1 visited Portland with his family to experience Portland in the Winter. Following his visit, he will share his experience across his radio and digital platforms, providing additional exposure to the initiative in the Boston market.

Social Media Promotion + Restaurant Features

The Visit Portland team has been visiting participating restaurants to film short videos and share them on social media. These reels and stories are featured on Visit Portland’s Instagram and Facebook pages, showcasing special dishes, cozy dining atmospheres, and behind-the-scenes moments from Winter Wednesday participants.

Restaurants and bars are encouraged to reshare these posts to amplify reach and bring more attention to their offerings.

• Instagram: @visitportland
• Facebook: Visit Portland

Visit Portland team has also visited the first round of participating partner businesses to film reels to post on social media. These are just screenshots, but you can see where we are heading. Check out what we’ve done so far under our Highlights. If you have any content to share as a partner, email them to news@visitportland.com.

Keep the momentum going by using the #WinterWednesdayME hashtag and encourage visitors to use the phrase and share their plate online.

How Restaurants and Businesses Can Help

Winter Wednesday thrives on community participation. To maximize the success of this initiative, restaurants and bars can help by:

• Promoting their Winter Wednesday specials on social media to inform visitors about what’s available.
• Using the hashtag #WinterWednesdayME so followers can easily find participating restaurants.
• Encouraging diners to share their experiences by posting photos, tagging restaurants, and using the campaign hashtag.

For a full list of participating restaurants and offers, visit www.WinterWednesday.com.

Keeping Maine’s Dining Scene Strong This Winter

Let’s work together to support local businesses and keep Maine’s restaurant scene thriving and our community connected. Whether through dining out, sharing on social media, or spreading the word, every effort helps ensure that Greater Portland remains a premier food destination all year long.

Thank You to our partners for Hosting Boston Radio

It is because of you that Boston Radio DJ, Gregg Daniels, along with his wife and two kids, could explore the region firsthand and share about the time he had visiting back in Boston. On air he already mentioned he couldn’t believe it had been 25 years since he and his family visited Greater Portland and that he could not wait to come back again. (Soundbite below was shared by Mix 104.1)

We will keep this page updated with Boston Radio soundbites and photos from the campaign, so stay tuned.