OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — There's an excuse to eat out this week in Oshkosh, as the 7th annual Oshkosh Restaurant Week returns. And for Parm, a pizza place on Oshkosh Avenue, it's also a time to celebrate their beginnings.
- Parm celebrated their two-year anniversary on Jan.11.
- Oshkosh Restaurant Week features special menus and three-course meals from local restaurants.
- There are 30 restaurants participating this year.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, edited for web)
Andy Saray hopes his restaurant, Parm, will be similar to the bar in the TV show, "Cheers."
"Everybody loves having that kind of 'Cheers' place to go," he says. "For me it's important to be that place, no matter what the occasion is."
Something that's evident in the wine corks glued to his wall.
"If you buy a bottle or you're celebrating something, whatever, you just write on the cork, we put it up there," he says. "There's marriages, there's divorces, there's all sorts of stuff up there. So it's really cool to be a part of a memory."
Born and raised in Oshkosh, Saray has dreamt of owning a restaurant since he was 14.
"I knew pretty quickly this is what I wanted to do," he says.
And on Jan. 11, 2023, that dream became reality.
"It's pretty surreal," he says. "I'm very grateful to be here for the last two years, and you know, hopefully for many more to come."
Thanks in part to the seed money provided by his dad, who passed away before he could see Saray open Parm, but who's picture hangs on the wall
"For me it's a reminder of like keep working, make him proud, that kind of thing," Saray says.
Celebrating two years open, and at the same time, participating in Oshkosh Restaurant Week.
"You can choose from breakfast, lunch and dinner menus, each restaurant offers something different," Caitlin MacWilliams, marketing and communications coordinator for Discover Oshkosh, says.
The event runs 10 days, Jan. 16 - 26.
Participating restaurants can offer a $13 special breakfast meal, a $17 three-course lunch meal or a $29 three-course dinner meal.
Some restaurants have multiple menus, and many, including Parm's, feature items not typically served at the restaurant.
January marks an important anniversary, and the second biggest week for Saray, behind EAA.
"We literally double the foot traffic," he says.
Starting off the New Year for Parm.
"I love what I do, that's part of it too," Saray says. "It's really easy to come to work."
