What is Sizzle Dining? All the info you need to enjoy the last few days of the fundraiser

Sizzle Dining has been a Southwest Florida staple since co-founder and executive director Guy Clarke brought his version of "New York City Restaurant Week" to the 239 nine years ago.

There's less than a week left to participate this year's Sizzle Dining event, so now's the time to make a reservations, grab your loved ones, and go enjoy a great meal. Sept. 30 is the last day to build a Sizzle meal at a participating restaurant.

If you've never heard of Sizzle, we've got all the insider details on the history, how to participate, and what keeps the event running.

What is Sizzle Dining?

Participating restaurants create prix-fixe menus for diners to create their own meal. Menu prices are set at $19 or $29 for two-course breakfasts and lunches and $29, $39, or $49 for three-course dinners. For every Sizzle meal sold, restaurants donate a dollar to Blessings in a Backpack.

"The magic of Sizzle is that it's only four weeks long," Clarke said. The limited time frame incentivizes diners to take advantage of discounted menus while they're available.

This year, Sizzle runs from Sept. 3 to Sept. 30.

Sizzle Dining is classified as 509(a)(2) public charity, which is a pass-through charity. "We don't feed the kids. We raise the money and then give it to the charity that feeds the kids," Clarke said.

This dining promotion not only benefits your wallet and local kids, but also the restaurants themselves. September is one of the slowest months for local restaurants, wrapping up the summer slump before snowbird season begins.

Guy and Erin Clarke are the co-founders of Sizzle Dining.

From sizzling bacon to Sizzle Dining

Clarke jumped into the Naples food world by co-founding BaconFest Naples, an annual food festival that doubled as a fundraiser. "I was the bacon man," Clarke said. "For three years, everyone associated me with bacon."

But in 2015, Clarke switched from sizzling bacon to Sizzle deals and began working on Sizzle Dining full-time with his wife Erin.

"I had this weird epiphany of what a Naples Restaurant Week could be like," Clarke said. He immediately put in his 30-day notice at his job, resigned from the BaconFest committee, and sunk all his energy into Sizzle Dining.

A record 128 SWFL restaurants are participating in Sizzle this year, including two of the newest and hottest Naples spots: Estia and Blackbird Modern Asian. But it wasn't always that easy to get restaurants to sign up. Only 26 restaurants participated during Sizzle's first year, selling 11,000 dinners over 11 days. It wasn't even called Sizzle at that point. Instead, Clarke called it "Naples Restaurant Week."

Choosing the perfect charity to benefit

Clarke said picking Blessings in a Backpack as the Sizzle Dining charity was an easy choice. He resonated with the mission behind Blessings in a Backpack as someone who experienced food insecurity while growing up.

"I remember coming home and there wasn't always food in the fridge," Clarke said. "Mom did a great job, but it was the late '80s and times were tough."

The Blessings in a Backpack program was created to feed children on the weekend. Schools provide food for students during the schoolweek, but oftentimes children are left without assistance over the weekend.

Every Friday afternoon, Blessings in a Backpack provide students with backpacks full of kid-friendly, ready-to-eat items.

"At Blessings in a Backpack, we make sure kids have the food they need over the weekend so they can show up to school on Monday ready to learn," said Blessings in a Backpack CEO Erin Kerr. "But we can’t do it alone. It takes all of us — donors, volunteers, and advocates ― to make a real difference. Whether you pack a bag, make a gift, or help spread the word, you’re ensuring that more kids have the nourishment they need to thrive. Let’s do this together."

Participating in Sizzle Dining is an easy way to help Blessings in a Backpack. For every Sizzle meal sold, participating restaurants donate $1 toward the charity. Patrons can eat locally and know every bite they take is helping a child in need.

The banana brownie spring roll is a Sizzle Dining exclusive for Blackbird Modern Asian.

Sizzle's trickle-down effect

When you order a meal off of a Sizzle Dining menu, you're directly helping local kids in need. But participating in Sizzle Dining helps more of the community than you even know.

Clarke said servers make more in tips, local restaurants get more traffic during their slowest month, more couples and friend groups deicde to go out to dinner and enjoy themselves, and even local boutiques make more money when diners decide to buy a new outfit to go out in.

"The trickle down is the coolest thing to me. It blows my mind and gives me goosebumps," Clarke said.

The team behind Sizzle

Sizzle Dining wouldn't be what it is today without Deputy Director Stephanie Scholes (top left), Creative Director Victoria Sherman (bottom left), website designer Katelyn Cassio (top right), and advertising designer Rebecca Boucher (bottom right).

Clarke knows he's the face of Sizzle, but he says the real power is with four key members of his team: Deputy Director Stephanie Scholes, Creative Director Victoria Sherman, designer Rebecca Boucher and website designer Katelyn Cassio.

"Those core women have been with us for years now and without them, we'd be nothing," Clarke said.

New this year: Brunch menus & influencers

Sizzle Dining is constantly evolving and improving based on community feedback and new ideas from the team. This year, Sizzle introduced four breakfast menus and a brand new local influencer team called "Sizzle Squad."

"Originally it was to market Sizzle," Clarke said. "But it has transformed into so much more."

The dynamic group of over 70 local microinfluencers dedicates their time to supporting the Southwest Florida dining scene by creating content to promote Sizzle Dining. Members of the Sizzle Squad help promote local restaurants though social media, whether it be sharing photos or creating short-form videos like Instagram reels or TikToks.

Victoria Sherman is the force behind the Sizzle Squad, ensuring recruits are authentic, posting often, and sharing the same mission as Sizzle, which is to help small businesses and support the local community.

The Squad isn't just limited to Sizzle Dining. The group can be hired for any type of local event or business that needs help with promotion.

The appetizers on Bicyclette Cookshop's Sizzle menu include chicken liver pate (top left), chorizo potatoes (top right), and carrot pierogis (bottom).

Kicking off Sizzle Dining 2026

Next year marks 10 years of Sizzle Dining, so Clarke plans to celebrate with a brand new party called "First Bite." Taking place three weeks before Sizzle begins, Clarke hopes the party will build anticipation and excitement for another year of eating for a good cause.

"We want to put 50 restaurants under one roof," Clarke said. "Everyone will provide a one bite sample from their Sizzle menu."

Get involved: How to volunteer with Sizzle Dining

Volunteering with Sizzle Dining is unique, as Clarke says the team will give you a role based on your interests and skills instead of a pre-determined job.

There's plenty of ways to help Sizzle without directly volunteering. The easiest way is to share posts on social media to bring attention to the fundraiser. It costs nothing and puts more eyes on Sizzle.

Every Sizzle Dining meal you enjoy adds another dollar to the fundraising total.

"Support local restaurants when they need it the most," Clarke said. "It's the slowest month of the year and the worst economy we've had since 2008. If you really care about your local community, go out and get a Sizzle or just go to a local restaurant in general."

There's less than a week left to grab a Sizzle meal, so be sure to take advantage while you can. You can see the full list of Sizzle restaurants online at sizzledining.org.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: What is Sizzle Dining? All the info you need to enjoy the last few days of the fundraiser