Downtown. Unchained.

It’s dinnertime in South Bend, and everybody’s hungry. Do you choose a chain restaurant just like the ones you can find in nearly any city, or do you opt for one of the locally owned, one-of-a-kind restaurants?

For the growing number of restaurants joining the newly formed downtown dining association of South Bend, the owners are betting that many people would choose the latter option.

“Where do people go to get the true feeling of a city?” posits Mark McDonnell, owner of LaSalle Grill and the person who cooked up the idea for the association. “They go downtown. That’s what I do when I’m traveling. If you want the real thing, something that’s really reflective of a city’s character, you eat at independent, one-of-a-kind restaurants.”

Membership in the association is open to any restaurant owner who agrees to join Downtown South Bend (DTSB) and falls within an area bounded by Eddy Street to the east, Sample Street to the south, Chapin Street to the west and North Shore Drive to the north.

“All downtown South Bend restaurants and clubs have been invited to join,” says Herb Wilson, owner of Trio’s Restaurant & Jazz Club. “To date, 16 have signed up to participate.”

Membership dues will be used to market and promote the various activities that have been planned.

Those activities will kick off with “Eat. Drink. Downtown South Bend,” a special promotional event running June 27 to July 9. Participating restaurants will offer either a complete three-course meal for $25 each, or two complete dinners for $25, depending on each restaurant’s price-point.

Related activities

Dream Coach Carriages has expressed an interest in participating during many of the promotion nights, offering carriage rides through the West Washington Historic District, the Museum District and across the river to the Arts District.

“The immediate objective is to begin the process of revitalizing the downtown marketplace,” Wilson says. “We are inviting the community to visit downtown and discover what we have to offer.”

The association has a website (www.eatdrinkdtsb.com) that lists all participating restaurants with the menu offerings during the special promotional event, as well as links to their regular websites and regular menus. A map will be included with suggestions for parking, depending on the chosen restaurant.

Dinner … and more

McDonnell and other South Bend restaurateurs have teamed up with DTSB for one of its First Fridays events, “Dinner and a Movie” on the night of July 1. Guests can eat at the downtown restaurant of their choice, then stroll down to the Gridiron Plaza at the College Football Hall of Fame to take in a free screening of Casablanca starting at 9 p.m.

McDonnell says he’s hoping to dispel a few misconceptions about downtown, such as the idea that parking is expensive.

“We have four parking garages, which most of the time are free of charge in the evenings,” he says. “When there is an event at The Morris, parking is $5.”

South Bend’s core allows for something McDonnell dubs “the pedestrian factor” — visitors can walk from one place to another without having to get back in the car.

If all goes well, association members plan to hold a similar two-week event in late January and early February, and to make the two events an annual tradition.

“Downtown South Bend is a vibrant, unique place in our marketplace,” McDonnell says. “It’s where uniqueness and independence can rule the day. It’s a destination. We are inviting people to experience something beyond the chain restaurant world.”