Popeye Rings in New Year with Santa Monica Eat Well Week

SANTA MONICA, Calif. - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Popeye, Olive Oyl and Swee' pea will return to the sailorman's Santa Monica hometown to kick off the city's inaugural Eat Well Week. To celebrate California Restaurant Month, more than a dozen of Santa Monica's top restaurants will offer discounted pre-fixe menus and new healthy menu options from Jan. 6 through Jan. 13, 2013. To launch the occasion, Popeye will join three participating Eat Well Week restaurants-Locanda del Lago, The Lobster and Ocean & Vine at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel-to create "Popeye Pop-ups" , featuring healthy spinach inspired dishes and recipes on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Downtown Santa Monica Farmers Market.

"Santa Monica chefs are known for creating fresh farm to table dishes that showcase California produce at its finest," said Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau (SMCVB) CEO/President, Misti Kerns. "It seems fitting to have the world's most beloved leafy green enthusiast help us jumpstart a healthier New Year. January also happens to be Popeye's birthday month, so we're thrilled to recognize his 83^rd year by celebrating his Santa Monica roots!"

The King Features character is a Santa Monica creation both figuratively and literally in that Popeye was created by E.C. Segar in a Santa Monica studio on Jan. 17, 1929 and according to the story line, was born off the coast of Santa Monica during a typhoon. Popeye's popularity and his taste for spinach quickly turned him into an immediate health food advocate. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, soon after Popeye appeared in the syndicated comic strip "Thimble Theatre" , spinach became the third favorite children's food-after turkey and ice cream. For more information about Popeye the Sailor Man, visit www.Popeye.com.