Is your favorite on the list? Pierce County unveils Restaurant Rally participants
About 300 restaurants — from Tacoma to Gig Harbor, DuPont to Buckley, Fife to Graham — will partake in the Pierce County Restaurant Rally. It starts Sunday, Nov. 8 and runs through Thursday, Nov. 12, picking back up again Nov. 15-19.
Dozens of Tacoma restaurants are on the list, which includes a searchable map. The program allows patrons to receive a 30 percent discount off their meal at select full-service restaurants. They are joined by restaurants in Gig Harbor and as far north as Purdy, and by many in Puyallup and South Hill, as far south as Elbe. Farther east, diners will find a few options in Orting, Bonney Lake, Buckley and Sumner, and on the west side, takers in DuPont, Steilacoom and even Anderson Island.
The website lists participating businesses in alphabetical order, with address, phone number, hours of operation and a direct link to their website.
It is also searchable by city, cuisine (such as Vietnamese, American/Pizza/Burgers, Seafood) and restaurant name.
Only full-service restaurants, per the federal code defining that business type, were eligible to apply. All must adhere to Gov. Jay Inslee’s Safe Start guidelines for restaurants. Independent restaurants dominate the list, but chains and franchises are not excluded from participating. That means families can find discounts at a diversity of restaurants.
Though takeout is included, alcohol and tax cannot be discounted. After discussing with restaurants, the county economic development department, tasked with administering the program, has excluded third-party delivery. Customers must order directly from the restaurant to take advantage of the 30 percent deal, whether online or by phone.
The $7.5 million Restaurant Rally program was approved last month by the Pierce County Council and funded through the CARES Act. The Council amended the original ordinance last week to explicitly embrace to-go orders. In exchange, the county will reimburse those businesses for 50 percent of their gross sales during the promotional period.
Diners at participating restaurants will automatically receive the discount for both dine-in and takeout orders.
Inspired by Britain’s Eat Out to Help Out initiative in August, the County Council created the program to support the Pierce County restaurant industry, which has lost 20,000 jobs due to the pandemic, according to the Washington Hospitality Association.
The hospitality group represents thousands of restaurants, hotels and venues across the state. Along with the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber and the tourism board of Travel Tacoma, these groups contacted the nearly 500 eligible restaurants to inform them of the program and will continue to promote it.
Council spokesperson Brynn Grimley said the list that went live Monday will grow this week as the county approves additional applications.
PIERCE COUNTY RESTAURANT RALLY
▪ Search participating restaurants at piercecountyrestaurantrally.com
▪ When: Nov. 8-12 and 15-19 (not applicable on Fridays or Saturdays)
▪ What: Receive 30% off your meal at participating restaurants, dine-in and takeout (order directly from the restaurant)
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 5:00 AM.