Live Event: Join TNT Diner for a panel discussion on Tacoma’s hospitality scene
A personal invitation from TNT Diner reporter Kristine Sherred:
Tacoma seems to forever be on the precipice ... of something. Will the midsized city that anchors the South Sound live up to the potential so many see in her?
Of course I approach this question from a culinary perspective, but there’s more to it than just good food, a cold drink and a sense of camaraderie that can only be accomplished through a shared meal in a public place.
The restaurant and hospitality industry contributes nearly $1 trillion to the U.S. economy and employs around 10% of the working population. A vast majority of restaurants are small businesses with fewer than 50 employees, and around 70% are singular operations. They are more likely than in any other industry to be owned by immigrant families, first-generation entrepreneurs and people of color. And America loves restaurants: As our lifestyles have shifted, we now spend more money than ever on “food away from home,” the research term to describe what we don’t buy at the grocery store and prepare ourselves. Americans officially dine out — whether at a full-service experience or via a pickup window — most of the time.
Yet the industry continues to struggle. Restaurants can’t find enough staff to meet their ideal service schedules. Seasonal fluctuations have become weekly question-marks. They are burdened with seemingly ever-increasing costs and regulatory hurdles — even well-meaning ones — that can feel suffocating to modest family-run businesses. They must wrangle with the sometimes cruel ecosystem of online reviews and a society that seems to be getting meaner by the minute — or at least much sleepier.
I hear these tales in my daily conversations with local restaurant owners and workers in and around Tacoma.
No city in contemporary America can thrive without a vibrant restaurant scene. But in my almost six years here, I have come to see Tacoma as stuck: told she had what it takes to become the next “it” place only to languish in a constant state of churn — one step forward, two steps back.
What does the local industry need to really shine?
On Wednesday, Sept. 3, I’ll dig into those questions and much more in a panel discussion with president of the Washington Hospitality Association Anthony Anton and three local business owners:
- Billy Beckett, co-owner of Red Star Taco Bar in Tacoma and Seattle
- Billy Frederick, the second-generation owner of Chalet Bowl in Tacoma’s Proctor District
- Mikey de Alwis, co-owner of Chez Lafayette Creole Brasserie in downtown Tacoma and Bourbon Street Creole Kitchen in Puyallup
This event is sponsored by Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce and Washington Hospitality Association in collaboration with Downtown Tacoma Partnership and host venue Nate Jackson’s Super Funny Comedy Club.
It’s free to attend, but advance registration is recommended at business.tacomachamber.org/events.
The bar will be open for cash/card service, as will the kitchen, which serves a full menu of pub fare (wings, burger, hot chicken sandwich, salads, flatbreads and more) plus happy-hour snacks.
All are welcome. I hope to see you there!
Reimagining Hospitality in Tacoma - Live Event
- What: panel discussion with local hospitality pros, moderated by TNT Diner
- When: Wednesday, Sept. 3, 4:30-6:30 p.m. — doors open at 4 p.m.
- Where: Super Funny Comedy Club, 1530 Pacific Ave. (below Courtyard Tacoma Downtown by Marriott)
- Tickets: free, registration requested business.tacomachamber.org/events