Pierce County subsidy of restaurant meals was delicious idea, and even better now

Not only has the COVID-19 pandemic hindered our capability to gather safely and spontaneously in our favorite dining spots, it’s decimated the restaurant industry. The closure of eating-and-drinking mainstays including Pacific Grill, The Swiss and C.I. Shenanigans are high-profile examples but certainly not the only ones.

In an effort to alleviate some of the damage, the Pierce County Council created a program called Restaurant Rally. On Tuesday, they made it better.

Here’s how it works: Between Nov. 8-12 and Nov. 15-19, patrons will receive a 30-percent discount on purchases in participating restaurants. In turn, dining establishments will receive 50 percent reimbursement. Payments will be received on gross sales and will exclude alcohol.

The county will subsidize these full-service restaurants using $7.5 million from its share of federal CARES Act funding. The fiscal steroid shot isn’t exactly a lifeline, but it could give business owners enough cash to keep the lights on for another month or two, and that’s not nothing.

The original Oct. 6 ordinance covered only dine-in meals, but due to the dynamic nature of the pandemic, the council voted unanimously Tuesday to modify qualifications to include curbside and take-out orders. That’s a smart pivot considering this month Pierce County has seen the highest number of daily coronavirus cases since the pandemic began.

It’s a bit of a head scratcher as to why the council didn’t include take-out from the get-go.

For months the Centers for Disease Control has been warning of the co-occurrence of coronavirus infections and influenza peaking in the fall.

The original dates were scheduled as if the council has a crystal ball for infection spread. The council should consider the mantra: “Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.”

There’s no ignoring that Restaurant Rally is rife with mixed messages, the prevailing one being: How come the county sanctions opening restaurants, but not schools?

Only elected officials can answer that one. All we can say is that patrons participating in the program should be mindful that restaurant dining increases the risk of infection. According to the Lancet, the UN’s COVID-19 commision, lifting bans on gatherings was associated with a 25-percent increase in the reproduction number (R) of the coronavirus.

The one consistent feature of the COVID-19 response is how it continually pits public health concerns against the interest of struggling businesses. We believe the County Council struck a solid compromise in this difficult calculus.

Given the new parameters, the county also extended the deadline to apply; 485 restaurants in Pierce County currently qualify for the program, but so far less than 200 have done so.

We hope the change will spur an influx of applications as the program helps restaurant workers, who, pre-pandemic, relied heavily on tips to keep their households going.

The financial fallout of COVID-19 has hit these food service workers hardest. As county spokesperson Brynn Grimley told a member of the Editorial Board, “The majority of people applying for rent assistance and other county support programs are in the hospitality industry.”

So, if you remember nothing else from this editorial, remember this: Tip your servers and tip them well, and, yes, even for take-out orders. If you participate in the Restaurant Rally, consider passing on some (or all) of your discount to them.

This story was originally published October 27, 2020 at 4:05 PM.