Direct Action

Tapestry started the Fine(ally) Dining Hospitality Challenge in 2024, after the founder’s local friend went vegan and then gave up eating out with her grandchildren for lack of options. This inclusivity challenge asks local eateries to add clearly marked vegan and universal meal options to their menus, and diners to review these new dishes at HappyCow.net. this challenge can be duplicated in any town. (See below.)

Fine(ally) Dining Hospitality Challenge

Covered by the Press—don’t miss out!

We invite you to join the Fine(ally) Dining Hospitality Challenge, designed to welcome everyone to our restaurants. To join the challenge, restaurants include a new dessert or soup and main dish (spaghetti, pizza, stir fry, burger, whatever suits your restaurant) that is clearly marked as either a Universal Meal (UM) or vegan (V) on the menu. (Items that merely substitute ingredients do not qualify.) Also, we ask participating restaurants to keep nondairy milk on hand for coffee/tea. Those participating will have a colorful indicator for the window/door to let diners know that your restaurant is participating in the Fine(ally) Dining Hospitality Challenge.

When: June through September of 2024

What the Fine(ally) Dining Hospitality Challenge offers restaurants:

Promotion and more customers.

—The Challenge will be covered in Coastal Currents, which arrives free at the door of every household in Gray’s Harbor (and can also be accessed online).

—Visitors will review their meals on websites such as happycow.net, where vegetarians and vegans seek the best vacation sites and restaurants;

—National media may pick up the story (attracting visitors to dine in Ocean Shores);

—The Challenge may also be covered by local media in the autumn, reporting your success!

AND you will have the pleasure of knowing that you have set a place at your tables for everyone.

Why: All of us want to be able to dine out, and we want to dine where we don’t need to ask for special dishes or inquire about prices for altered dishes (like removing nuts, cheese, and egg). All of us want selections that have 4- and 5-star ratings from customers on sites like Tripadvisor and HappyCow. As it stands, our ratings are not very good, and I know we can do better for both residents and visitors to our town. For starters, please keep a non-dairy milk for coffee and tea!

Vegan Meals feed

—vegetarians (no flesh, including all sea creatures) and vegans (no flesh, dairy, eggs, or honey)—about 10% in the U.S., that’s 40,000,000 people
—retired people who are increasingly choose vegan for health reasons;
—those who are lactose intolerant (70% worldwide; 50 million Americans);
—those with dairy or fish/shellfish allergies;
—those following religious food laws, including Hindus (do not eat cows/flesh), Buddhists (sometimes vegan), and religious minorities such as Seventh Day Adventists (often vegan/vegetarian) and Jews (kosher does not permit mixing meat and dairy).

50 vegans have already joined a recently created Ocean Shores vegan Facebook page. To find vegan recipes to feed these folks, try this site: https://www.veganricha.com/category/popular/ (Type in pizza, Italian, Chinese, etc. to find the right meal for your restaurant, or just search the web for best recipe for vegan “_____”.)

Universal Meals feed

—those with common allergies, including milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, and peanuts;
—those who are lactose intolerant (largely of African, Asian, Hispanic, and American Indian descent—70% of the global population);
—those who are gluten-free;
—vegetarians and vegans (one in ten diners are vegetarian or vegan—are they coming to your diner?);
—those following religious food laws.

For more on Universal Meals and to find recipes, visit https://www.pcrm.org/universalmeals.

How success will be measured: Winners will have, at the end of September, at least ten 4- or 5-star reviews at happycow.net for their UM/V dishes.

We all want to eat out! Please join our Hospitality Challenge.

For More Information:

Simple Steps for Your Own Hospitality Challenge

  • Set up parameters

    • What area you will include in the Challenge?

    • What types of facilities? (Consider breadth: a pizza place, an ice cream place, Chinese and Italian food, diners, eateries, pubs etc.)

    • What are the dates of the Challenge? (give yourself 2 months to set up your first challenge)

    • Will there be awards?

  • List

    • target facilities with basic contact information, including times and days open and closed.

    • local media, Facebook pages, and relevant websites that might cover/promote the Challenge.

  • Create

    • a flier explaining the inclusivity project (Be sure to mention expected media coverage and use the word “inclusive” in reference to your project rather than only Vegan and vegans.)

    • a decal to be laminated (or framed—frames are cheap and easy to find at thrift shops) for the window/door/wall of participating restaurants. Try to make it beautiful! (An attractive “inclusivity” decal in the window is obviously a perk.)

    • a website you can direct people to (or print out your flier, or create a business card — front and back)

  • Contact

    • Media and set up (and do) interviews (again, focus on inclusivity, linking added customers with unmet eating needs) and be sure to set up a follow-up article at the close of the challenge.

    • Eating places in target area (focus on their need as a business—unmet need that they can draw on, and inclusivity)

      • ask for a manager and make note of their name

      • Use key words and phrases: “media coverage,” “draw in customers,” “online visibility,” and “inclusivity.”

      • Provide awebsite link, and/or drop by with a business card/flier

      • keep notes about what you have done (“emailed Judy on June 5,” “emailed website link to Chris Dec. 6,” could not make contact Nov 8,” “Mike left message for manager May 4 and said they would reconnect—check back May 12”)

  • One week before the Challenge

    • visit participating eateries

      • check menus to be sure they have satisfied Challenge requirements

      • give them a laminated decal for their window/door

    • notify prospective diners (vegan/vegetarian/wohmever on social media)

      • encourage them to eat out at participating places (provide a list)

      • ask them to review V and UM dishes at HappyCow.net.

  • During the challenge—EAT OUT, try and review new dishes

  • At the close of the Challenge

    • assess HappyCow reviews

    • contact media for follow-up article or new media places to report all of the restaurant successes—incentive for restaurants to join the challenge

    • Thank participating facilities, media, and FB groups