Prince Edward Island has launched a Dine In & Save program aimed at saving patrons money on their indoor dining cheques and stimulating the indoor dining industry in the province.
The Dine In & Save initiative, running Sunday through Wednesday from March 21 to March 31, 2021, will see the P.E.I. government reimburse participating restaurateurs up to $15 per person, per meal.
That amounts to 50 per cent of cheques, before taxes and gratuities, for up to $30 spent per patron on food and non-alcoholic beverage purchases. If more than $30 is spent, the discount is capped at $15.
To qualify, P.E.I establishments must be full-service and locally owned.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all included. The Dine In & Save program applies only to indoor dining: takeout, curbside pickup, drive-thru, or home delivery are excluded.
The initiative’s website notes the program is “an incentive to get Islanders to support their Full-Service Restaurants at a slow time of year.”
It is a partnership between the P.E.I. Restaurant Association, Canada’s Food Island, and Tourism P.E.I., which is the major funding sponsor.
The move is a response to what has been an incredibly tough period for the province’s indoor dining industry, characterized by closures and reduced capacities.
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Carl Nicholson, president of the P.E.I. Restaurant Association, said the promotion will help keep doors open and staff employed.
“It’s just one of those steps that we need to kind of help support the industry to get to the other side because if you look at what’s happening right across the country right now, there are over 10,000 restaurants that have closed that will not reopen,” he said, per CBC. “We know there are better days down the road but it’s to get to there.”
The association emphasized that all indoor dining capacity limits will continue to be respected and enforced throughout the Dine In & Save program.
About 50 restaurants across Prince Edward Island are expected to participate. According to the promotion’s website, the list of participating restaurants will be available March 17.
