Othello chamber supports local restaurants with Take Out Tuesday

OTHELLO — The Othello Chamber of Commerce is encouraging residents to support local restaurants with a new initiative named Take Out Tuesday, in which they can get take out on Tuesdays.

John Cox, past president for the chamber, said with the COVID-19 shutdowns, the chamber board is afraid they might lose some of the restaurants in town. To help prevent this, the chamber decided to encourage supporting local businesses.

For Cox, the thought of losing restaurants in town hit home a bit more when he saw a posting on social media for a restaurant he used to frequent as a child, growing up in Salt Lake City.

“The pandemic hit them hard,” Cox said. “They posted on social media that they were not going to make it. The community rallied around them. That weekend, they sold out of food. I feel pretty confident that if a restaurant in Othello were to get to that point, the community would do that. I don’t want them to get to that point so they don’t have to make that Facebook post.”

Erika Rattray, owner of Ironworks Cafe & Market, said this year’s shutdowns have affected her restaurant.

“My accountant helped me balance my books,” Rattray said. “Ironworks lost 50% of its revenue. I’ve laid off all of my employees but my manager.”

In addition to owning Ironworks, Rattray also owns a farm where she grows produce to sell at farmers markets and use in her restaurant. She has been using the profits from the farm to keep the restaurant afloat.

“I can’t imagine owning just a restaurant at this time,” Rattray said. “I would have closed my door already. I’m really glad I farmed this year.”

Ironworks has also had to cancel the tastings and classes it normally offers during the year. The number of hours it is open has been reduced. Rattray said that she could build additional outdoor seating for customers, but with ever-changing orders from Gov. Jay Inslee’s office and the 50% reduction in revenue, such building projects aren’t feasible.

Rattray is hoping the governor will allow customers to start coming back into her restaurant in January. If the shutdowns continue, she may be forced to close Ironworks.

“I don’t want to keep pouring money into Ironworks from my farm,” Rattray said. “I know I’m fortunate. There are other people where both spouses both work at it (their restaurant) and don’t have another source of income.”

It is the closure of restaurants the Othello Chamber of Commerce is attempting to prevent.

“We’ve reached out to as many restaurants in town as we could,” Cox said. “We want to get information out there about who is open.”

The chamber is posting the information on its Facebook page. So far, 12 restaurants have responded to the chamber and will participate in Take Out Tuesday. As more restaurants join, additional information will be added.

“Pretty much all of the restaurants are owned by local people, even the chains,” Cox said. “We want to be able to help everybody out. These restaurants employ local people.”

To find out when restaurants are open, visit facebook.com/othellochamber. The Othello Chamber of Commerce can be reached at 509-488-2683.

“This is an easy thing for us as a community to do,” Cox said. “Let’s support local families.”