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Promotion offers surprise free meal for patio diners

A special restaurant promotion this month will see some patrons surprised with free meals when dining out on patios around the region. The Picnics and Patios event will see representatives showing up to cover a meal until the end of this month.
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A restaurant patio on Oak Bay Avenue. [Darren Stone, Times Colonist]

A special restaurant promotion this month will see some patrons surprised with free meals when dining out on patios around the region.

The Picnics and Patios event will see representatives showing up to cover a meal until the end of this month. They will be out on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Vancity (Vancouver City Savings Credit Union) donated $5,000 as the lead sponsor for the event, Paul Nursey, chief executive of Destination Greater Victoria, said Monday. The idea came out of a weekly business meeting between Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps and local business leaders.

Representatives of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Victoria Business Association, Destination Greater Victoria, and the B.C. Restaurant and Food Services Association – Victoria Chapter will use the money to pay for the meals.

It is a push to support local patios as restrictions are expect to ease this month, Nursey said.

“The visitor economy has struggled since the beginning of the pandemic. We want to welcome people back with open arms.

“Part of this is promoting our culinary and hospitality sectors that do so much to attract people to our wonderful region.”

Organizers are hoping to line up local politicians and media representatives to take part in the surprise, he said.

The hospitality sector has been hard-hit by the pandemic and is hoping to recover after more than a year of struggling.

“The B.C. Restaurant and Food Services Association has worked tirelessly to support our members in the past year,” said Peter de Bruyn, chair of the association’s Victoria Chapter. “We have seen strong community support for our sector on weekends, but we are still seeing some empty tables midweek. With revenue down, a promotion like Picnics and Patios makes a difference to our members’ bottom line at a time when it is certainly needed.”