Hungry? Eat your way through The City of Falls Church and parts of Arlington this summer for a chance to win prizes and discounts via the very first Greater Falls Church Foodie Trek.
Now through the end of August, you can pick up a passport from any of a dozen participating restaurants and get a stamp each time you place an order. Turn in your stamped passport between Aug. 18-31 and you’ll be entered into a raffle with the chance to win one of three gift baskets containing restaurant gift cards and swag—such as a Harvey’s hoodie or a T-shirt from The Falls.
The participating restaurants in this inaugural dining promo are Borek-G, Café Kindred, Ellie Bird, The Falls, Harvey’s, Ireland’s Four Provinces, Panjshir, Preservation Biscuit Co., Solace Outpost, Stray Cat Bar & Grill, TeaDM and Westover Taco.
The idea for the trek came up during a meeting of local restaurant owners who were brainstorming ways to drum up business during the summer months. Tricia Barba, owner of Preservation Biscuit Co., says the season can be brutally slow for local kitchens as regulars head out of town on vacation.
“I got together with Jen Demetrio, co-owner of Café Kindred, and Sarah White of Westover Taco,” Barba says. “We wanted to highlight the range of these independently owned restaurants.” If the promotion gains traction, she says they’ll consider repeating it during other times of year.
Barba, who also planned Falls Church Restaurant Week last winter, emailed a group of fellow hospitality pros and asked who was interested. The first 12 restaurants to respond made the inaugural list.
“Anyone who replied later, I told we’ll hopefully be doing it again,” she says. “The goal is not to highlight the same restaurants [every time], but to make it fun and share the love.” She printed about 900 passports. So far 500 have already been claimed.