Office Of The Mayor Of Seattle: As Welcome Back Weeks Begin, Mayor Durkan And Partners Announce New Efforts To Support Small Businesses ...

Press release from Office of the Mayor of Seattle:

Kelsey Nyland

July 12, 2021

City to Support Nearly 500 Downtown Small Businesses Through Welcome Back Weeks Efforts, Approximately 80% are Women or Minority Owned

City to Support Nearly 500 Downtown Small Businesses Through Welcome Back Weeks Efforts, Approximately 80% are Women or Minority Owned

SEATTLE (July 12, 2021) – Mayor Jenny A. Durkan today announced new efforts to support small businesses across the downtown core as part of Welcome Back Weeks occurring from July 12 – 26. The City and downtown partners launched Welcome Back Weeks to bring workers, small businesses, and visitors back downtown. Large-scale events will take place in the Chinatown-International District, Pioneer Square, and Westlake, but many small business promotions span neighborhoods across downtown and will continue beyond the July Welcome Back Weeks. Through its partnerships with the Alliance for Pioneer Square, Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area (CIDBIA), and the Intentionalist, the City is supporting nearly 500 downtown small businesses during Welcome Back Weeks, approximately 80 percent of which are Women or Minority Owned Businesses (WMBE).

“Our Welcome Back Weeks have activities and promotions to celebrate all the things we missed over the last 16 months: sporting events, concerts, and our favorite restaurants and small businesses. We’re hosting live music events with local Seattle artists, giving away tickets to our incredible championship teams, and presenting a true celebration of local small businesses throughout our downtown core,” said Mayor Durkan. “Welcome Back Weeks are about bringing together everything that makes downtown Seattle so special – with a focus on our small businesses and arts and cultural organizations. Come downtown and help us welcome back our small businesses, our artists, and our entire community after a long time away.”

“People choose Seattle as their home because of our legendary outdoor beauty, our unparalleled sense of community, and the events, small businesses, artists, spaces, and people that make this city such a wonderful place to live,” said Councilmember Lewis (District 7, Pioneer Square to Magnolia). “Seattleites are bursting with energy to celebrate their city after 16 months of sacrifice, and these Welcome Back Weeks are great opportunities to partake in all the things that make Seattle such a special place.”

“Our small businesses and arts and cultural organizations were among the first to feel the weight of the economic downturn at the start of the pandemic,” said Downtown Seattle Association President & CEO Jon Scholes. “Many businesses had to close permanently, but more than 75% of the street-level businesses that were open before the pandemic have reopened in downtown and they need our support and patronage to pull through during recovery. Welcome Back Weeks will elevate much of what makes downtown so great and provide ways to come together for experiences you can’t get anywhere else.”

As part of Welcome Back Weeks, the City has partnered with Intentionalist to launch a series of small business promotions across Belltown, the Chinatown-International District, the Downtown core, and Pioneer Square. 

Intentionalist

Receipt and Receive

A program to offer $10 off at participating downtown small businesses

A program to offer $10 off at participating downtown small businesses

The Intentionalist is launching Receipt and Receive, wherein a customer uploads a receipt from a purchase made any small business in Belltown, Downtown, Pioneer Square, and the Chinatown-International District between July 12 and 25, and receives a $10 Intentionalist coupon code that they can be used to make purchases from participating small businesses through the end of the month. Participating downtown small businesses include Taqueria Cantina (downtown location), Piroshki on 3rd, Fulcrum Coffee, Sassafras, Jerk Shack, Bangrak Market, Hood Famous Cafe + Bar, and Jade Garden. In addition, Intentionalist will be randomly selecting daily winners to receive a $100 gift certificate from local businesses. A full list of participating small businesses can be found here. 

Intentionalist Intentionalist

Welcome Back Coupons 

Shop at participating small businesses neighborhoods throughout Seattle and receive $10 coupons throughout the month 

Shop at participating small businesses neighborhoods throughout Seattle and receive $10 coupons throughout the month 

Folks who shop at Hood Famous Café + Bar and Jade Garden in the Chinatown-International District, as well as Fulcrum Cafe and Taqueria Cantina in Downtown from July 12 – 16 will receive a $10 Welcome Back coupon to spend in-person at participating Chinatown International District small businesses. Participating businesses include KOBO, Chu Minh Tofu, Alice’s Floral Design, Fort St. George, Sairen, and New An Dong. Welcome Back coupons can be used from July 17 – 31. Learn more about Welcome Back coupons here. 

Intentional Tabs

$500 tab on the Intentionalist throughout Welcome Back Weeks

$500 tab on the Intentionalist throughout Welcome Back Weeks Discounted gift certificates for downtown small businesses for those unable to attend events in-person

This press release was produced by Office of the Mayor of Seattle. The views expressed here are the author’s own.