The Massachusetts Restaurant Association and rewards company Seated have teamed up to encourage dining out with a new rebate program.
Eat Out to Help Out MA is designed to get diners to visit full-service restaurants on slow days. Guests who use Seated’s app to make a reservation or signal a visit at participating restaurants will get a 50% rebate on their bill every Monday through Wednesday in November.
The rebates will come in the form of Seated Rewards, which can be redeemed for credits with brands such as Amazon and Starbucks, a Seated spokesperson said. Seated is covering the cost of the rebates. To participate, restaurants can go to seatedapp.io/eatout.
The initiative announced Friday is free for restaurants, and intended to provide a much-needed boost: Since the pandemic began, 20% of Massachusetts restaurants have closed, according to the restaurant association. Hundreds of restaurants are expected to participate, the organizations said.
Other places have taken similar steps to stoke restaurant visits. Eat Out to Help Out is modeled after a program in the U.K. that reimbursed diners for 50% of meals purchased from a restaurant between Monday and Thursday in August. And last month, Hawaii began providing unemployed residents with $500 to spend at restaurants.
It’s a win for fast-growing Seated, which in August raised $30 million in venture capital. In addition to helping restaurants, the program will drive diners and restaurants to its platform.
The partnership is the latest to lean on a tech provider to help support restaurants amid the pandemic. Last month, the cities of Chicago and Los Angeles teamed up with online ordering providers Tock and Ritual, respectively, to offer restaurants temporary free access to the platforms.
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