Do you get bored eating the same old lunches, day in and day out? I know I do. In fact, I was a little bit jealous of our Voxus colleagues in Seattle, thinking that they had far more lunch options than the team here in Tacoma. But I was wrong. Very wrong.
You see, I was looking for some variety, but had fallen into a rut when it came to eating out for lunch. There are three or four good options around our office in downtown Tacoma, including The Matador (which is directly below our office), Meconi’s pub (where we often enjoy our monthly Voxus happy hour), The Forum, and a hole-in-the-wall Teriyaki place that serves a mean fried rice.
But there had to be more, and so Foodie Friday was born. A quick search around this area revealed that Tacoma has a lot more to offer than most people may realize. Within a short walk or a five-minute drive from our office, we made a shortlist of over 35 restaurants offering everything from bar food to curry to crepes. 35! When I say ‘we,’ I mean that the idea for our very own Foodie Friday quickly became a crowdsourcer;s dream.
And what do we hope to get out of Foodie Friday? Well, it’s really three things. First of all, this gives us an opportunity to get away from our desks for an hour at the end of a busy week. We have something to look forward to as we approach Friday, and get to treat ourselves to a (hopefully) delicious lunch. Second, Foodie Friday gives us all a chance to have fun with our colleagues. We don’t expect everyone to come each week, but at least we have a brief moment to catch up with our colleagues and have some fun in a different setting. Lastly, we see this as a way to support our local Tacoma businesses, and so far we haven’t been disappointed.
Our inaugural Foodie Friday was held at The Spar, a tavern in the historic downtown area of North Tacoma, overlooking Commencement Bay. Before Christmas, we went to Shake Shake Shake, well-known in the Stadium district for its burgers and milkshakes. At the top of our list for January is Stink, a fun little sandwich and salad joint up from the famous Spanish Steps. The list of places we want to try continues to grow, so at this rate we may be able to have Foodie Friday at a different restaurant every week for the whole year. That would be awesome!
And 2017 may be even better, thanks to McMenamins. The company recently announced redevelopment plans for two Tacoma landmarks – Elks Lodge and Old City Hall. Both of these buildings are just a stone’s throw from our office, so we’re very excited to see our dining options expand even further.
The future of Foodie Friday in Tacoma looks bright!
The inaugural Foodie Friday at The Spar, Old Town Tacoma
Foodie Friday at Shake Shake Shake in the Stadium district, Tacoma