Seattle launches new way to save at local restaurants

A new financial initiative is helping consumers save money while keeping local Seattle favorites alive. Pre-loading the new Buy Black Card gives shoppers an immediate 20% discount at participating neighborhood locations facing steep post-pandemic challenges. Local advocates hope a massive summer sports weekend will turn the tide for spots hit hard by rising operating costs.

SEATTLE – City leaders and community advocates came together Saturday to announce a new way to support Black businesses around Washington, the Buy Black Card. They hope the arrival of the first local World Cup match on Monday as well as the U.S. men’s national team playing on Friday, which is Juneteenth, will help give restaurants and stores a needed boost. 

“We’re going through the same thing all restaurants are,” said Lillian Rambus, the co-owner of Simply Soulful. A business she started with her mother back in 2011, selling sweet potato pies with a recipe from her grandmother. “For us to see it slowly slipping away, and us turning and going in a backwards direction, instead of going forward.”

Buy Black Card announcement ahead of first Seattle World Cup matches

Intentionalist and Black Players for Change launched a special edition Buy Black Card with a World Cup and soccer theme that works as a prepaid card usable at nearly 150 Black-owned businesses across western Washington. 

The launch event took place at Simply Soulful, located at the historic Central District intersection of 23rd Avenue and South Jackson Street. The Juneteenth-timed initiative allows consumers to use the card at brick-and-mortar locations in Seattle, Tacoma, Kent, and Issaquah in what is a multi-year partnership by the organizations.

The card features an original design by Seattle artist Damon Brown and received backing from the Seattle Office of Economic Development, the BECU Foundation, Symetra, and the Central Area Collaborative. Their sponsorship allows customers to get 20% off. If you want to put $50 on the card, you only pay $40 but get the full amount to spend at the list of businesses accepting the Buy Black Card. 

The creators of the card say their funding will allow them to keep offering this to anyone interested through the summer. The limit at any time is $500 on one card. 

“The card is our answer to this question of how we directly impact Black-owned businesses in a way that’s tangible, that’s real, but then also creates a flywheel of opportunity,” said Allen Hopkins, the executive director of Black Players for Change.

Local perspective:

Rambus knows it’s expensive to dine out in Seattle, a city recently named one of the priciest places to enjoy a meal in the country, according to a report by the Washington Hospitality Association. That barrier for customers comes as she and other businesses struggle with the cost of labor and rent. She described the current climate as a crisis and explained profit margins are thin for restaurants, including Simply Soulful, which can only hope to take home a small percentage of what they earn. 

A survey by Intentionalist released at the beginning of the year found that more than 67% of Seattle businesses said they were under more financial strain now than during the pandemic. The data also showed more than 71% of businesses saw foot traffic down compared to the previous year. Sales were also down according to 63% of those businesses.  

What they’re saying:

“No matter how much we try to explain it to city officials,” Rambus said. “I’m afraid that by the time they are willing to listen, that it will be too late and so many people will have lost their business.”

She says her restaurant is an important anchor to the neighborhood, and it would be a great loss to the Central District if she had to move to another location. 

While her current address puts her close to Seattle Stadium, Rambus has not felt a bump in sales from the 2026 FIFA World Cup ahead of the first match on Monday. She hopes the arrival of fans and visitors into Seattle this month and the launch of the Buy Black Card will change that. 

“We’re trying to be intentional about where we spend our money. The Buy Black Card is specifically designed for that,” she said. “I hope a lot of people do support that and buy the card and come and shop at some of our Black businesses in Seattle.”

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