Saving the Eateries We Love -- How One Man Kept the Restaurants in His Community Alive During Quarantine

What if your favorite restaurant closed for good? What if there was something you could do to prevent that, even while everyone was telling you it was impossible? Rick Clark of Spokane, Washington set out with a mission to save as many restaurants as he could and he grew a humongous team to help him. In the process, Spokane Quaranteam has raised money to support many local and not so local restaurants and businesses.

In March of 2020 the United States began to systematically shut down. As the Coronavirus which began in Wuhan, China finally reached American shores, citizens and government leaders alike began to panic. What could they do to curb the spread of the potentially deadly virus. Each country was handling Covid19 prevention differently and in The United States each state tackled this problem with similar priorities but often different tactics.

In Washington State, Governor Jay Inslee instituted phases with each phase having allowed and disallowed activities. On March 17, 2020 schools were closed across the state requiring students to learn remotely. As schools scrambled to figure out how to suddenly transition to an online format, other businesses were hard hit as well. One of the hardest hit industries was food service. Restaurants already have one of the highest failure rates of businesses and then add to that a worldwide pandemic where many governments severely limited their operation and you have a widespread recipe for disaster, both for the food establishments and for the community that had come to know and love these places.

Food is sacred. It is sustaining to our bodies, and our souls. As humans we bond over delicious food. We have memories created in and around our food. The thought of hundreds possibly thousands of restaurants closing their doors for good as a result of the quarantine restrictions brought about by the coronavirus pandemic was tremendously sobering.

In March, 2020 there was a man in the community of Spokane, Washington who was frequently heard saying things like, “Not on my watch.” On March 26, Rick Clark started a Facebook Group with the purpose of garnering support for struggling restaurants. The group was called Live at 5 with Rick Clark and he would go live and talk about what was happening in and around Spokane in relation to the pandemic. He encouraged people to be safe and follow quarantine guidelines and then he looked for ways for this organically created group to provide help and support to the community.

Not On Our Watch!

Rick has a history in his community of helping. He started a non-profit called Giving Back Packs in 2015 quite by accident. Down on his luck. Out of work. His electricity shut off. Rick decided it was time to get his act together and get back in school and make something of himself. Taking the bus into downtown Spokane on his way to the community college he saw a homeless man who he later learned was named Jared. On this day, when Rick was determined to make his life take a turn for the better he also chose to talk to Jared instead of walking past as if he wasn’t there. He found out Jared had been robbed the night before while sleeping. The thief took his backpack and even his shoes. Rick made a decision to help and taking the last of his money he bought Jared some food. He then promised to return in 2 days with a full backpack for him. That night Rick posted on Facebook that he needed supplies to fill a backpack for a homeless man. Within 24 hours he had received enough supplies to fill 25 backpacks and Giving Back Packs was born.

Giving Back Packs has since supplied thousands of backpacks along with many other needs within the city of Spokane; all because one man decided to shape up his own life and then let that attitude carry over to helping others. Rick likes to point out that he was in the position of so many of the people he helps not very long ago. He thinks it is because he has been there that he truly understands and can relate. He is also great at asking for help for others. His no nonsense, very direct approach is what has endeared him to the Spokane community and enabled him to facilitate so much good. He was recently honored with the title of Outstanding Philanthropist of 2020 in Spokane. So, ...

When Coronavirus arrived, Rick not only had experience with helping people but he had a community that knew him, had seen what he was capable of and trusted his integrity.

His group Live at 5 with Rick Clark started out as encouragement and quickly turned into choosing a struggling local restaurant and raising money to help them. Here’s what that looked like:

• After a virtual pep talk of sorts,
• Rick would ask for donations of which 100% would go to the chosen restaurant.
• Next he announced which restaurant the team was blessing.

Rick derived great joy from stopping in at a restaurant and telling them he wanted to pay for 250 meals on a specific day. Most often the grateful and amazed restaurant owner would offer him a great discount due to the number of meals being purchased and Rick would politely decline, “Thank you, but no thanks. We want to pay full price for these meals. We are trying to help you survive this pandemic.”

• The last step was to announce in the Facebook group, the time window for people to get in a safe social distancing line-up in their cars and go pick up a free meal until the prepaid number ran out.

The benefits to the community from this have been extraordinary.

• Restaurants have been kept afloat
• People who needed a free meal were fed
• People who wanted to help, found an easy and fun way to bless their community
• It has brought people in the area together working on a common goal
• Friendships have been built and relationships are growing in a time when many have experienced severe social isolation.

Another amazing twist on this scenario is when Rick would arrange the purchase of a bulk amount of meals and then instead of having people inundate the restaurant, the meals would be delivered to homeless shelters, first responders, truck drivers, senior centers, grocery store workers, and more!

In July of 2020 the group changed its name to Spokane Quaranteam and there are now over 30,000 members. This is an amazing picture of a community coming together to support the local restaurants and businesses they love.

Through Phases 1 & 2 in Washington State, when customers were prohibited from eating inside at restaurants, Spokane Quaranteam helped over 173 restaurants, raised in excess of $250,000 for restaurants and provided more than 17,000 full priced meals to community members.

As the nation is struggling to get back on its feet and businesses are continuing to try to keep their doors open, Spokane Quaranteam is taking organized "Road Trips" to outlying communities with the intent of bringing an influx of customers to the small businesses in these communities. Since January of this year this has grown to include non-food businesses as well.

From their Facebook page: “In pure SQ fashion, we will gas up our rigs, dress up our cars, grab our wallets and purses and head to Medical Lake to help support local businesses who have been deeply affected by the pandemic. As we always say, “NOT ON OUR WATCH!”

Quaranteam members are encouraged to follow social distancing guidelines. Many have downloaded a CB app on their phones and can communicate with each other as they swarm into the small communities bringing good cheer, encouragement and money to spend in the local shops and eateries.

Here are some stats from their first 2 "Road Trips."

• Road Trip # 1 - Chase Honey Company - 450 cars traveled and spent $14,000
• Road Trip # 2 - Marketplace Restaurant & Amish Store - 800 cars traveled and spent $25,000

Cheers to the community members who have banded together to save all their favorite restaurants and cheers to Rick Clark the generous, funny and endearingly awkward cheerleader who has brought them all together.

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