Dine Out For Pride puts a dollar from your dinner toward local LGBTQ groups

Most Richmond restaurants this week have something extra riding on their signature dishes. Through June 27, more than 30 spots across the region are taking part in Dine Out For Pride, a campaign that turns a single order into a donation for local LGBTQ organizations.

Here’s the deal: for every signature item sold at a participating restaurant, $1 gets split evenly between VA Pride and the Richmond Region Tourism Foundation’s OutRVA campaign. Order the right thing, and part of your tab goes to work supporting LGBTQ people and groups around the area. The campaign runs June 21 through 27, lining up with National Pride Month.

How the campaign works

The mechanics are simple. Each participating restaurant designates a signature item, and every time one sells, a dollar is donated. The total gets divided equally between VA Pride and OutRVA, so there’s no need to pick a side or fill out anything. You just order and the rest happens on the back end.

Where the participating restaurants are

Restaurants taking part include Oh! Mochi, Fallout, Sophia Marie Patisserie, Scotty’s Taphouse, Southern Railway Taphouse, The Veil Brewing Co., Coco + Hazel, DreamHaus, L’OPOSSUM, The Fancy Biscuit, Yellow Umbrella Provisions, Birdie’s, Jackie’s Restaurant, The Beet Box, Nouveau Provisions, SB’s Lakeside Love Shack, The Mantu, Liberty Public House, Nomad Deli & Catering Company, Hotel Greene, Shagbark Restaurant, Bingo Beer Co, Harlym Blue’Z, Dave & Buster’s, The Smoky Mug, Oak & Apple, Laura Lee’s, Pinky’s, New York Deli, Fall Line Kitchen & Bar, and Kahlo’s Taqueria and Bar.

A full list, along with campaign details, is available at outrva.com/dineoutforpride.

Who the money supports

VA Pride, a program of Diversity Richmond, runs dozens of events each year and provides grants, sponsorships and scholarships for local LGBTQ people, organizations and allies. Its biggest event of the year, VA Pride Fest, is set for September 12.

OutRVA, meanwhile, comes out of Richmond Region Tourism and has spent more than a decade promoting the Richmond Region as a welcoming place to visit. The Richmond Region Tourism Foundation, a 501(c)(3), backs local education, diversity and inclusion, and sports tourism programs across the cities of Richmond and Colonial Heights, the town of Ashland, and Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico and New Kent counties.

So if you were already thinking about dinner this week, the timing works out. And with VA Pride Fest still a few months off, this is an easy way to chip in before the bigger celebration rolls around in September.