_{Top photo: Bill and Cheryl Crawford own the popular pizzeria Righteous Slice. The restaurant will offer special deals during Rexburg Restaurant Rush, March 4 to 9. | Courtesy photo}

By Emily Miller

REXBURG — For anyone needing an excuse to eat out and try some new restaurants, the Rexburg Chamber of Commerce has you covered.

Rexburg Restaurant Rush is happening March 4 to 9, with local restaurants offering deals all week long. It’s all part of an effort from the Chamber to get people out on the town to try new things and have some fun while supporting local businesses.

“January and February are slower months in the restaurant industry,” says Chamber Director Janalyn Holt. “We just wanted to get people out and about and into the restaurants to say thank you. The restaurant business can be really challenging sometimes.”

Each participating restaurant will have bingo cards to give out, with the names of restaurants in the bingo squares. When a patron makes a purchase at one of the restaurants, they’ll get their bingo card stamped for a chance to win some pretty big prizes.

Holt says the Chamber will give prizes for bingos (five squares in a row) or blackout (all squares filled), including gift baskets worth hundreds of dollars in gift cards to Rexburg restaurants. The first person to turn in a bingo will get “dinner and a show,” winning two free tickets to “My Fair Lady,” presented at the Romance Theater from March 8 to 16.

Some examples of deals for Rexburg Restaurant Rush include $3 off any new bowls at Jamba on Monday; 15 percent off for students at Steak and Berries and 10 percent off for everyone else; and 10 percent off tacos from Park Place Smokehouse on Tuesday. There are 25 participating restaurants, each with unique deals and activities for the week.

“This is our time to say thank you, to support our eating establishments that have been here for a long time and also support the new ones,” Holt says. “So grab your friends and have a social time and keep your kitchen clean all week. You can bet that I am going to try as many as I possibly can this week.”

Holt was a restaurant owner in Utah for 15 years before moving to Idaho, so she knows firsthand the challenges small businesses face.

“My husband and I owned a restaurant — a mom-and-pop Mexican restaurant — for 15 years, and I know what it means when a community supports you,” Holt says. “We were able to survive and thrive because of our local community. It’s huge when you feel the support of the people that you live around.”

Watch for more information on Rexburg Restaurant Rush on the Chamber’s Facebook page.