Plate of Nations is Bringing Back Date Night!
With participating restaurants spanning the globe from Laos to Ethiopia, Southeast Seattle’s Restaurant Promotion Week highlights the unmatched diversity of its amazing food — and culture.
Between March 21 and April 6, western Washingtonians can emerge from a dark winter and hit the town on a 17-day culinary and cultural world tour – and they won’t have to venture beyond Seattle to do it. HomeSight’s Plate of Nations will return for its 14th year of celebrating southeast Seattle’s vibrant culinary scene, and this year, we’re inviting everyone to make their adventure a whole evening out with dinner and a show.
This year, Seattle’s most diverse restaurant week will feature around 75 independently owned restaurants that highlight the incredible cultural diversity in southeast Seattle, particularly along the Martin Luther King, Jr. corridor.
In addition, social media contests on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook leading up to the event will offer chances to win “dinner and a show” – gift cards to participating restaurants and tickets for local movie houses, music venues and theaters in southeast Seattle. Customers can win prizes during Plate of Nations by downloading a “passport” from the Plate of Nations website, or at any participating restaurant) to record their culinary trip around the world.
Participating restaurants include neighborhood favorites as well as brand-new establishments. They include Taco City, Delish Ethiopian, Rainier BBQ, The Original Philly’s, Southtown Pie and many more.
Immigrants from around the world have settled in Rainier Valley and started businesses that provide cultural favorites for ethnic communities looking for a taste of home. Those restaurant owners are excited to welcome other customers to join in their traditions.
“Southeast Seattle is so unique,” said HomeSight’s Community Development Director Sarah Valenta. “You can walk down the street and hear dozens of languages spoken. With so many cultures represented here, our food scene has choices from all over the world, and it’s all as authentic as you can possibly get. We’re so excited to partner with southeast Seattle’s cultural institutions as well this year. It’s a real celebration of what southeast Seattle has to offer.”
The event was conceived in 2011 by former Salima owner Asari Mohamath, a Cham Muslim refugee from Vietnam. HomeSight – a nonprofit catalyst for equitable homeownership and community development in southeast Seattle – has organized Plate of Nations since its inception.
Sponsored and managed by HomeSight, Plate of Nations is co-sponsored by the Martin Luther King Business Association, Amazon, the Seattle Office of Economic Development and the Essential Southeast Seattle Collective.
Meet the woman behind Plate of Nations: Sarah Valenta
During nearly 20 years at HomeSight, Community Development Director Sarah Valenta has been a woman with a mission, a vision, and an appetite for growth.
Southeast Seattle was a different neighborhood when Sarah Valenta began her HomeSight career in community development. “Back then, the city’s goal was to fill storefronts however possible,” said Valenta. “HomeSight’s approach to community development was different. We recognized southeast Seattle was at risk for gentrification, so we set goals that prioritized anti-displacement and neighborhood retention. We collected data, did research, and involved the entire community in planning for programs and progress.”
The storefronts along Rainier Avenue filled with small business owners who lived in the community. HomeSight’s focus grew to include businesses and community members in all of Rainier Valley.
“Building generational wealth through business ownership and growth is a traditional way for people of color, immigrants, and refugees to improve their economic situation,” Valenta said. “Supporting entrepreneurship and business growth in Rainier valley helps these specific communities but we’re really lifting whole community. We’re all in this together.”