‘Happy Hour’ promotion coming to downtown London, Ont.

A new promotion for downtown London and Old East Village (OEV) will see local restaurants offering deals and promotions on food and drink.

The Happy Hour extravaganza is happening daily until Sept. 4.

The promotion is a collaboration between Tourism London, Old East Village, London Economic Development Corporation (LEDC), and Downtown London.

The aim is to encourage Londoners to get out and visit restaurants in the core during construction.

“We’ll be the individuals who are promoting that this is happening in those areas in London, and then it’s up to the businesses to figure out what is the discount that works best for them,” says Natalie Wakabayashi, the director of culture & entertainment tourism at Tourism London.

“We’re getting the traffic out, they’re then capitalizing on those that might be stepping into their establishment.”

Participating restaurants include Joe Kool’s, Moxies, Anderson Craft Ales, and the Club House. More restaurants will be added to the promotion as the summer goes on.

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Wakabayashi adds that a promotion like this doesn’t happen smoothly without collaboration on all levels.

“The BIAs were able to onboard some of the restaurants. LEDC and Tourism London, they’re handling the marketing aspects of it, and we’re all collaborating together.”

“It’s that old thing of, you know, many hands make for light work.”

Kapil Lakhotia, resident and CEO of LEDC, the program’s goal is to inspire businesses to bring people downtown for business, and to stay for the diverse culture.

“We invite business leaders to embrace and contribute to the vibrancy of our core while building culture in their organizations by taking advantage of the ‘third place,’ between work and home. Let’s infuse our core with an extra dose of happiness and create memorable experiences for all.”

Attached to the promotion is a weekly giveaway of $100 in “construction dollars,” which can be redeemed at any participating restaurant in the core.

Those who want to participate in the giveaway submit receipts from their Happy Hour stops online. Submitting any receipts will put participants in the draw for the grand prize at the end of the summer, valued at $1000.

“For some businesses, this may be year three or four of construction for the summer. So, anything that we can do to help get people in,” Wakabayashi explains.

“It’s a really great opportunity to kind of capitalise and showcase the best of what London has to offer and, you know, get people out and experiencing a little bit more happy in their lives.”

More information can be found at happyhourlondon.ca