Jun 13, 2022 - Food and Drink

Get paid to eat lunch in downtown Columbus

Tyler Buchanan

People are seen outside restaurants in Columbus' Arena District. — Eaters are offered lunch vouchers at more than a dozen Columbus restaurants. Photo: Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch/USA Today Network

When Axios Columbus visited the new sober bar downtown for lunch, no other patrons ate for nearly our entire meal.

Dinners there are busy, a server told us, but lunchtime remains slow — a post-pandemic dichotomy that tracks with data showing restaurant reservations are up across the city.

Driving the news: The Columbus Downtown Development Corporation is now offering incentives to encourage workers and visitors to eat lunch downtown again.

How it works: $10 vouchers are offered Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 11am and 2pm at four pickup locations: the Lazarus Building (150 S. Front St.), Capital Crossroads (23 N. Fourth St.), Experience Columbus Visitor Center (277 W. Nationwide Blvd., Ste. 125), and the Columbus Museum of Art (480 E. Broad St.).

Those with LunchBucks vouchers can use them for lunch at 17 different restaurants, from hot dogs at Dirty Frank's to club sandwiches at Lexi's next to the Statehouse.

🍴 Full list of participating restaurants.

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Get paid to eat lunch in downtown Columbus

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