Weekly cash prizes for restaurants up for grabs through Dine Prince George's competition

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. (WJLA) — Voting is open for Prince George’s County restaurants to take home as much as $3,000.

It’s part of the Dine Prince George’s competition through the county’s economic development corporation.

Each week, patrons will have from midnight Monday to 3 pm Friday to vote for their favorite county restaurant.

The top-three vote getters are announced at 4 pm.

First place receives $3,000. Second place receives $2,000, while third place receives $1,000.

The contest starts again the following Monday with the final winners announced on April 30.

Restaurants can only win once, but patrons are allowed to vote once every minute.

Michael and Tyra Harris of PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans in Bowie took home second place for Week 1.

“The fact that [our customers] were willing to go the extra mile to continue to give us the votes and give us enough of the votes that we were able to come in second place was definitely a surprise and just wonderful for us,” said Tyra Harris.

It also speaks to the restaurants customer base.

The Bowie franchise of the New Orleans-styled coffee shop opened last August after a delay.

“We actually hired people and were ready to open in February, so we actually had staff, so we just didn’t open our doors or have revenue or payroll,” said Michael Harris.

It’s one of the reasons they couldn’t apply for the PPP program.

They were able to apply for the Prince George’s County Restaurant Resiliency Fund, so the extra $2,000 from the Dine Prince George’s fund also helps.

Michael Harris says the money will go toward building up the business which includes a safety standpoint as more people feel comfortable dining indoors.

“We do have HEPA filters throughout. We do want to upgrade our HVAC system so that we can have larger presence to help with the filtration of being here. We want to do all we can to keep our customers and our staff safe.,” he said. “We’re going to have things like pour over coffee, things that to create a coffee experience.”

The Harrises say they want their coffee shop to be a place of community.

They have a staff of 17, mostly between the ages of 16 and 24, and create network opportunities for those who enter their doors.

They both come from the field of law, so this change was an adventure.

“Because I’m somewhat of a coffee snob, I appreciate coffee and I found that there was just a void in our neighborhood for premium coffee,” said Tyra Harris.

Now, she’s living her dream and creating opportunities for others, as customers have done for her.

To voe in the contest, click here.