Featured Business of the Week: Uptown Lounge

Despite COVID-19, many businesses in Yelm are staying strong. A prime example is Uptown Lounge, a favorite amongst locals and quite a few out-of-towners. There’s no doubt the pandemic has taken its toll on revenue with restaurants only being open for to-go orders in the beginning and now only being able to operate at 50%. But according to Uptown’s manger, Wayne McCarten, “With the fact we are only open 42% of the hours, with limited capacity, we are happy with the success and sales the restaurant is currently having.”

Their success has a lot to do with the support of the Yelm community. Many citizens sent in encouraging emails and tried their best to do as many take-out orders as possible while seating inside was restricted. McCarten also had a lot of appreciation for Line Critchfield at the Yelm Chamber of Commerce. “Line did an excellent job of promoting the Lounge and all the businesses in Yelm. She had the ‘To-Go’ Facebook page up and running in what feels like less than 24-hours. Line helped me out a lot with creating videos and trying to keep trivia nights alive by moving it to a virtual platform.”

Once the Governor allowed for restaurants to reopen inside dining, Uptown and their team were more than ready. The management team created extensive training videos on sanitization practices, PPE and customer interactions. “We were really proud of the fact that we already had all the cleaning supplies that were required and the only change we had to make to our sanitization practices was wiping down high touch zones more frequently,” says McCarten. The biggest change was to the menu, which was significantly condensed compared to what they offered pre-COVID. But don’t worry, popular items will be making their return in the next few months.

Keep up all the great work Uptown Lounge! We are proud to have businesses like you in the city of Yelm.

To view their full menu, visit their website at: https://www.uptownlounge.com/

Hours of Operation:
Friday-Sunday 12-9 pm
Wednesday & Thursday 3-9 pm