Frequently Asked Questions

This is a directory of restaurants and coffee shops in Tampa Bay that offer gift card purchases. Our hope is for this to be a resource for anyone who wants to support their favorite local places to grab a bite or drink.

Please help us add your fave Bay Area food & beverages spots here.

Use the gift card for meals from the establishment. Some restaurants have started offering limited dine-in seating options. Also, delivery and pickup orders placed directly with the restaurant are also great ways to support. Check their website or social media for the latest info, or browse the Tampa Bay Times' list of restaurants offering takeout. Note that some restaurants that don’t normally offer delivery have started to offer curbside pickup. Tip generously if you can (even for delivery/pickup), since employees are doing extra work and putting their health at risk.

Over the past few weeks, people have launched similar tools for their specific cities, or even nationally. Check out Help Main Street, GiveLocal, and Rally for Restaurants.

The first step is to check with your POS provider. Many offer their own gift card features (e.g. Square, Toast, ShopKeep), and others integrate with specific third-party providers. If your POS provider doesn’t offer gift cards or integrate with third-party providers, there are some reasonable standalone eGift Card apps like GiftUp or GiftFly. If you’re considering other options, make sure that your business receives the fee for the gift card as soon as the customer purchases the card (otherwise that won’t help you during the crisis). Some services may also ask customers to pay an additional fee when they buy a gift card but be sure it’s a small amount.