La Palma Launches 30-Day Challenge to Stay Open
The Seattle Mexican restaurant, serving neighborhoods for 50 years, is asking customers for support as business struggles.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Dining Out
Live Poll
Would you make a special trip to eat at a struggling local restaurant?
La Palma Family Mexican Restaurant in North Queen Anne has launched a 30-day social media challenge to keep its doors open. Customers filled the restaurant and boosted online engagement during the challenge's first days.
Why it matters
Business at the restaurant has been struggling, and the owners are worried about its future. The effort shows how a long-running neighborhood restaurant in Seattle is turning to social media to attract enough support to stay in business.
Instagram posts from La Palma drew more than 28,000 likes and 1,400 comments on a single video, while the same video reached more than 187,000 TikTok views. About 25 days remained in the 30-day challenge, and it is not yet known whether it will raise enough support to keep the restaurant open.
The players
La Palma Family Mexican Restaurant
A North Queen Anne restaurant that has served Seattle neighborhoods since 1976 and survived recessions and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pedro Perez
The restaurant co-founder who immigrated from Mexico to Washington in the early 1970s and served as main cook for 25 years, creating all of its recipes.
Astrid Perez
The restaurant co-founder who, with Pedro Perez, opened La Palma in 1976.
The details
The challenge runs through daily videos posted by the restaurant, shares from Seattle-area food influencers, and local media coverage. Owner Jewett showed the full parking lot in a video and encouraged customers to carpool.
Timeline
1970s: Pedro Perez immigrated to Washington from Mexico.
1976: Pedro and Astrid Perez founded La Palma Family Mexican Restaurant.
Nov. 3, 2026: The 30-day challenge was launched and reported.
Days three and four of the challenge: The restaurant was packed and Jewett thanked the community.
Culture Shift
Long-established independent restaurants increasingly rely on short-form video platforms to reach customers directly rather than through traditional advertising. La Palma's challenge follows that pattern, with its 50-year history giving the appeal a personal, neighborhood-based angle.
Diners in Seattle can support La Palma by visiting the North Queen Anne restaurant or sharing its videos during the challenge. Customers who want to help are encouraged to carpool, as the restaurant's parking lot has been filling up.
The takeaway
Supporting a neighborhood restaurant can be as simple as visiting in person, sharing its posts, or bringing friends along. Small, consistent customer visits often matter more to independent restaurants than one-time attention.
Further reading
For more local restaurant coverage, see Dining Out in Seattle.
Source note: This article includes information reported by My Northwest.
Live Poll
Would you make a special trip to eat at a struggling local restaurant?
