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The short answer A bar and grill that hires local puts money back into Grant County. Wages get spent at the gas station, the grocery store, the kids' school fundraiser. A bar that brings in staff from outside the area, or relies heavily on contractors, doesn't do that. The difference shows up in the local economy and in who's behind the counter when you walk in. What local hiring actually looks like It's not just about where someone lives on paper. It's about whether the cook

Short answer: game days get loud between kickoff and halftime, especially for Seahawks and Gonzaga games, but weekday afternoons and early evenings stay calm. If you want a quiet meal, come before 11 a.m. on a weekend or any weeknight after 7 p.m. that isn't a marquee matchup. This place runs on two different energies depending on the day. Weekday lunch and early dinner feels like a normal family bar and grill. Weekend afternoons during NFL season, or any night with a Gonzaga

If you eat gluten-free or dairy-free, the safest bet at 12 Hawks is a grilled protein, a plain salad without cheese or creamy dressing, or a burger without the bun. Fries and other fried items carry cross-contact risk because they share fryer oil with breaded foods. Tell your server about your allergy when you order, not after the food arrives. What works for gluten-free diners Grilled chicken breast, steak, and most fish options don't contain gluten on their own. Salads are

Cinco de Mayo lands on a Monday this year, May 5, which means normal weekday hours apply and nothing gets pushed around. Doors open for breakfast, happy hour runs 2 to 4pm, and the bar stays open through dinner and the evening games. What's different about the day The kitchen adds a short run of Cinco de Mayo specials alongside the regular menu. Expect a steak or chicken fajita plate, a pork carnitas taco trio, and a chile verde bowl, each priced between $14 and $18. These ar

Expect every big UFC and boxing pay-per-view to be live on every screen in the house, prelims and all. No commentary muted, no switching to a game instead. If it's fight night, that's what's on. How Fight Nights Work Here Most UFC and boxing cards run on East Coast scheduling, which means prelims usually start around 3 to 4 pm Pacific and the main card gets going closer to 7 pm. That's earlier than a lot of people expect. If you want a seat for the walkouts, show up for the u

Two people can expect to spend between $35 and $110 on a date night out, depending on whether you hit happy hour, order appetizers and drinks, or go for a full dinner with cocktails. Here is how that breaks down so you can plan ahead. Happy Hour Date: $30 to $45 This is the cheapest way to have a real night out. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday, 2pm to 4pm. Two people splitting a couple of appetizers and drinking discounted beer or well drinks usually land between $30 an

The menu runs close to 70 items total once you count breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the drink list separately. That's wide enough to cover a family with four different appetites, but tight enough that food still comes out fast when the place is packed for a game. Here's how it breaks down, meal by meal. Breakfast: about 15 plates Breakfast sticks to the basics and does them well. Eggs, hash, pancakes, omelets, and a few skillet dishes make up around 15 items. That's a short li

The short answer: we stay open through most winter weather. Snow on the ground does not close the kitchen. We only adjust hours when Grant County roads get genuinely dangerous, usually tied to a WSDOT closure on Highway 283 or a county-wide storm warning. If that happens, we post updated hours by 6am on our Facebook page and on the home page. Normal hours, so you know the baseline Breakfast starts at 7am. The kitchen runs until 9pm most nights, later on Friday and Saturday wh

Plan to eat between 5:00 and 6:15 pm for a 7:00 pm Friday night football kickoff. That window gets your family fed, paid up, and in the stands before the national anthem, without racing through dinner. For earlier games, like a 4:00 pm JV match or a weeknight volleyball game, aim to arrive 60 to 75 minutes before start time. Why Timing Matters on Game Nights Ephrata High School sits close enough to downtown that a lot of families treat dinner and the game as one trip. The pro

Veterans and active duty military eat free on Veterans Day, November 11. Show a military ID, DD-214, or VA card and get one entree up to $16 off the menu, no purchase required. This runs all day, from breakfast through dinner, while the kitchen is open. Here's what that actually covers and what it doesn't. The free entree applies to one item per veteran, dine-in only. It does not include alcohol, appetizers, or dessert, and it can't stack with other discounts. If you bring fa

The short answer: find a spot with multiple screens, a kitchen that stays open through extra innings, and a happy hour that covers the pregame. In Ephrata, that combination is harder to find than you'd think. Here's what to know before first pitch. Game times and what that means for dinner World Series games typically start around 5:00 or 5:30 p.m. Pacific time, which puts first pitch right in the middle of dinner service. That's good news if you're planning to eat anyway. It

Ephrata has one bar and grill with a working pool table, dart boards, and enough screens to catch every game at once. Here's what's actually inside, what it costs, and what to know before you bring the family or a group. Pool and darts: what's on the floor There are two regulation pool tables near the back, away from the main dining room, so you can play without blocking traffic to the restrooms or bar. Tables run on quarters, no hourly rental, no sign-up sheet. If both are f

Short answer: there's no standing weekly karaoke or live music night right now. If you're used to bars that run "Karaoke Tuesday" or "Live Band Friday" on autopilot, that's not how this place works yet. Bookings happen when they happen, not on a fixed recurring schedule. What that means in practice Some months there's a local act playing on a Friday or Saturday night. Some months there isn't. It depends on who's available, what else is going on in Ephrata, and whether a holid

When wildfire smoke settles over Ephrata, the answer is simple: eat indoors somewhere with real air conditioning, a full kitchen, and enough seating to avoid a wait. Grant County sees smoky stretches most summers, usually July through September, when fires in Washington, Oregon, or British Columbia push particulate matter into the valley. On days when the Air Quality Index climbs past 100, staying inside with filtered air is the easiest way to protect your lungs and still get

Short answer: 12 Hawks does not run a separate senior discount program. There is no percentage off your check just for being a certain age, and no senior menu with smaller portions at a lower price. What does exist is happy hour pricing, Monday through Friday from 2pm to 4pm, which is open to everyone and often saves more than a typical 10% senior discount would. Why no formal senior discount Small, independent bars and grills in towns like Ephrata usually run on tighter marg

Short answer: 12 Hawks does not run a formal reservation system for regular dining. It operates on walk-in seating most nights. If you are bringing a group of 6 or more, or planning around a big game, call ahead and the staff will hold a table or section for you. Why there is no online booking button This is a small bar and grill, not a large restaurant with a hostess stand and a reservation app. Tables turn over fast during lunch and dinner rushes, and locking in exact times

Park once, do both. The Ephrata Farmers Market and a sit-down lunch are close enough to handle in one trip without moving your car twice. Where the market fits into your Saturday Weekend market mornings in Ephrata run early, and most shoppers are done browsing produce, honey, and local crafts by late morning. That leaves a gap before anyone's ready to head home. Instead of eating in the car or waiting until you're back in the house, grab a table and let someone else handle lu

New Year's Eve hours: open 7am to midnight, with the kitchen open until 10:30pm and the bar serving until 11:45pm. Breakfast runs the normal 7 to 11am window, then lunch and dinner carry through the rest of the night. This year December 31 falls on a Wednesday, so the usual Tuesday closure doesn't apply and nothing changes about the regular schedule except the later closing time. What's different about the hours Most nights the doors close by 9 or 10pm depending on the crowd.

If you don't root for the Seahawks, Sunday afternoons in Grant County can be frustrating. Local broadcast affiliates carry the Seahawks game in the early or late window, and your team gets bumped. The fix isn't complicated: ask ahead whether the bar has NFL Sunday Ticket, and if it does, confirm your specific matchup will be on a screen you can actually see from your table. Why your team disappears from the TV Network broadcast rules protect the home market team. In Ephrata,

Where to watch NHL playoff hockey in Ephrata: look for a bar and grill with multiple screens, a full bar, and hours that match game times. Puck drop for most playoff games lands between 4:30pm and 7:30pm Pacific, sometimes later for West Coast matchups. A place that's only open for dinner service won't help you catch the first period. You need somewhere open through lunch, happy hour, and dinner, seven days a week except one. The Tuesday problem Here's the honest tradeoff. Mo