2025 Toast Little Things Contest Official Rules

No purchase necessary. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning.

  1. Sponsor

    The 2025 Toast Little Things Contest (“Contest”) is sponsored by Toast, Inc., located at 333 Summer Street Boston, MA 02210 (“Sponsor” or “Toast”)

  2. Contest Description

    The Contest seeks to celebrate those restaurants that do the little things right to deliver amazing guest experiences. Toast is asking its followers to nominate a restaurant in their community that consistently delivers exceptional guest experiences by doing the little things right. The Winning Restaurant (as defined below) will be decided by the Toast team based on how well the restaurant embodies specific categories. Those categories and their respective descriptions are:

    • Commitment to Hospitality: This restaurant embodies the spirit of hospitality by creating a welcoming and memorable dining experience. They demonstrate extraordinary care for guests through personalized service, attention to detail, or thoughtful gestures that make customers feel valued. 
    • Community Connection: Restaurants are not just places to eat, they are pillars of the community – and this restaurant actively contributes to making a difference for their local community. For example, they sponsor local events, partner with local organizations, donate meals, or provide a space where people can gather and connect.
    • Employee Care and Engagement: This restaurant fosters a positive environment for staff, making their restaurant a space where employees can succeed and grow. They make the industry a better place to work by making sure their employees feel heard and valued.
    • The restaurant which the Toast team determines best embodies these categories will be awarded $50,000.00 and Toast will provide the individual that nominated the Winning Restaurant another $25,000.00 as a thank you for supporting their local restaurants. 

  3. Eligibility

    This Contest is open to legal residents within the fifty United States, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Restaurant owners are not permitted to nominate their own restaurants, though employees of restaurants can nominate their employer. Restaurants owned by employees of Sponsor or their immediate family members (spouse, parents, siblings, and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible for the Contest. Incomplete, unreadable, unintelligible, and fraudulent entries and any entries that violate these Official Rules will be disqualified.

  4. Entry

    An eligible individual may submit only one application to nominate a restaurant, (each, an “Entrant”) by submitting a short video (up to 1 minute), a photo, or a written story (up to 200 words) using the hashtags #ItsTheLittleThings and #Toast_Contest and tagging Toast @toast_tab on Instagram or TikTok. Include how the nominated restaurant meets Toast’s criteria for Commitment to Hospitality, Community Connection, or Employee Care and Engagement described above. 

    Limit one (1) Entry per individual; multiple Entries in a category will not increase chances of winning. Toast reserves the right to validate any information in the Entries and disqualify any Entries that contain false, unfair, or misleading information.

    Entries may be submitted beginning on February 11, 2025, at 12:00:00 p.m. (ET) and entries must be received no later than 11:59:59 PM ET on March 13, 2025 (the “Entry Period”) to be eligible. Sponsor’s computer is the official time-keeping device for the Contest.

  5. Voting

    Once the Entry Period has ended, a panel of Toast Employees will select the winner from the nominated restaurants based on the judging criteria.

  6. Judging Criteria

    Selection of the Winning Restaurant will be determined based on the written explanations provided in the Entries as set forth below. The Toast team will evaluate the written explanation and video submissions based on the following criteria:

    • How well does the submission convey the restaurant’s commitment to Toast’s three judging categories listed above?
    • How well does the restaurant embody Toast’s three judging categories listed above?
    • Was the submission from a customer or an employee of the restaurant?
    • Did a restaurant receive multiple unrelated nominations?
    • Does the restaurant consistently do the little things to create exceptional guest experiences?
    • What are the little things? Here are some examples to inspire your nomination:

    • Did a server remember your favorite order even when you had not visited in a while? 
    • Did the restaurant accommodate a special request with a smile, making you feel truly welcome? Share those moments that made you think, “They really care about me.” 
    • Did a staff member take extra time to help a customer in need, or did they make the ambiance feel special even on a busy night? Tell us! 
    • Does this restaurant use creative solutions to tackle challenges, like tech integration, creative menu offerings, or other innovations? We want to know. 
    • Did you notice a restaurant that offers great benefits or otherwise goes above and beyond to support their staff?
  7. Winner Selection

    One restaurant will be selected on April 11, 2025. That restaurant will be notified via Instagram DM and/or email. Provided the selected restaurant meets all eligibility criteria and complies with the requirements below, that restaurant will be announced as the winning restaurant (the “Winning Restaurant”). The odds of being selected the Winning Restaurant will be determined based on the number of entries and the quality of the entries.

    The Winning Restaurant will be required to complete and return a Little Things Eligibility and License Agreement, and/or other tax related documents forms, except where prohibited by law.  The Winning Restaurant must provide Sponsor with their social security number or applicable tax identification number in accordance with IRS regulations to enable the Sponsor to issue a Form 1099-Misc. If a potential winning restaurant fails to complete, sign and return these documents within five (5) business days, an alternate entrant may be selected in that restaurant's place according to the Judging Criteria. Only two (2) alternate potential winning restaurants may be contacted.

    The nominator of the Winning Restaurant will also be required to complete and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Release and/or other tax related documents forms, except where prohibited by law.  The nominator must provide Sponsor with their social security number or applicable tax identification number in accordance with IRS regulations to enable the Sponsor to issue a Form 1099-Misc. If the nominator of the Winning Restaurant fails to complete, sign and return these documents and information within five (5) business days, the $25,000 may be forfeited.

  8. Prizes

    The Winning Restaurant will receive $50,000.00 via direct deposit due net 45 days, after the winner’s completion of Toast’s procurement process. The nominator of the Winning Restaurant will receive an additional $25,000 via direct deposit due net 45 days, after the winner’s completion of Toast’s procurement process. 

  9. Prize Conditions

    The Winning Restaurant and nominator are solely responsible for paying any federal, state, local, and income taxes and any other costs and expenses not expressly covered by Sponsor in these rules. Any Prize details not specified above will be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Any other incidental expenses on Prize not specified herein are the Winner’s sole responsibility.

    A Prize may not be assigned or transferred and must be accepted as awarded. You may not request a substitute prize.

    Except where prohibited by law, entry and acceptance of a Prize constitute permission to use Winning Restaurant’s and nominator’s name, prize won, hometown, likeness, video tape, photographs, and statements for purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity (including online posting) in any and all media now or hereafter known throughout the world in perpetuity, without additional compensation, notification or permission.

    Prizes are awarded “as is” with no warranty or guarantee, either expressed or implied by Sponsor or prize providers. Winner acknowledges that the Sponsor, prize providers, and all other businesses affiliated with this Contest and their agents do not make, nor are in any manner responsible for any warranty, representations, expressed or implied, in fact or in law, relative to the quality, conditions, fitness or merchantability of any aspect of the Prize being offered.

  10. Release and Limitations of Liability

    By participating in the Contest, you agree to release and hold harmless Sponsor and its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, Instagram, and TikTok (the “Released Parties”) from and against any claim or cause of action arising out of participation in the Contest or receipt or use of any prize, including, but not limited to: (a) unauthorized human intervention in the Contest (including the voting process); (b) technical errors; (c) printing errors; (d) lost, late, postage-due, misdirected, or undeliverable mail, including electronic mail whether undelivered or filtered as spam; (e) errors in the administration of the Contest or the processing of Entries; or (f) injury or damage to persons or property. You further agree that in any cause of action, in no event shall the Released Parties be liable for attorney’s fees. You waive the right to claim any damages whatsoever, including, but not limited to, punitive, consequential, direct, or indirect damages. The Contest is not sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with TikTok or Instagram.

  11. Disputes

    You agree that any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of, or connected with, the Contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the appropriate court located in Boston, MA. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, your rights and obligations, or the rights and obligations of Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of Massachusetts, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of Massachusetts or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than Massachusetts.

  12. Contact and Results

    Sponsor shall publicly announce the Winners of the Contest through its social media channels after the Contest. To be notified of the Winners, email brandsocial@toasttab.com with the subject line “2025 Toast Little Things Contest Winner List.” Requests must be received between April 16, 2024 and June 30, 2025.

  13. Additional Terms

    All entries become property of Toast, Inc. and such information shall be processed in accordance with Toast's Privacy Policy. In the event that the operation, security, or administration of the Contest is impaired in any way, Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, either: (a) suspend the Contest to address the impairment and then resume the Contest; or (b) award the Prizes according to the Judging Criteria from among the eligible Entries received up to the time of the impairment. Sponsor reserves the right to extend the Entry Period if it does not receive a sufficient number of Entries (as determined by Sponsor, in its sole discretion) by the date set forth above. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify and seek damages from any individual who tampers with the operation of the Contest, violates these Official Rules, or acts in a disruptive or unsportsmanlike manner. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. Proof of sending any communication to Sponsor by mail shall not be deemed proof of receipt of that communication by Sponsor. The Contest is subject to federal, state, and local laws and regulations and is void where prohibited.