SAM’S CHOWDER HOUSE 20TH ANNIVERSARY STORY CONTEST
Official Contest Rules
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.
1. Sponsor
The Sam’s Chowder House 20th Anniversary Story Contest (“Contest”) is sponsored by Sam’s Chowder House, Half Moon Bay, California (“Sponsor”).
2. Eligibility
The Contest is open to legal U.S. residents age 18 or older. Employees of Sponsor and members of their immediate households, are not eligible to enter.
Void where prohibited or restricted by law.
3. Contest Period
The Contest begins Tuesday, September 15th and ends at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on Sunday, November 15th (“Contest Period”).
Entries received after the deadline will not be eligible.
4. How to Enter
To enter, email memories@samschowderhouse.com during the Contest Period and include:
- Your favorite memory or story involving Sam’s Chowder House
- Your name and contact information (email and phone)
- A photograph related to your story
No purchase is necessary to enter. Limit one entry per person.
Entries may describe any meaningful experience at Sam’s, including family gatherings, weddings, proposals, anniversaries, birthdays, business meetings, celebrations of life, traditions, memorable meals, or other special moments.
5. Submission Requirements
Entries must be the entrant’s own original story.
By submitting a photograph, entrant represents that they own the photograph or otherwise have the right to submit it and permit Sponsor to use it as described in these Rules.
Entrants should obtain permission from identifiable individuals appearing in submitted photographs. Sponsor reserves the right to request confirmation of such permission before publishing a photograph.
Entries containing material that is unlawful, defamatory, obscene, infringing, or otherwise inappropriate may be disqualified at Sponsor’s discretion.
6. Permission to Use Stories and Photos
By entering the Contest, entrant grants Sponsor a non-exclusive, royalty-free right to use, reproduce, publish, display, edit, adapt, and share the submitted story and photograph in connection with Sam’s Chowder House’s 20th Anniversary celebration and related advertising, publicity, marketing, and promotional activities.
This may include use on Sam’s Chowder House’s website, social media, emails, newsletters, in-restaurant displays, press materials, and other digital or printed communications.
Sponsor may identify an entrant by first name and/or hometown in connection with a published submission. Sponsor will not sell ownership of an entrant’s photograph or story to an unrelated third party.
Submitting an entry does not guarantee that the story or photograph will be published.
7. Judging and Winner Selection
This is a judged contest and not a random drawing or sweepstakes.
Eligible entries will be reviewed by a panel selected by Sam’s Chowder House. Entries will be judged based on factors including:
- Connection to Sam’s Chowder House
- Emotional impact and/or memorable nature of the story
- Originality
- Storytelling and overall appeal
The judges will select a Grand Prize winner, Second Prize winner, and Third Prize winner. Decisions of the judges are final.
8. Prizes
GRAND PRIZE:
Dinner for two at Sam’s Chowder House once per month for twelve (12) consecutive months, with a maximum value of $150 per visit, plus a commemorative Sam’s Chowder House 20th Anniversary gift basket valued at less than $200. Each dinner for two must be redeemed in full during a single visit, with advance reservations, and may include one bottle of wine or up to four glasses of wine. The certificate cannot be used for the gratuity, for to-go food, or for private events. Any unused portion of the $150 value is forfeited and will not be issued as cash, credit, or gift certificate, or carried over to another visit. The maximum value of the dining portion of the Grand Prize is $1,800. The total Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) of the Grand Prize is less than $2,000.
SECOND PRIZE:
Six (6) “Dinner for two” visits to Sam’s Chowder House, each with a maximum value of $150, plus one Sam’s Chowder House sweatshirt. The winner may redeem no more than one (1) Dinner for Two in any calendar month, with an advance reservation, and all six dinners must be redeemed within one (1) year of the date the prize is awarded. The certificate cannot be used for the gratuity, to-go food, or for private events. Each dinner for two must be used in full during a single visit and may include one bottle of wine or up to four glasses of wine. Any unused portion of the $150 value is forfeited and will not be issued as cash, credit, or gift certificate, or carried over to another visit. The maximum value of the dining portion of the Second Prize is $900.
THIRD PRIZE:
A $250 Sam’s Chowder House gift certificate, plus a Sam’s Chowder House t-shirt.
Reservations are subject to availability and standard restaurant reservation policies. Prizes have no cash value, are non-transferable, and may not be substituted except at Sponsor’s discretion.
Maximum Retail Value (“ARV”):
Grand Prize: $1,950
Second Prize: $950
Third Prize: $275
Total ARV: $3,175
Winners are responsible for any taxes associated with receipt of a prize.
9. Winner Notification
Potential winners will be contacted using the email address or other contact information provided with their entry.
A potential winner must respond within [5] days of notification and may be required to confirm eligibility and sign an affidavit of eligibility, liability release, publicity release, or other reasonable documentation before receiving a prize.
If a potential winner cannot be contacted, does not respond within the required time, is found to be ineligible, or declines the prize, Sponsor may select an alternate winner.
10. Publicity
Except where prohibited by law, acceptance of a prize grants Sponsor permission to use the winner’s name, likeness, submitted story, photograph, and general hometown for advertising, publicity, and promotional purposes relating to Sam’s Chowder House and its anniversary celebration without additional compensation.
11. General Conditions
Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any entrant who violates these Official Rules or attempts to interfere with the operation or integrity of the Contest.
Sponsor also reserves the right to modify, suspend, or cancel the Contest if circumstances beyond its reasonable control prevent the Contest from being conducted as intended, subject to applicable law.
Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, misdirected, corrupted, or undeliverable entries or for technical failures affecting submission or receipt of an entry.
12. Release and Limitation of Liability
By participating, entrants agree to release and hold harmless Sponsor and its owners, employees, representatives, affiliates, and agents from claims arising from participation in the Contest or acceptance or use of a prize, except to the extent such liability cannot legally be waived.
Nothing in these Rules is intended to limit rights that cannot legally be limited under applicable law.
13. Privacy
Information collected in connection with the Contest will be used to administer the Contest, communicate with entrants and winners, and as otherwise described in these Official Rules and Sponsor’s applicable privacy practices.
Entering the Contest does not by itself constitute consent to receive ongoing marketing emails unless the entrant separately opts in to receive them.
14. Social Media Disclaimer
If the Contest is promoted through Instagram, Facebook, or other social media platforms, the Contest is not sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with those platforms.
15. Agreement to Official Rules
By submitting an entry, entrant acknowledges that they have read, understood, and agree to these Official Contest Rules.
