Upstate eateries weathering the Coronavirus storm
Handwritten thank-you notes placed inside takeout bags and your favorite server delivering meals curbside are two of the ways local restaurants are showing appreciation to customers who are supporting them as they find ways to adapt during the coronavirus crisis.
From Palmetto Fine Foods’ meat-and-three menu to The Open Hearth’s fine-dining cuisine, Upstate restaurants are perfecting takeout, curbside delivery, home delivery, and online ordering and pay options. The operational changes are helping offset business lost when S.C. Governor Henry McMaster on March 17 ordered all bars and restaurants to close in-house service to combat the coronavirus outbreak.
“Delivery, in particular, has never been in our wheelhouse,” said Kenneth Cribb of Hub City Hospitality, which owns Willy Taco locations in Spartanburg and Greenville, and the Flock Shop in Spartanburg. “We’re doing what we can trying to keep the lights on, pay some salaries and weather the storm.”
In addition to prepared foods, some restaurants are selling fun-to-go kits for family baking or craft activities. Todaro Pizza in Clemson and Greenville is offering pizza kits, while Strossner’s and The Chocolate Moose in Greenville are selling cupcake decorating kits.
At The Farmer’s Table, a farm-to-fork eatery in Spartanburg, owners send their food trucks each day to local businesses and into area neighborhoods. Residents can stay up to date on food truck locations and hours on the restaurant’s Facebook page.
Burgers & Bakery in Spartanburg was just shy of a month old when the order to close in-house dining was issued.
“We need to sell 40 burgers a day to keep the lights on and our three staff members employed,” say owners Deana and Mike Okun. But as its name implies, the restaurant is not all burgers and also offers home baked buns, small batch soup, fine desserts and custom-made cakes.
Those wishing to help the eateries where they hang out with friends and celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions also can purchase logoed t-shirts from Live4Cause.com. For each t-shirt purchased, 100 percent of the profits will go to the restaurants. Shirts cost $18, including shipping, and each restaurant will receive $10 for each shirt sold. If you don’t see your favorite hangout on the list, you can contact the website creator to have it added.
