It’s been a full week since restaurants and bars were forced to shutter their dining rooms. They’ve still been allowed to operate; many have had to make alterations in order to continue to do so, and some with mixed results. We checked in a couple days into it and then also Monday to see if consumers were indeed walking the walk after proclaiming widely on social media that they would continue to patronize many of the eateries.
Chappy’s in Grayville ended up shutting down completely on dinner service last week. Michelle Duncan reports they only had 7 customers for dinner on Tuesday of last week and they therefore decided to only be open for lunch. Then, she says lunch ran about half what the popular eatery normally had. Most surprising to Duncan were that most of the customers seemed to be people she didn’t normally see; for that, Duncan says she was incredibly thankful. Chappy’s is shut down completely this week as Duncan says she and some staff will “do a deep clean and also work to complete a couple projects we haven’t been able to get to due to how busy we typically are”. Aside from the restaurant side, Duncan says the real pain is coming from the bar and gaming being completely shut down, and she also is curious to see what will happen with unemployment insurance for small businesses like hers. She’s concerned the state may raise it, but remains hopeful they might forgive it since the business was forced to close almost completely.
Elsewhere, it’s gone a bit better, and perhaps because some of the restaurants were either already doing or already set up for curbside pickup and/or delivery. Abby Weiss of Gottzz’s says, “people have definitely walked the walk after week 1…even more than we thought they would. We’ve had many people buy gift cards, as well.” In addition to being appreciative, she admits there is more uncertainty the longer this goes on. Some workers have been furloughed for the time being, or are dealing with less hours which equals less income and Weiss says she’ll understand if there’s a bit less support. On the other hand, Weiss says, “We know that people are bored though and getting take out might be their only ‘adventure’ for the day.” She says she’s talked to other eateries in the area that haven’t had the same amount of support and she agrees it’s most likely due to customers not being used to picking up orders or having delivery as a regular option that’s made the difference.
If you’re interested in reviewing menu’s and gathering information on which area restaurants are open and available for which take out options, visit the following facebook group for daily updates from many of the restaurant owners in the area. https://www.facebook.com/groups/674363179984440/
