We have a downtown restaurant association. Their website makes it look like most of them are staying open for takeout. For now.

One of our happy hour staples closed after attempting take-out/delivery for one day.

BamaVol Jr #3 manages a Ruby Tuesday. They have been switched to take out and delivery only. To run that operation takes one manager and one line cook. That’s it. Two shifts means 4 employees total. 34 unemployed.

Since there are no customers in the store, they have been asked to drop Dish. The bar TVs used to be tuned to sports. No sports, no TV.

Thanks for the reminder that I need to call DirecTV to drop the sports pack we have. There is no need for it right now.

Link:
http://www.wafb.com/2020/03/24/waffl...ons-across-us/

Drive-through safety
 

Went to in n out today for lunch. Huge car line. Workers taking orders through car windows, coming right up to window. In the burger making area, 8 workers crammed in working on top of each other. No gloves. Wrapping burgers in paper, packing them in cardboard boxes - we know those surfaces carry the virus. How is this sanitary? How is this safe? All it takes is one worker who has the virus unbeknownst to them in there to sneeze or cough or rub his face and they could infect others.

This is the case for any "essential" business, such as grocery stores. Most workers at my local grocery are wearing gloves though. Probably a good idea for restaurants to do this as well. Not to mention that at grocery stores, there may be hundreds of people touching the food you buy (moving it around, putting something back, etc.) before you.

The reality is for most of us, especially those of us in urban areas, there's no way to completely shield ourselves. You either need to be ok with that or you need to avoid leaving your house. And that's not meant as a snide comment, it's just a reality.

Not snide at all, just reality as you say. Eating is essential, and our food has to come from somewhere, whether that be take-out, drive through,, delivery, or the grocery store. After that drive through eat in your car experience, I’m categorizing that option as the riskiest. At least with the other options you can remove food from their packaging and wash your hands before eating. I suppose the safest is having groceries delivered to avoid going out.

Except then you really have no idea who's handled your food or where it's been after leaving the store. And all that food is still handled by hundreds of people before you in the store.

I've contemplated grocery delivery but prefer to select my own produce, so not yet. As I understand it, the virus is not airborne, so just being in a grocery store with other people isn't a risk, unless they cough or sneeze on you -- which has never happened to me in my life! Certainly you'd be exposing yourself to carts, shelves, etc. in a store that you wouldn't with delivery. But I have to think the risk delta is minimal. Just don't go out if you've been exposed or have symptoms :).

I have gone to Sam's Club once because of the Scan N Go app avoids the check out line. Many items are handled less than a regular grocery store since it stocked on pallets but there is always the risk of sneezing and coughing on the product purchase.

I picked up curb side from my local favorite tonight. I asked how it was going. The co-owner ( her husband is the chef) told me it is just the two of them and it’s a lot of work. She’s working on SBA loan paperwork in her spare time. She thanked me for the generous tip and let me know all tip income is going to staff who have been furloughed.

I was thinking about this exact thing, when I went to my local Central Market (upscale grocer that's part of HEB for those who don't know). I was buying fruit and some asparagus and tomatoes, and it occurred to me how many people had been pawing all over the stuff I was buying. :eek:

I'm normally nothing of a germaphobe, but in this day you've really gotta think about what you're doing.

Where did the discussion on "How restaurants are dealing with the crisis" go?

Those wanting to discuss grocery stores/deliveries might consider starting a new thread, no?

Agree we should get back on topic. It was a relevant off-shoot at the time though, IMO. A poster mentioned restaurant workers not wearing gloves and the discussion turned to whether that's worse than cooking at home/grocery shopping. Personally, I'm going to assume that restaurant workers are washing their hands and there are fewer people handling the food in a restaurant. I'd still encourage people to get food from restaurants during this time, it's as safe as just about any other option.

So back on topic, I've noticed here in Chicago that a number of restaurants that normally don't do delivery and takeout gave it a shot for a few days and now have closed down completely. We were looking for something a little fancier this last weekend and read a few articles about Michelin-starred or mentioned places that had converted to takeout, and as I started to look them up for menus I saw a lot of messages about them now being closed. For example, I believe all of Paul Kahan's restaurants (Blackbird, Avec, Publican, Big Star, etc.) are now closed even for takeout.

Also, I'm going to comment on something that's sure to be controversial. I've received emails from restaurants or seen on their websites that they're asking for donations to help their laid-off workers, including restaurants that are now closed for business. This really rubs me the wrong way. I absolutely feel for people who've lost their jobs, and understand that those who work mainly for tips can be especially hard hit right now. I'll happily tip more for delivery or even pay a higher price for a restaurant meal right now. But provide me a service, don't just beg for handouts. I realize others will strongly disagree with my opinion, but it's how I feel. If these restaurants want more of my money, find a creative way to get me to spend more instead.

Some of our local restaurants tried take-out and delivery for a few days and then closed. Others, including some that have a history of offering take-out, are still open. We have a Primanti Brothers not too far from us, and even though they never seemed to promote take-out before this, they are still open for that. I assume part of the reason for that is because enough people who are familiar with the restaurant know how they started: offering sandwiches from a cart to truckers, no restaurant service available.