BOSTON — Almost a month after they were ordered to close, restaurants are finding unique ways to stay in business and keep up with delivery and takeout orders.
In Attleboro, Mediterranean Grill and Pizzeria is making the most of its drive-thru to safely complete takeout orders.
“It’s hard because we need to survive this period,” said Dorotheos Chatziioannou, the owner of the pizzeria said.
Chatziioannou says they’re getting around 200 takeout orders a day and on the weekend that number often jumps to 500.
“They are supporting us by coming more often or even buying more food from us for their families,” said Chatziioannou.
Still, without dine-in options the business has taken a hit.
“My main job is to try to break even at least,” said Chatziioannou.
Chatziioannou moved here from Greece and purchased the restaurant seven months ago. He’s overwhelmed with the kindness of the Attleboro community rallying to keep the restaurant open.
“People are here. They want to support their favorite restaurant, they want to keep it alive. This makes me feel not so terrified,” he said.
In Medfield, the restaurant Avenue is also making changes.
It now has a sign on its door showcasing its new takeout procedures, texting and phone calls.
“We take all orders over the phone we take credit cards over the phone,” said Megan Hanson, general manager of the restaurant.
Hanson says they put a lot of thought and planning into how the business would survive this uncertain time and that lead to changing the menu.
“We immediately got rid of about half a dozen dishes and then thought about, ‘What do people want? What’s going to travel well.’ We looked at comfort food,” said Hanson.
With the new menu came a huge increase in orders.
“Last Saturday night we put out 300 plus meals which is definitely more than we’ve ever done before,” said Hanson.
Most of the small businesses getting by chalk up their success to the community they served for years, now stepping in to serve them.
“It’s wild. It’s exhausting but it’s such a blessing. We’re so overwhelmed with the support we receive from people,” said Hanson.
Still, these small restaurants say they can only sustain this type of operation for so long and hope things go back to normal soon.
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