GIVEAWAY! Read to the end to enter today’s small business giveaway! You could win, and so will your favorite local eatery!

Oh, Coronavirus. Will you ever go away? Everyone is feeling the pressure these days, but none as much as the small businesses. Restaurants everywhere, or every size, are taking a hit, but the local places we all love are feeling it most of all. But we can help! Did you participate in #TakeOutTuesday?

Is It Safe to Order Take Out Right Now?

Yes! Both the CDC and USDA have said there is no evidence that COVID-19 is transmitted in food. Additionally, only the healthiest people are working in restaurant kitchens these days because restaurants are overstaffed. Restaurants are taking extra measures above and beyond what’s generally required to insure that food is prepared safely.

I had my own reservations about ordering take-out in the beginning of all this, but after hearing the medical professionals and food professionals saying it’s safe, I believe them. My husband and I ordered from restaurants twice over the weekend—once for pick up from CAVA and once for delivery from local favorite Santini’s!

What Restaurants Need Help?

Well, all restaurants are taking a hit, but let’s be honest: Applebee’s will be fine. Outback Steakhouse will be fine. Starbucks will definitely be fine. McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Chick-Fil-A, Burger King, and other global chain stores will be fine.

But your local bakery (Amphora here in Northern Virginia), family-owned coffee shop (Coffee Tree Roastery in Pittsburgh), local deli (Santini’s here in Reston), and local farm-to-table eatery (Founding Farmers in the D.C. area) may not be able to weather this COVID-19 storm. Some medium-sized regional restaurants like CAVA, Chop’t, Sweet Green, and Potbelly will more than likely make it through, but we don’t know how long this situation will last, and they might be cutting it close. There are ways you can help, though, even during the Great COVID Quarantine!

How You Can Help with Cashflow

Restaurants may be working with skeleton crews, but depending on their individual policies, they may be doing everything they can to continue paying their hourly employees who have to stay home. They certainly have to make their rent this month. They already paid for food that will go bad if no one orders it. So cashflow right now is necessary. Here’s how you can help.

Order up!

Give your favorite small business restaurant a call or visit their website to make sure they are open for take-out or delivery orders, and order with them! Apps like UberEats, GrubHub, and others are waiving fees and foregoing a portion of their usual commission, so the food can go to you more easily than ever. Money is tight for everyone at the moment, but if you can commit to ordering from a small business restaurant three times this week, it will mean so much to them. It might even keep them in business!

Save It for Later

Prefer to cook for yourself in quarantine? That’s okay, too! You can still help by purchasing gift cards or gift certificates to use when this is all over (because this, too, shall pass). This will give them cashflow now, and guarantee that they’ll have business later as well. Feeling inspired to go above and beyond? Buy a few gift cards for friends and family members to both encourage them during this weird time and to give your favorite small business restaurants a real boost!

How You Can Help for FREE

Money’s tight for everyone. We know. But you can still help in a big and far-reaching way! Here are some ideas that cost you nothing but that will mean the world to your small business owning friends.

Like, Follow, and Share

Social media has changed a lot over the last few years, and it’s not as easy as it used to be to get your name out there on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. The best thing you can do is to LIKE their Facebook Page, FOLLOW them on Instagram and Twitter, FOLLOW their boards on Pinterest (they might be sharing great recipes!), and connect with them on all their social media channels!

But what’s even better and still costs you nothing? Sharing! SHARE their posts, like their posts, comment on their posts. Do whatever you can to help their hard work get seen by as many people as possible. There is power in social media, but only if others are willing to help.

Write a Positive Review

Reviews are as powerful as social media, and a bad review can really hurt a small business both financially and personally. Small business owners work so hard, and their businesses are truly passion projects and labors of love. But a good review will not only boost their business, but boost their spirits as well! So write a positive review on Yelp, Trip Advisor, Google, their website, and anywhere else you think it might be helpful!

Giveaway!

I’m letting you choose your prize! I am giving away a $25 gift card to the local restaurant of your choice! All you have to do is:

• SHARE this post on Facebook or SHARE my latest Instagram post on your Instagram Stories.
• TAG both Quick Whit Travel AND the local restaurant of your choice on the shared post. Tag as many as you like!

If you win, I’ll buy you a gift card for the restaurant you tagged! I will choose a winner at 9:00am Thursday, March 26. Enter soon so everyone can win!

Want more positive posts, suggestions for things to do, and ways to handle the stress of living in this COVID-19 quarantine? Check out my Health and Wellness Page!

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