Coronavirus Impact: Restaurants Continue To Rely On Carryout Service To Stay In Business
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- While the restaurant industry has taken a big hit amid the coronavirus pandemic, many businesses have closed, leaving workers out of jobs.
Tracey Sangria is the Owner of Chuck's Trading Post in Hampden. She, along with many other restaurant owners, are doing whatever it takes to keep their lights on.
"We're losing about 70 percent of what we were doing," she said.
Sangria said with the help of online delivery services like DoorDash and GrubHub, delivery orders have almost doubled.
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"Wednesday night's our burger night, and we actually ended up selling out of burgers. So that was a pleasant surprise," she said.
In order to ensure the safety of staff and customers, restaurants are taking extra precautions.
"For deliveries, they've all been instructed on the apps that they can't come in until the food order is completely ready," Sangria said.
But they said the one thing they miss the most is interacting with customers.
"Grace and I were just talking about having a video conference call with one of our regulars for coffee," Sangria said.
Sangria said during these times, small businesses rely on the support of the community, and every bit counts.
"We are the ones that really we're working paycheck to paycheck," she said. "And trying to figure out what we're going to do to make it through these next few months and take care of our staff."
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.
