Episode 8: Love Your Local Restaurants, COVID 19 Edition
Episode 8: Love your Local Restaurants, Covid 19-Edition.
We love food! The good thing about living in two cities in Northeast WI is our ability to highlight different restaurants to try…that was our plan before COVID-19. Everyone is missing out on dining out, and we are so grateful that many places quickly flipped from dine in experiences to doing takeout and delivery in a short timeframe with no instruction manual - just determination to keep going. Today our friend Larry, one of the owners of Appleton’s Basil Cafe, has the honor of being our first guest. He’s sharing his thoughts on how to support local restaurants now - and after this pandemic.
Larry’s short list:
Cash is always king, especially if you don’t need change.
Gift cards are great, they get funds to restaurants now, for redemption later...which can feel like robbing Peter to pay Paul. The purchases are greatly appreciated, but please don’t use your gift cards now! Use them down the road when we’ve returned to normal!
Tip the staff. Eating out right now is a luxury. Yes it is takeout, however most restaurants are operating with a skeleton staff to make sure every order is prepared to the standards we all expect and that each order gets to the proper person. Tips, even if just rounding up, are always appreciated.
Share the love - meaning write reviews, share food posts on social media (yours and the restaurant’s), in local groups like Fox Cities Restaurant Take out and Oshkosh Takeout & Delivery
https://www.facebook.com/groups/foxcitiesrestauranttakeout/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/238898023910335/
Call or message ahead to place an order, if possible. 4-7pm is a hot time every day, especially Thursday-Saturday; if you know where you want to order from call to arrange pickup or delivery for later in the day. Maybe consider ordering out on a less busy day, like Tuesdays to spread the love out. Most places have one person dedicated to the phone and messages for orders, and each call does take a few minutes to complete the order, take payment, etc., so please be patient and keep trying!
Avoid 3rd Party Delivery Apps (when possible). They do charge business up to 30% of the sales from those deliveries. They also charge you, the consumer, a higher price for their service. And the tips you provide get paid to that service - NOT the staff preparing the food, and in many cases they aren’t familiar with the menu, which means there is more room for error or orders taking longer.
We are grateful to the Basil Cafe crew, and all the other regional local restaurants that are staying open to provide us all with the comfort food we love right now.
Want to give Basil Cafe a try? https://www.facebook.com/basilcafepho or (920) 830-6741
Tell us your favorite restaurant, and better yet, show us a picture of your food! We foodie girls LOVE it!
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