How the Hospitality Industry is Helping Others During the Coronavirus

One of the silver linings of a national crisis it the kindness it brings out in people who step forward to help those in need.

Although restaurants and the hospitality industry are getting hit hard by closures and reduced hours and services due to the coronavirus pandemic, a number of venues have been stepping up and using their resources to help people who are on the frontlines of the crisis and members of the community.

Here are a few examples from across the United States:

Free meals and sponsored meals

Restaurants across the country have been donating meals for free to colleagues in the hospitality industry and first responders. Employees Only LA is one venue that is giving back to Los Angeles hospitality workers, and plans to give away 100 meals a night to those who provide proof of their recent restaurant job.

Tito’s Burritos & Wings restaurants in New Jersey are encouraging customers to sponsor meals that are being delivered to five local hospitals to support those caring for Coronavirus patients. In addition to giving back to their community, sponsoring meals helps Tito’s bring in revenue to help support their business and employees.

In New York City, Roberta’s Pizza has donated free pizzas and salads to Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. Tarallucci e Vino is donating meals to NYC hospitals and started a website, Feed the Frontlines, which collects monetary donations to pay for meals delivered to hospital workers

Food bank donations

Casino companies have donated food that would have gone unused to local food banks, including Caesars Entertainment, which sent 116 pallets worth of dairy, eggs, and produce to seven nonprofit organizations.

Puesto’s Northern California locations have been put together boxes of canned and perishable food for families in need. The restaurants provided more than 5,000 boxes for the community.

Hand sanitizer

Other venues have adapted their services to help Coronavirus prevention efforts. Multiple distilleries, including Flag Hill Distillery in Lee., N.H., have swapped spirit production for hand sanitizer. Flag Hill already had the ingredients on site and started production. They’ve been donating 5 gallon pails of hand sanitizer to fire and police departments in six towns.

Community events from your living room

More than 30 restaurants in Austin have banded together to create an event that participants can safely enjoy at home without coming into contact with other people. The ATX Living Room Picnic will take place on Saturday, April 4. Restaurants like Juliet Italian Kitchen and Z’Tejas are offering special picnic-style meals that can be picked up at each location. 

Entertainment

Artist management and event production firm 4AM would usually be working on nightlife events this time of year. Instead, their team is producing regular livestreams of DJ sets throughout the week for viewers to enjoy as they eat takeout or delivery from their favorite restaurants. You can view the weekly schedule on the 4AM Facebook page.

Tripleseat resources

To read more about how the coronavirus is impacting the hospitality industry, read our blog posts. For more tips on how to boost your events business, check out our Events Industry Handbooks.