As the coronavirus pandemic continues to progress, it brings more bad news for local restaurants. Recent guidance from the CDC urges that events and gatherings of 50+ people should be canceled or postponed for the next eight weeks. On Monday afternoon, President Trump said Americans should avoid gathering in groups of 10 or more and stay out of restaurants and bars for at least the next 15 days, citing new guidelines issued by federal health officials.

What does that mean for restaurants? In an effort to protect loyal patrons and encourage social distancing, many local restaurants are temporarily closing their doors. Some will offer curbside pickup, but for the rest — you’ll have to wait out the virus.

Even if you can’t make it out to your favorite spot, consider buying a gift card to use later, as local businesses need our help more than ever.

BLACK WEDNESDAY AND HYGGE JOIN FORCES TO HELP SMALL BUSINESSES

Additionally, Black Wednesday owner Corri Smith and Hygge owner Garrett Tichy launched a website supportlocalorelse.com. “It’s free for businesses to engage, they just have to create a promotion/deal/way for people to support them remotely or in the future,” Smith said in an email.

To participate, businesses can submit a form through the site and Smith and Tichy are listing them as they come in. “We want this to be as robust as possible, during a time when they/we/I need all the support they/we/I can get; we already have brands like Sycamore, Girl Tribe, Bardo and Glory Days Apparel, UpDog Kombucha listed, with more coming in as I write,” she said.

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