The last few weeks have been unprecedented, with the COVID-19 crisis affecting the lives and livelihoods of millions of people, as well as having a huge impact on the restaurant and hospitality industry.
First and foremost, our concern is for the safety of our Team Members and our Guests. Like many businesses across the country, we’re now limited to take out and delivery only. The advantage of a fast casual restaurant is that we’re designed for a take-out and delivery model, so while the limitation of no guests in our dining room is certainly hitting us like it’s hitting all other restaurants, we’re able to weather the storm and adjust to our temporary new normal. Some of our new initiatives include:
- Curb side pickup. Either order online or call ahead, and phone us when you arrive at the restaurant. We’re more than happy to bring it out to you.
- A modified ‘drive up’. Our restaurants don’t have drive-thru windows, but when the weather permits, our Team Members are ready to serve those Guests that pull up, take their order through their car window, process the order online and take payment. All within recommended guidelines for social distancing, of course!
- The Hospitality and Service industries have been hit particularly hard. We stand with our extended family, and for anyone impacted, we’re extending our Employee Discount of 50% (up to $5).
For those of you know who us, you know that community is a big part of Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza. When we heard the news that school kids could no longer get a hot lunch because school was suspended, we knew we had to do something. Any school aged child that comes in and asks for a free cheese pizza will get one, for free. No questions asked.
We will get through this together. Our temporary ‘new normal’ won’t be temporary forever. We speak for the wider restaurant community here, including independent and franchised restaurants. Please, go out to your favorite restaurant, tell your friends, order online, phone ahead, take advantage of the daily specials, tip well. I’m sure you want these restaurants to be there when this is all over, but they’ll only survive if you patronize them now.
Our Franchisees Giving Back to Their Communities
It was a very successful fundraising event on Pi Day in Grand Junction, CO! We’re proud that our Franchisees, Bob and Cecily Marolf, were able to donate a substantial amount to Steppin It Up, Inc., a non-profit offering personal training and life skills programs created to lift people with all types of disabilities up to their highest potential.
Thanks go out to the amazing community in Grand Junction and their vendor partners for all of their support. All combined, they presented Steppin’ It Up with a check for $2,500!
