Indiana eateries hunker down and adapt to take-out, delivery

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) - Jeff and Kelly Ford are having to adapt to something not in their business model - providing take-out food and deliveries.

'œWhat we thought of doing four days ago, we are not dreaming about now,'ť said Jeff Ford, who along with his wife, own and operate J. Ford's Black Angus, a steakhouse at 7th and Walnut Street in Terre Haute.

'œFour days ago we worried about getting the news out that we are always clean and will be extra diligent about it and please trust us,'ť Jeff Ford said. Now, after Gov. Eric Holcomb's directive Monday that bars, nightclubs and restaurants be closed to dine-in patrons, that narrative is outdated.

'œNow we (will) have take-out services and possibly delivery,'ť Jeff Ford said.

A post on Charlie's Pub & Grub's Facebook page summed up the mood in much of the restaurant business.

'œWe are saddened by the decision to close restaurants and bars. We understand the reasoning, but share in the fear and trepidation that many small businesses and those in our industry are going through,'ť Charlie's wrote. 'œWhile safety of our employees and the community is paramount, we prioritize the ability for our employees to provide for their families as a close second.'ť

Charlie's is doing everything it can. It is remaining open to provide take-out food and carry out beverages, and delivery is coming. Also, Charlies is planning to implement car hop service in its west lots.

'œPlease support your favorite local businesses, bars and restaurants,'ť Charlie's Facebook post said. 'œTake food home from your favorite spots, buy gift cards, buy apparel, tip the staff. Visit early and often when they reopen. It's going to be a long way back to normal and these places, our places, are going to need the support of their regulars and local community.'ť

M. Moggers Restaurant & Pub, at 908 Poplar St., closed its doors at 6 p.m. Monday, said Lisa Rogers, general manager of the business.

'œWe have about 50 employees, and we are still coming up with plans (on what to do during the dine-in shut down) but we are not sure,'ť Rogers said. 'œThere are a lot of people who are upset about the restaurants closing, and I am as well, but I care about my employees and they have families as well.'ť

Today was slated to be the biggest single sales day of the year for Sonka Irish Pub, at 1366 Wabash Avenue, as it prepared to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. A clock behind the pub's bar annually counts down days until the event.

'œWe've got 30 kegs of Irish beer in our cellar, and 160 pounds of corn beef ready to go,'ť said Sandy Boyles-Gillen, owner of the business. The corn beef was fresh, but will now be frozen. And the beer kegs can keep, Boyles-Gillen said.

'œWe are just going to celebrate St Patrick's in April or whenever things calm down, but the Irish beer will be flowing. So it's 2020, the year St. Patty's was postponed,'ť Boyles-Gillen said.

Sonka closed its doors Monday for extra cleaning. It will reopen Friday to offer carry-out food service only.

'œPatrons will have to call into us to place an order and then the staff will deliver it to them curbside only,'ť Boyles-Gillen said. 'œIt is what it is, but at least we are all healthy and safe and we will make the very best of it,'ť she said.

Bev Marlowe, owner of Bev's Restaurant, 1303 S. 25th St., said she will stay in business with all carry-out.

'œI might (have delivery) to the elderly that are my normal customers,'ť Marlowe said, 'œbut not clear across town. I will do carry-out as I got to. We have carry out all the time, but not everything -- but we will figure it out. I have been in this business for 44 years, so I pretty much have it figured it out.'ť

'œI knew this was coming. Ohio and Illinois did it, so I knew Indiana would follow,'ť she said.

Kris Kraut, co-owner the Butler's Pantry and The Red Barn, on Terre Haute's east side, said he is working to convert food he had planned for events.

'œWe will do as much as we can in putting back into the food source, by preserving, pickling, freezing and vacuum packing, everything we think we can do with time on our side,'ť Kraut said. 'œMany things take a while to ferment or pickle or cure, so we will use this down time to turn fresh ingredients into some more useful things we can use later on.'ť

Additionally, the business will donate ingredients it cannot preserve 'œto Catholic Charities or Meals on Wheels so they can get good health meals out to people.'ť

The Butler's Pantry has added a family option to its carry-out and delivery menu and is offering free delivery in the 47803 zip code area. Deliveries outside that zip code are $3 extra.

Also, the business plans to have a hot pick-up for fish and chips this Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. for people observing Lent.

'œYou have to find a way to be creative as this is an interesting time and a weird, odd situation,'ť Kraut said.

Mechmet Toptsi, owner of Cackleberries, 303 S. 7th St., said most of his business comes from in-person dining.

'œIt will be interesting, I don't know'ť what the impact of the no dine-in order will be, Toptsi said.

'œWe will do carry out. I hope this will not last real long,'ť he said.

At the Black Angus, which has about 30 employees, the wait staff may have to work for tips on delivery and be paid mileage, Ford said. 'œThat is something we will have to work out,'ť he said, adding the business has some vehicles that can be used for deliveries.

'œLike all businesses, we don't have any control over this. People are making decisions for us and (those) are societal decisions, but we will do our part ... and hopefully this will pass as quickly, as it will pass,'ť Ford said, 'œAnd we will get back to normal, and there won't be long-term carrying costs associated with this. It will be a little bit of pain for everybody.'ť

Kristin Craig, president of the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber is working to support its members.

'œThere is no denying that the challenges our business community now faces are daunting. Easy answers just don't exist, but the Chamber is committed to providing the best, most reliable information to help businesses navigate the coming weeks and months,'ť Craig said.

'œWe have created a COVID-19 Resource Guide on our website to provide up-to-date, access to important information and policies. Our staff is working constantly to reach out to businesses in need and help connect them with resources that can help,'ť Craig said.

Many national chains implemented policies of no in-person dining on Sunday or early Monday, prior to the Holcomb's directive for Indiana. Motorists in Terre Haute saw Starbucks, Taco Bell and Chick-fil-A announce a move to only drive-through service before Monday morning was out.

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Source: Tribune-Star