People across the county are finding ways to support area restaurants struggling to stay open and pay staff during the COVID-19 shutdown, like Local Smoke BBQ in Red Bank.
By Allison Perrine
MONMOUTH COUNTY – As social distancing regulations remain in place, putting a heavy burden on restaurants and small businesses, people are stepping up to try and keep them afloat during this challenging time.
Most restaurants in the Two River area are continuing to serve their customers, if possible, with takeout and delivery options. However, those efforts may not be enough to keep some businesses out of debt or from closing permanently. Because of that, several grassroots efforts are popping up in Monmouth County to support the community, including the county’s latest initiative, “Take Out in Monmouth.”
“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and account for more than 95 percent of the business community in Monmouth County,” said Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone.
As part of the initiative, announced April 2 during a county press conference, a list is now available of all area restaurants that are open for business with takeout and delivery options. It will be continually updated and is available at takeoutinmonmouth.com. Currently, it is organized by town. Residents can find their municipality, click through and find out which restaurants are open, with links to their websites. Any businesses that are open and are not on the list are welcome to email TakeOutInMonmouth@visitmonmouth.com to be added.
“This is such a great and easy way for residents to know where they can locally order takeout and delivery as well as for small businesses to let residents know that they are open for business,” said Sue Kiley, freeholder deputy director.
Some towns had already provided residents with a list of open restaurants and essential retail businesses, including Holmdel Township. According to Mayor Greg Buontempo, township employees called restaurants in Holmdel to figure out which establishments were open and what they were offering. They then composed a list of those open restaurants with hours of operation and whether they are available for pickup orders, delivery or are registered with mobile prepared food delivery applications like GrubHub, Uber Eats, etc.
FACEBOOK / GOOD KARMA
Restaurants are also supporting health care workers on the frontlines, including Good Karma Cafe, in Red Bank
“It’s a quick reference guide for residents to be able to support local restaurants and eateries in town,” said Buontempo.
Next, they reached out to Holmdel businesses that remain open under the government’s executive orders. Similar to what it did for the restaurants, the town found out which stores are open and listed them on the website with hours of operation.
Not only is the town looking to help businesses in Holmdel, but it is also looking for ways to support small business owners who live in Holmdel, whose places of work may be outside of the community. There is now an online questionnaire available on the township website, for example, that asks respondents what they need from the public to stay afloat. That may include purchasing online gift cards or merchandise, making donations or ordering takeout or delivery. When asked what the survey responses are showing, Buontempo said most businesses are seeing inconsistency. “On any given day, their business is up because they’re getting a lot of activity or some days, they’re getting little activity. It’s not as consistent business as it was in the past,” he said. It’s been “very hard” for these business owners to predict their staffing and inventory needs.
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJDEA) has presented a package of programs to support small businesses impacted by the virus, with over $75 million of state and private financial support. It will benefit an anticipated 3,000 to 5,000 small and midized enterprises through a zero-interest grant program, according to a press release.
The owner of a small business himself, Sen. Vin Gopal (D-11) says he knows personally how hard the pandemic is hitting local businesses. “Low-interest loans are helpful as a stopgap measure, but a lot of mom-and-pop stores can’t afford to go deeper into debt – they need clear and direct cash assistance now,” he said in a press release. “I’m glad to see the NJEDA taking this important step forward, and I know that we’ll continue to work to make sure that our small business can stay afloat during this crisis.”
This article originally appeared in the April 9th, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
