Ashley Hutchinson

     At the end of March, Governor Mike DeWine and Dr. Amy Acton placed a state-wide ban on restaurants. Customers could not dine inside any restaurant, and they could only purchase food through carry-out or delivery. 

     This ban was enacted to stop large groups of people from coming together in one place and to enforce the idea of “social distancing.” Eventually, lawmakers are hoping that bans will stop the spread of COVID-19 in the area and ultimately around the country. 

     To combat this change, many local businesses have started to be more accessible to the public by still allowing carry-out and even offering new delivery. 

     While some local businesses may be hurting during this time, some are actually thriving due to services that can deliver food right to one’s door. 

     Furthermore, services such as DoorDash or UberEats have even stopped some of their delivery fees to help the people around the community, and many of those employees are seeing their service continuing to grow. These companies have even created a no-contact policy, so they can leave the package on the doorstep to prevent the spread of germs.

     More locally, restaurants, such as Chipotle or Panera, are even offering free delivery, which keeps customers satisfied while keeping the chains in business. Locally owned businesses such as The Tavern of Stow have also started to deliver to customers. 

     While many small businesses have not opened up to delivery, almost everywhere is still open for carry-out orders. Examples of these businesses include El Campesino, Thai Gourmet, and Swensons. 

     If a business does not offer delivery, services previously mentioned such as DoorDash offers many local options for delivery, so food can be delivered right to home while still supporting local businesses. 

     However, there is still a lack of customers at a majority of local businesses, which affects families and the community as a whole. 

     When finding food to eat, try to find local family-owned restaurants to give business to. It helps the family, the community and the economy. Making small changes such as this can save so many businesses during these struggling times.