Restaurants functioning as grocery stores to stay afloat during coronavirus pandemic

HOUSTON – Drive-up service at restaurants has become a way to attract customers in the wake of Stay Home, Work Safe orders.

However, at some establishments, customers aren’t picking up staples found on their menu but groceries. Then families go home and prepare the food themselves.

This process is allowing customers to pick up fresh produce, said Aaron Lyons, founder & CEO of Dish Society.

"Cauliflower, broccoli, kale, spinach, mixed greens, Brussel sprouts," he said.

Dish Society is an Austin-based farm-to-table restaurant with several locations in the Houston area. They began selling produce, meat, and other items about three weeks ago after local jurisdictions began restricting restaurants. Customers can even purchase toilet paper.

“'When our sales are down, we’re ordering less from our suppliers,” he said. “Our farmers and ranchers... are hurting too.”

Customers have access to the same ingredients Dish Society used daily.

Other establishments are adopting the same model.

On Monday, Panera Bread rolled out Panera Grocery, which allows customers to avoid long lines in grocery stores and pick up items like wheat bread.

"We drove all the way from Sugar Land to pick up some wheat bread for my dad," said customer Shams Valliani.

Pick-up service is the current new normal for a lot of restaurants. Some believe it’s a sign of things to come.

“I think this industry has advanced about five years from an innovation standpoint in the last three or four weeks,” Lyons said. “The buying behavior of the customer is going to change.”


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