Since social distancing measures were put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19, Bob and Tina Kelly have been giving away hundreds of dollars worth of food.
Last week they partnered with Alpine Tavern and Grill by donating $500.
They put out the word that the first 25 people to show up at the restaurant and mention their name when picking up food would get $20 off their order.
Alpine Tavern and Grill owner Niki McCannen-Lynch said they ran through the $500 in about a week.
“It worked out great, the timing was perfect. It was very beneficial for us right now,” McCannen-Lynch said.
“Tina and I, since all this started with COVID 19, wanted to reach some people that could use some help paying for food and thought it might be a good idea to do it this way to also help a small business,” Bob said.
Tina credits their daughter with the idea for putting the word out on social media, to surprising generosity.
“One thing that was nice to see is that we posted it on social media and also sent it to our whole database but instead of seeing people getting excited for the money, so many posted comments online or emailed us back and said it was a sweet idea and they were passing the information along to someone who they knew could use it,” Tina Kelly said.
“Everyone has been so nice through all this but business has definitely been reduced. Some of our regulars are struggling and it was so sweet when Tina called and said what she was going to do,” McCannen- Lynch said.
Bob Kelly said the best part was watching it help true locals. “When you donate to a big charity, you don’t get to see what’s happening with an individual business. This way, we really got to see it help locals, not just the restaurant but also knowing it helped several families in the area with a little lunch money… we enjoyed doing it directly,” Bob Kelly said.
Following the success of the initial donation, the Kellys decided to duplicate the initiative, this time giving $500 to a Lakeside 7-11 so customers can pick up groceries or a lunch item to go.
“The store isn’t really hurting but they have a lot of people who go in here who could use a couple of extra dollars in groceries. If someone needs to get lunch, they should be able to do it for $20,” Bob Kelly said.
Meanwhile, McCannen- Lynch said she’s seen some new customers order food to go, and hopes they’ll be back to eat in person after COVID-19 social distancing regulations ease up.
“We’ll be fine, we’ll make it through this for sure. Sometimes, it’s been a little difficult to get things from our distributors but we still have a full menu, we’re still doing our half-off bottles of wine on Wednesday and we’re doing growlers to go,” McCannen- Lynch said.
She said they are simply waiting to receive straightforward direction from the county for guidelines to reopen.
“We definitely miss seeing everybody’s faces and seeing the restaurant full but we’re going to survive.”
