To keep employees working, Fresno restaurants start selling boxes of food, essentials
Care package. Community box. Pantry box.
Whatever you call it, several restaurants are pivoting to it as a way to provide their customers with more than just takeout food.
At least three restaurants in Fresno are selling boxes of food that include items like fruit and vegetables, eggs, milk, raw chicken breasts – sometimes even toilet paper.
The boxes of supplies are an option for people who don’t want to risk going inside a grocery store or may not have internet access to use online grocery delivery services. They also are able to get some items that are selling out in stores, especially eggs and bread.
And they’re a way to keep workers working in a coronavirus era of massive cutbacks in the restaurant business.
Patio Cafe
The Patio Cafe in Fig Garden Village is selling care packages containing vegetables, eggs, bread and other food.
Owner Robyn Richardson started doing the boxes as a way to keep her employees working.
“We’re not making a profit on this, but I’m keeping my employees on payroll because I have work for them,” she said.
She’s connected with local farmers to provide fruit and vegetables, and fills in gaps with produce from the company that supplies food to her restaurant.
“So just really trying to keep it as local as possible,” she said.
There are carrots, cucumbers, peppers, asparagus, broccoli and other vegetables. Some cookies also made it into the boxes. Eggs come from Burroughs Farms in Denair and bread from the Basque French Bakery in downtown Fresno.
Customers can also purchase other products for an extra price, including dried beans, brown rice, oatmeal, almond butter and olive oil.
A small box feeding up to two people has a suggested donation of $25. A large box for a family is $40.
If people donate more than the suggested amount, it goes to employees.
Despite everything, Richardson said she and her staff are coping well.
“I feel like morale has been really high. We keep each other busy,” she said. “I think we all know that this too shall pass.”
To order: Call the restaurant and pay over the phone, or pay in person when you pick up. 559-243-1074.
Vino Grille
Vino Grille & Spirits, at Champlain Drive and Shepherd Avenue, is doing something similar. Its community boxes come with all kinds of vegetables, eggs, bread, butter, milk, fruit, potatoes and more. Boxes vary depending upon what’s available.
Wineries that supply the restaurant and wine store donated boxes to put the food in.
“What’s really driving it is being able to bring in employees that don’t have any hours and having them do something,” said owner Chuck Van Fleet.
Workers like hosts and bartenders typically have not been getting hours during the shelter in place order because restaurant dining rooms are closed.
The boxes come with a suggested donation of $40. They can be ordered at www.vinogrille.com and picked up a day or so later, between noon and 5 p.m. Click on any reservation button to reserve a box.
Boxes can also be donated to people in need and employees can be tipped through the online system.
Details: 559-434-1771.
Lazy Dog
Chain restaurant Lazy Dog on Blackstone Avenue near Nees Avenue is selling pantry boxes for $40.
They include three pounds of raw boneless chicken breasts, 15 eggs, a gallon of whole milk, bread, a pound of butter, three rolls of toilet paper and two pounds each of uncooked rice, onions, red potatoes and carrots.
Details: Order online or call the restaurant for information about same-day availability at 559-691-5300.
This story was originally published March 30, 2020 at 2:48 PM.
