Great American Takeout begins today

Wednesday, March 25, 2020
To help restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as government orders requiring restaurants to become carryout, take-out, or delivery only, numerous national and regional restaurants began the Great American Takeout campaign, which is underway today. The campaign encourages the public to order at least one delivery or take out meal to show support for restaurants in their area. Pictured above, Sonic's Hwy. 51 Bypass location in Dyersburg.
State Gazette photo

BRANDON HUTCHESON

bhutcheson@stategazette.com

In an effort to support the restaurant industry, national and regional restaurants have banded together to ask the public to support the industry by creating the Great American Takeout campaign. The effort, which is underway today, encourages the public to order at least one delivery or take out meal to show support for restaurants.

The restaurant industry has taken a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. On a state level, Gov. Bill Lee issued Executive Order 17 on Sunday, which stated restaurants, bars, and similar food and drink establishments are to exclusively offer drive-in, take-out or delivery options.

With many restaurants in the Dyer County area transitioning their businesses to adhere to Gov. Lee’s Executive Order, local business owners encourage the public to take part in the Great American Takeout campaign.

“The Great American Takeout is a wonderful way for our communities to help support local businesses who are able to remain open during this crisis,” said Sara Jo Fountain, Marketing Director and Office Administrator for D&B Properties. “While Sonic Drive-In is a national chain, your local Sonic is owned and operated by members of your community right here in Dyer County. Our Franchise employees over 1,000 people across 5 states, and we are very thankful that our doors are able to remain open during this time. Thank you to anyone who is still supporting your local businesses. As long as we are able to keep our stores open, we will continue to reach out to our community and help in any way that we can. We are currently giving our employees a free meal while at work, as a way to thank them for showing up amidst a scary time. We are also allowing them to take home a free kids meal for their children. As always, safety is top of mind for both our employees and our guests. We are following every guideline recommended by the CDC. We are very appreciative, and being able to keep our doors open is helping keep an income flowing for all of our employees so they can continue to support their families. Thank you Dyer County!”

McDonald's Dyersburg location on Lake Road
State Gazette photo

Darren Sells, owner of McDonald’s in Newbern and Dyersburg stated, “McDonald’s is here to serve the community. We are open for business for drive-thru and takeout. You can also order McDonald’s via DoorDash at participating locations.

“We are here to serve the community during this unprecedented time in our nation’s history. We thank our customers.”

Pig-N-Out in Dyersburg
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Owner-operator of Pig-N-Out Restaurant Wade Jeffries added, “Since COVID-19 has made its way into our little town, I can say that business has been a little down. Our drive-thru and carryout options already were a major part of our everyday revenue, so with all that is going on now we have just had to slightly switch gears and rely solely on them. During this time, it has become important than ever to continue to support small business owners like me. We have wonderful, loyal customers that have done just that, and we hope and pray that they will continue to do so now that we can no longer offer our dine-in option. Our thoughts and prayers are with every small business that is affected by this pandemic, and we know that as a community we can make it through this.”

Hog Heaven in Dyersburg
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“We’re like everybody else – hoping that this ends soon,” stated Cindy French, owner of Hog Heaven. “We are pretty much business as usual, except you can’t dine in. Everything is pickup, curbside, or drive-thru. It is tough. Right now, we’re just hoping that we can cover cost and keep our folks working. The traffic is slow, but it’s there. We’re just so hopeful that this will end soon.”

Lock's Store in Millsfield
State Gazette photo

“We have reduced our menu, added family style meals on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and added a $5 combo – a more affordable option for those who need it,” said Shannon Walker of Lock’s Store in Millsfield. “Every restaurant is being effected with this, but we’ll get through it. The community can only do what the can do, but if they can spread it around and give all the businesses an opportunity, we’ll get through this. There will be some good things come of it. We may not know what that is just yet, but there will be some good things come out of it. We appreciate everyone’s business, and I know a lot of mom and pop businesses do too. Together we’ll all get through this tough time. Let’s all use this as an opportunity to support each other and help those in need.”

Those who participate in the campaign are encouraged to post on social media and use the hashtag #GreatAmericanTakeout to help spread the word.

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