During these unprecedented times, it’s no surprise that the hospitality industry has been hit hard. Take a trip to N.Y.C. and you’ll see the devastating sight of boarded, vacant store–fronts. Entire neighborhoods that used to house bustling cafes, restaurants and bars are now, sadly, dying, if not already dead.
Seeing this on a grand scale in the big city motivated a mission to prevent a similar scenario in our beloved Village of Croton-On-Hudson.
My husband and I are business owners here, so we’ve seen first hand what Covid has done to our social spots. The occupancy limitations for bars and restaurants demanded that these businesses pivot to survive.
Croton Tapsmith is our little craft beer taproom in the heart of Croton. We’ve gone from being named “Best New Bar” in Westchester Magazine to largely a take-out spot for Hudson Valley craft beers, ciders and our Neapolitan Pizza.
With these restrictions, and people simply not comfortable going out, take-out has become a lifeline for all bars and restaurants. So, being part of a community that feels very strongly about supporting local businesses, the Croton Business Council (CBC) saw the need for a plan. What’s For Dinner Wednesday? sprang to life, and it’s been a win/win for our neighbors and businesses alike.
Here’s how it works …
Each Wednesday participating hospitality retailers offer to-go specials on specified items at a generous discount of 10%-30% off menu prices. Both the menu item and the discount are at the discretion of each restaurant. On premise dining and home delivery are not available for the discounted specials. This initiative is designed to offset the strict limitations of indoor dining still in effect.
To assist us with community outreach, we solicited the assistanve of CBC Digital Contributor Laurie Weisz, owner of SuburbanGuides.com.
Laurie posts What’s for Dinner Wednesday? featured dishes on her Suburban Guides, Westchester County, and CrotonGuides.com pages, so it’s convenient and quick for people to see what they want, call in the order, and pick up dinner.
The easily shareable dinner specials also can be found on the Croton Business Council (CBC) Facebook page, and on several Facebook Community pages.
We’re pleased to report that the CBC’s efforts have been paying off for local businesses. In the two months since its inception, What’s for Dinner Wednesday? Orders have generated for the participating restaurants approximately $33,000 in revenue.
An added benefit is that not only are people ordering specials, but once they are “in the door,” they tend to also order regular-priced dishes that are not featured at a discount.
Check it out > facebook.com/crotonbusinesscouncil -or- suburbanguides.com.
Stay safe! And help #saverestaurants
Toni Senecal is Chair of Croton Business Council. To learn more
> Chair@CrotonBusinessCouncil.org. We would love to help! Please reach out!
List of participating restaurants?
List of participating restaurants for what’s for dinner Wednesday.