LOCAL NEWS
“Top Chef Harrisonburg 2019: Bella Luna Wood-Fired Pizza” by Kyle Rogers
- Blue Ridge CASA for Children hosted a second annual “Top Chef: Harrisonburg” event involving participatory local restaurants (Rogers, K., WHSV3, 2019)
- One of the seven chefs is Brian Bogan from Bella Luna Wood-Fired Pizza (Rogers, K., WHSV3, 2019).
- He won top chef in Harrisonburg last year (Rogers, K., WHSV3, 2019).
- Proceeds and sponsorships will go directly to Blue Ridge CASA (Rogers, K., WHSV3, 2019).
- Bogan says, “I’m always looking for sort of surprised delighted reaction after the first bite” (Rogers, K., WHSV3, 2019).
“Efforts to Emerge To Aid Unemployed Restaurant Workers” by Kathleen Shaw
- Nevin Lough Zehr, a dishwasher and prepcook for Bella Luna Pizza Kitchen, has donated his birthday wish to have a livestream marathon of “Donkey Kong Country 3,” to raise money for unemployed restaurant workers (Shaw, K., DailyNewsRecord, 2020).
- Due to COVID19 and expenses lost of 45 restaurants, two online recourses are being provided to collect donations for displaced restaurant workers (Shaw, K., DailyNewsRecord, 2020).
- The Harrisonburg Culinary District Workers GoFundMe is streaming money to non-profit associations that are collecting money for industry workers who fit the age and economic status of this pandemic (Shaw, K., DailyNewsRecord, 2020).
- As of Tuesday, March 24, over 40 donors have contributed $1,850 to the GoFundMe (Shaw, K., DailyNewsRecord, 2020).
- Jacob Lester started a similar project, the Virtual Tip Jar, on Saturday.
- The virtual tip jar is a Facebook group, one can join, which attaches to PayPal and Venmo accounts.
SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING
INDUSTRY NEWS
Domino’s launch custom contactless delivery during coronavirus crisis
- With the coronavirus keeping most at home, most food delivery services have been offering contactless pick-up and delivery
- Dominos has taken this a step further and “Customers can indicate where they would prefer their order to be left by a pizza delivery person: whether that’s by the front door, at a reception desk or on a bench. Domino’s also clarified that it will continue to deliver to shelters, hospitals and other healthcare facilities”
- They’re new offer allows pizza to be delivered and left anywhere their customers want, in an attempt to keep the process sanitary
- Along with this new delivery method Dominos “has also stated that it has enhanced its cleaning and hygiene practices”
This new method of delivery and drop off wherever customers want has helped Dominos across the country keep their doors open and pizza’s selling. Bella Luna could benefit from mimicking Domino’s new tactic of drop-off orders. This removes contact between the delivery person and customer. Minimizing the possibility of an employee falling ill or catching the virus. Domino’s has also removed human contact with their pickup system allowing customers to drive up to a store and pick up their meal without going inside.
Coronavirus: Papa John’s to hire 20,000 because of pizza demand during pandemic
- Papa Johns is hiring 20,000 new employees “as soon as possible, some hiring may be done the same day as the application”
- In a statement from the company “We want to add talented team members to our Papa John’s family across the country to deliver food safely to our customers’ doorsteps. We are in the unique position — as a restaurant that specializes in delivery and carryout — to help our communities through this crisis.”
- Many pizza restaurants across the country that specialize in delivery service are hiring currently to help those who are looking for a source of income, but as well as to meet the demands of their customers
Though Bella Luna does not have the resources, nor the amount of customers Papa John’s has, they should look into hiring some new employees who can deliver food for the restaurant during this time. Many delivery chains are hiring currently to meet rising demands for delivery services, it would benefit Bella Luna to look into a similar tactic. Before this crisis Bella Luna did not offer takeout or delivery but to survive this crisis and make some income it would be in their interest to start. By hiring only a few employees who can deliver food in a sanitary method they may be able to draw in more customers.
ADVISORY COMMENT
Bella Luna should consider offering pizza kits to encourage their customers to stay home, while still allowing their regulars to eat their food and maintain some normalcy. Many businesses have issued a statement regarding COVID-19, Bella Luna should emphasize that they have sanitized their dining area/kitchen, have encouraged employees to stay home if they aren’t feeling well, and have created work stations in the kitchen and pick-up area of the restaurant that are six feet apart. Customers are going to remember how businesses behaved during this pandemic, therefore Bella Luna needs to ensure that they are putting their customers health as their main priority.
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