Want a roll of toilet paper in a pinch? Try Clay Pot, the Vietnamese restaurant on Franklin Avenue, or Saltgrass Steak House at Legends Crossing.
More and more, it seems, traditional eating places are transitioning to general merchandise in response to restrictions aimed at combatting COVID-19. H-E-B stores in Greater Waco receive daily deliveries of tissue, but by closing time, shelves again are bare, spokeswoman Chelsea Thompson said.
So unusual suspects are stepping up to fill the void.
“Yes, we are selling toilet paper,” said Clay Pot’s Angelissa Mancillas.
But Clay Pot is no one-ply pony. Customers also can avail themselves of paper towels, vegetable oil, gallons of tea and lemonade, flour, sugar, Lysol and meat, Mancillas said. Clay Pot even makes deliveries.
Texas Roadhouse, near Waco’s traffic circle, has introduced cuts to go in response to coronavirus-related sheltering in place. Veteran staffer Chelsea Morris said customers may call a day ahead to order ribeyes, New York strips, sirloins and filets for at-home grilling.
“We give a head’s up to our meat cutter, who gets here mornings,” Morris said. “We follow social-distancing rules, so we’re watching from the window as customers park in the parking lot. We get their name and order, and bring the food to them without anyone standing too close together.”
She said pork chops and beef tips also appear on the to-go menu.
“Orders are picking up as more people find out about what we’re doing,” Morris said. “The word is getting out. We also offer family packs, which people appreciate.”
At the time of her conversation, about 4:45 p.m. Friday, she was awaiting the arrival of 23 customers retrieving to-go orders.
“The decision to sell steaks was based on demand from guests,” chain spokesman Travis Doster said in a press release. “Restaurants are a vital part of our nation’s food supply, and we’re stepping in where we can to help fill the gaps.”
At Saltgrass Steak House, customers also have a range of options.
“We have all our steaks available for preparation at home, but we also have salmon, shrimp, lettuce, potatoes, paper towels and toilet paper,” manager Morgan Emmons said.
She described demand for toilet paper as “hit or miss,” saying sometimes it flies off the shelves.
Saltgrass’ toilet paper stockpile is replenished by Sysco, a world leader in providing supplies to restaurants, schools and lodging establishments.
The steakhouse offers an “essential package,” which includes 2 pounds of burger meat, four 8-ounce chicken breasts, 3 pounds of uncooked rice, a head of iceberg lettuce, 1 pound of cavatappi pasta, a dozen eggs, 4 potatoes, a pound of butter and a bottle of Saltgrass Seven Steak Spice.
It costs $40, and is one of several options available in Waco, Emmons said.
H-E-B, Waco’s dominant grocery chain, appreciates what local restaurants are doing to meet the dining demands of residents sheltering in place.
“I think it’s great that local restaurants are stepping in to help the community,” Thompson, the H-E-B spokeswoman, said by email.
She went on to plug the Texas-based chain’s efforts to keep pace.
“The stores are looking good in terms of stock status and are receiving truck shipments every single day,” she said.
Separately, H-E-B announced Friday in a press release it had expanded home delivery service in Waco via the company it acquired in 2018, Favor Delivery.
“Beginning today, Waco residents will be able to get contactless delivery from restaurants and stores, and seniors 60 years of age and older can use the H-E-B and Favor Senior Support Line to order groceries and essentials from their neighborhood H-E-B,” according to the company’s statement.
Launched last month, the Senior Support Line is a “social-distancing alternative” that allows seniors to buy and receive groceries at home via favordelivery.com/seniors or by calling 1-833-397-0080. Restaurant delivers for customers of all ages are available in Waco via the Favor app or favordelivery.com.
H-E-B and Favor are waiving delivery fees during the first 30 days of the service, but orders will include a $10 tip, “which goes entirely to the Favor Runner, who will personally shop and deliver items,” according to the press release.
H-E-B also announced Friday it would be providing employees with masks and gloves for use starting Saturday.
“All partners who choose these options must continue to follow H-E-B’s strict hygiene and sanitation measures as well as proper social distancing protocols,” according to the announcement.
Fuddruckers, the burger emporium at 1411 N. Valley Mills Drive, also has joined the movement toward providing items in bulk to homebound customers.
It sells hamburger patties for cooking at home, setting up a covered area in its parking lot to streamline the operation.
A meal kit, selling for about $20, includes a sleeve of six ⅓-pound patties, six buns and a produce pack that includes lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and onions, shift manager Guisel Garcia said. On Facebook, the Waco location is posting a menu of meat, bread, eggs, cheese and produce that changes daily based on availability.
“We’re doing this until we can open the dining area,” Garcia said.
She confirmed Fuddruckers, like many other restaurants, has trimmed staff.
“Customers are happy to see us offering these packs,” she said. “They say we should keep doing this after the situation has been resolved.”
Fuddruckers secures its hamburger meat from food distributor Ben E. Keith Co. and applies its special blend of seasoning, Garcia said.
“We have our own bun mix and bake every day from scratch,” she said.
Dining establishments all over Greater Waco are adapting to increased demand for drive-thru and pick-up orders with dine-in options outlawed.
On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina has launched new Family Meal Deals, with options changing regularly. They are available for to-go, pickup and catering and are meant to feed four to five people, a press release states.
El Conquistador on West Waco Drive has been offering call-ahead pick-up service, with staffers greeting customers with orders in hand well into early evening. Service was scheduled to stop at 8 p.m. on a recent Friday, “but every time we try to close, we get more calls,” a staffer said by phone.
The coronavirus has proven too much for some local eateries.
The popular Ninfa’s restaurant in River Square Center downtown has temporarily pulled the plug on all operations, including take-out.
“Ninfa’s would like to thank our loyal guests and friends who have supported us before and since the coronavirus pandemic,” a post on its website states. “We have tried to stay open under the current guidelines, but the economic hardship has proved to be too great. We will be closed effective immediately until the Governor lifts the current restrictions and we are able to operate fully. Thank you for your patronage and loyalty.”
— WACOTRIB
