Pandemic GOLD STAR AWARD series

Gold Star Awards series - recognizing businesses for their exceptional service during the pandemic

We would be remiss to create a local restaurant and food focused journal without first recognizing those businesses that went above and beyond during the scary and uncertain first few months of the pandemic. 

We can all remember the fear we felt at the idea of venturing into a supermarket. There were so many concerns:

Will we have enough fresh food to serve our family each week? milk? fruits?

Which stores still had toilet-paper? (even 1-ply felt like a luxury back then)

Where can we buy ingredients to make-your-own hand sanitizer?

In those early days, most people spent their time plotting ways to sneak into stores during the less crowded, off-peak hours, they lined up outside stores before they even opened, and had their fingers permanently affixed to the redial button trying to get through to those few local stores offering curbside pickup. 

To say it was overwhelming, is an incredible understatement. 

But then, out of the darkness emerged those brave and dedicated folks: those selfless employees and business owners who felt compelled to show up each morning, risking their own health. They quickly adjusted to the evolving pandemic by re-creating the way they do business - to serve the community’s needs.

We will be running a series of posts that highlight these businesses. There were a handful of places that my family relied on each week, and I will be writing about those. But each family in our community has a different story to share, and we’d like to hear yours. Please reach out to us if there was a store or restaurant that you’d like to recognize, or better yet, contribute an article to (203)Eat and Tell!  

To all those businesses that helped (203), it’s time for us to thank you….