During this unpleasantness, OMWC and I have been fortunate to still be working. I always work from home, so my routine hasn’t changed much at all. He is still going to his laboratory every day and still getting paid. We are, as I said, fortunate.

Not everyone we know has been.

The governmental overreach on all levels has been truly horrifying, as Glibs know all too well.

In an effort to try to help, besides making extra loans on Kiva.org, we have been patronizing many local, small businesses who have morphed to take-out, curbside pick-up, or delivery.

We’ve started purchasing from a restaurant at which we have never dined, although we are frequent customers of the attached small-but-very-good wine shop. The restaurant has been offering special menus every day and has added delivery, including of wine and cocktails. Their emails have been a bright spot in my day; full of humor and just the right amount of snark.

We are 45 minutes outside their delivery area, and food would be cold by the time we got home if we picked it up, but in a bid to help their purveyors survive in a time of no farm markets and practically non-existent restaurant demand, the restaurant started offering a farm box with produce from several of the farms that supply the restaurant. Every week they have added extra products to the list of available items. This week fresh farm eggs, several kinds of flour from a local mill, polenta and dried garbanzo beans from a farm on the Rez were all available.

We have made it a point to have an outing and drive over each Saturday afternoon to pick up wine and the farm box, and several other items. They’ve included a nice little surprise in the box, too. Several weeks it has been a different house-made-and-bottled cocktail mixer for two; one week it was a roasted chickpea snack. As much of a win-win-win as one can hope for currently.

In another instance, one recent afternoon my security cameras and The Wonder Dog all lit up to warn me of someone on the front porch. Not an unusual occurrence because: a) I heart AMZ; and b) here in the suburbs there are constant real estate and landscaping fliers and cards left in one’s door. This was a new and interesting flier, however.

A local, family-owned gelato shop wanted us to know that, although the storefront was closed, they had decided to offer (free) delivery in a bid to remain solvent. Did we order? Well, of course we did! Every week since. And it’s delicious.

The businesses adding extra options to try to remain in business are not just food-related. Our local dry cleaner has added free front porch pick-up and delivery of garments and bedding items (no minimum). Although many more people in Arizona are still going out to work than elsewhere, I imagine the dry cleaner is quite acutely feeling the pinch. Nobody wears an entire suit, for an entire day, just to talk on Zoom. However many people are using the enforced isolation BS to do some spring cleaning. Great opportunity to have comforters cleaned affordably and hassle-free while helping out a local business.

 

I have many more examples, but this post is long enough. How have small businesses in your area tried to cope?

 

 

Also, you may consider this your Sunday Night Open Post!