'We're gonna do whatever we can': Chicago restaurants try to stay afloat as indoor dining shuts down
CHICAGO - It's a big question in 2020: How do restaurants keep business hot with only outdoor dining in the cold?
Some restaurants are coming up with new recipes in hopes of success, and they're not what you might think.
Kelly Davison said she almost passed out when she heard that indoor dining in Chicago would shut down again starting Friday.
As the chef of Betty Lou's restaurant in Andersonville, Davison is known for whipping up healthy soul food, but soon she plans to dish out something new: “How to” videos.
“We have six cheese macaroni that's pretty famous here, and so we're gonna sell it here and show people how to go home and preheat it and present it as if they just got it,” said Davison.
Davison plans to post the five to 10 minute videos on Betty Lou's website and social media pages.
She hopes they will encourage more people to do takeout and delivery so the restaurant can stay afloat.
Ozzie Godoy, General Manager at Carnivale in the West Loop, says in the next two weeks he plans on opening a bakery within the restaurant, where customers can preorder desserts.
“We're going to come up with signature cakes that are only 'Carnivalesque',” said Godoy.
The restaurant also plans to offer grocery kits for purchase with produce, dairy and more as an alternative to grocery store shopping.
“We're gonna do whatever we can,” said Godoy.
The community is also coming together to help restaurants.
The 48th ward, along with the Andersonville and Edgewater Chambers of Commerce, are bringing back "Takeout Thursdays," encouraging people to order direct from their local eateries at least once a week.