Port Huron, MI — Restaurants once again have to innovate to stay in business and serve their customers, in the wake of the “paused” indoor dining for three weeks throughout Michigan.
The responsibility of keeping their staff employed when there are no indoor diners weighs heavily on restaurant owners. For Martina’s Grill in Downtown Port Huron, they are trying to make the best of a major challenge to their business.
Only open since March, Martina’s Grill navigated the pandemic effects by offering outdoor seating, plexiglass dividers, and now, family meals for carry-out, including a full Thanksgiving Dinner with all the trimmings.
Manager Christina Ward said she is attempting to keep everyone working as much as possible. She said that people are already ordering the dinners, with some people ordering dinners to deliver to the friends and family that they can’t visit this year. Ward said, “Everyone is looking at Thanksgiving differently”, and Martina’s is trying to make the best of it.
Adapting to carry-out service is the only way for restaurants to keep their staff employed right now, and it is not easy. Ordering take-out from local restaurants, and maybe considering giving dinners as “gifts” to loved ones is a great step toward keeping our friends and neighbors employed during this “pause” in indoor dining.
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
