Has anyone else ordered takeout more than 5 times this week? Just me?
Ordering takeout is definitely not the norm for me. There’s no denying that I love to cook. On any given day, I’ll be experimenting with making boba or baking bread from scratch, but since arriving home, I’ve found myself opening my Postmates app more often than ever.
A week before spring break, I thought I’d be coming home to my favorite coffee shops and local shops, exploring hole-in-the-wall restaurants in LA with my best friends, and driving down Melrose to thrift... and then we got the order to social distance.
Social Distancing is something we should all be doing right now, period. If we don’t work together to stop the spread of COVID-19, it’s going to be a long time before we can return to our daily routines, months before we can go out to eat or have bonfires with friends, or even window shop along State Street down to Stearns Wharf.
Because of social distancing, businesses of all kinds have been impacted greatly by social distancing and quarantining. Yes, big corporations have been hit hard, but arguably small, local businesses have been devastated the most. Shelter-in-place has forced small boutiques and local cafes to close, and the ones that have stayed open are forced to let
go of employees or lessen work hours drastically. According to WalletHub's survey, 35% of small business owners report that their businesses will only be able to survive, at most, 3 more months in the current conditions.
For small businesses in Isla Vista, closing down could impact a lot of people. Isla Vista is an iconic part of what makes UCSB so amazing. Pardall is always teaming with students: biking to Embarcadero Hall for class, stopping at Woodstock’s for a pint and pizza, sitting in Cajé frantically cramming for an exam, or stopping by Blenders for a midday pick-me-up. Students find their boba fix at Mojo’s between lectures, and amazing breakfast sandwiches at South Coast Deli, or a late-night snack from Hana Kitchen. Freebirds ALWAYS has a line out the door, even at 3 am. It’s these little things that make Isla Vista the college town that it is, and losing even one of these places would change IV drastically. Local businesses a key part of what makes IV so amazing, and students who work in IV will be stuck wondering how they’re going to meet rent or buy food for the week if they don’t have enough hours or lose their jobs!
BottomLine reports about the local businesses open in Isla Vista and the difficulty their owners are having to keep their businesses alive. Cajé’s Troy Yamasaki reports that sales have dropped around 80% with only 5-8 workers keeping up with orders. Meanwhile, Woodstock’s is continuing with delivery and beer sales, but employees’ work hours have dropped to less than 20 hours a week, leaving employees to consider quitting work. Isla Vista’s local businesses have been increasingly impacted, so it’s up to us to make sure our favorite places don’t close down permanently. I don’t know about you but when we finally get to return to UCSB you can bet that my friends and I will be at Freebirds at 2 am ordering nachos and buying midnight musubis at PokeCeviche.
So while we probably should cook at least some of our meals at home, don’t feel too guilty about ordering Postmates, DoorDash (use my code for an awesome discount!), or delivery because you’ll be supporting local businesses and helping keep our favorite places up and running... Just make sure you tip your delivery person generously, and maybe don’t order food if you’re sick.