Eat downtown, help your neighbors

$20 a week could help keep local restaurants alive

Downtown Morris loves its festivals, so it shouldn’t be hard to continue the tradition and support the downtown dining establishments.

Restaurant owners in downtown Morris have struggled for most of this year because of COVID-19. Many could quickly run short of cash to support day-to-day operations and staff wages. These locally owned restaurants are forced to make the difficult choice between community health and economic survival. Without the community’s help, many will not survive this winter.

Fortunately, there’s something the community can do to help: By committing to spend at least $20 each week ordering takeout this winter, residents can help keep downtown businesses alive. That’s $20 a person each week. If a quarter of Morris’ about 15,000 residents, or 3,750 people, pledges to spend $20 a week at downtown restaurants, that would amount to $75,000 a week spent at local restaurants. With about 20 downtown restaurants, that equates to $3,750 per restaurant each week to cover operational costs. This could be the difference between economic survival or closure.

So pledge now to consistently order takeout and support our local restaurants. Visit http://chng.it/2XtxNsNf67 to pledge. Visit the Facebook group “Food Fest $20 – Downtown Morris” and share your experience. A list of downtown restaurants can be viewed at www.eatatmorris.com.