Local restaurants make changes, food delivery services waive fees amid coronavirus pandemic

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – There were empty tables and booths at Lupi’s Pizza Tuesday afternoon.

The downtown Chattanooga restaurant has closed their dining rooms and are focusing on carry out and curbside pick-up only.

“You can come in and order carryout. You can call in on the phone and pay over the phone have it ready to go that way. We’re offering curbside pick-up,”
Lupi’s Pizza Downtown General Manger TJ Greever said.

Lupi’s is one of a number of local restaurants altering the way they normally do business because of the coronavirus outbreak.

“We feel that’s the way we can still navigate this climate safely and responsibly and still offer the service,” Greever said.

Other places to eat have shut down completely .

The Monen Restaurant Group has chosen to close all 9 of their restaurants in Chattanooga and Nashville out of an abundance of caution.

Locally that includes Taco Mamacita, Urban Stack, Market South, Hi-Fi Clyde’s, Milk & Honey and Community Pie.

Many restaurants are still offering food through food delivery services like UBER eats and Dinner Delivered.

Both companies are giving customers to options to have their food delivered contact free.

“The driver drives to the customer puts the product at the customers front door and from there they contact the customer and let them know the product is there. There’s no contact made,” Dinner Delivered Managing Member Stephen Hays said.

Delivery services are also waiving delivery fees.

When ordering on Dinner Delivered type in the coupon code “local” to get free delivery.

There is no limit on how many times it can be used.

“We’re a local business, you know. We’re trying to help out the other local businesses try to keep everything going. There is no, this is kind of an unprecedented event that I’ve never seen in my lifetime here and I don’t think it’s ever happened here where things are just closing because people don’t want to go out,” Hays said.

“You know, we can get through this, but we have to support each other. This thing changes every day. Sometimes multiple times in a day. So I feel like everybody is just doing the best they can to try to get through this thing and you know take on minimal loss,” Greever said.