I want a gallon of Rita's!!!!

Pinks tonight. Chasing it with Weller.

The "only local" thing is an interesting concept, and people all over - not just on this thread - sure do seem proud to take that stance. I admit there was a time when I thought that way as well. As a franchisee for the past 15 years, I'm glad to see a few people post reminders of the kind of folks who own and work for those "chains".

I remember some of our first yelp reviews (and a few random ones that we still get from time to time). They were obviously fake and completely exaggerated/twisted, and they usually ended with something along the lines of "I'd much rather spend my money at (name of Mom & Pop Shop) across the street." It was so over the top and obvious that we just had to laugh. This isn't quite the same as Wal-Mart coming in and putting Billy Bob's Hardware Store out of business, but people seem to feel that way by default. There is a negative feeling associated with the word "chain" without people giving it too much thought.

The truth is, the differences between our stores largely disappear beyond the fancy sign out front. The owners live in the same neighborhood. Kids go to the same schools. We pay the same taxes, attend the same church, support the same charities, shop at the same grocery stores, and even get a lot of our ingredients delivered by the same distributor. We're easily accessible (one of our owners works the front register every single day) and can be seen around town in all the same places. Much like the mom and pop shop, we put our entire savings into starting this business. Our assets are at risk just like theirs. Monetary support from the franchise in times like these? ZERO. Beyond the 3% royalty check we send every Monday, we're absolutely a local business.

They employ four people total, including the two owners. We employ 15 people, and although we've been forced to go to pickup window only, we've kept all of them on the payroll. We'll take a loss on that decision, and I'm fine with that. They will not go without paychecks. And these aren't just kids working part time. These are long-term employees with families of their own to support.

We're local. Our employees are local. Our landlord is local. I think we'll make it through this, but who knows. We happen to sell a comfort item that interestingly enough does ok during the bad times.

There are absolutely no hard feelings toward anyone who chooses to do business with the more obvious "mom and pop" option. I get it. I just wanted to share a little info about who the people behind those chains really are. Not all of them, but quite a few. Above all else, I'm just glad to hear that people are spending money, regardless of where you do it. Cheers.

We have committed to at least one meal out per day to support the restaurants. Several days we did two already.

We got dinner from a local TexMex place last night....tacos and margs. the restaurant is owned by some frineds who have already closed one place until April, and the place we ordered from last night has been identified today as a place where one of our CV cases went to.

And we definitely get that chain places are franchises, and even if not they employ local kids as servers, etc. so it's stupid to avoid them because they aren't "local".

Tonight we got delivery from a wine restaurant called the Funky Door. They had what they call the Funky Quarantine Pack:

2 8oz filets
8 tiger shrimp
4 chicken breasts
4 potatoes
Fresh vegs - asparagus, broccolini, carrots, onion
Fresh fruits - apple, grapes, pineapple
Chocolate cake
Wine
Roll of toilet paper (seriously)

The meats are all uncooked. So tonight we had filets, shrimp, asparagus, potatoes, and cake. It was fantastic!

Picked up take out from a local texmex place tonight. The guy who took my order on the phone talked me into four margaritas instead of two. It was happy hour. How could I say no? Did I take a sip of one on the way home? You're damn right.

I work for Chuy's and we greatly appreciate everyone supporting their favorite brands. Our industry has been hit extremely hard. We normally employee over 10K great people across our brand and we have had to make significant cuts this past week. Our goal is to get everyone back as quickly as possible and you guys doing what you are doing is certainly helping.

In all likelihood, I will be a casualty as a result of this. I am just grateful for the wonderful people I have had a chance to work with and meet over the years. Please, continue to place delivery orders at all these great restaurants.

expresswrittenconsent said:

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Chili's is always a bad idea.

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Amen

Picked up two mambo taxis, queso and guac (bc we had to). Spent an hour on my patio buzzed.

My wife picked up lunch from chuy's in Webster today

It was as good as usual

Good thread, hopefully it gets the folks that are bit too worried right now to get out and live a little, what they can at least.

So is the open container law somehow suspended now in Texas? Many of you are talking about takeout margaritas, etc

ravingfans said:

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So is the open container law somehow suspended now in Texas? Many of you are talking about takeout margaritas, etc

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I wondered the same on my way home from getting food with a couple of margaritas.

It is important to support the local restaurants if possible. This industry is getting destroyed and the people they employ have little to no savings to fall back on. Grocery stores are as bad or worse than takeout. At least a restaurant will have a limited staff. The grocery will have 50 customers who could be infected or caring for someone infected.

Don't forget the Farmers Markets.

ravingfans said:

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So is the open container law somehow suspended now in Texas? Many of you are talking about takeout margaritas, etc

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Well, the drinks we've gotten have had lids or in bottles, so I'm not sure how far that law has been suspended....

MooreTrucker said:

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ravingfans said:

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So is the open container law somehow suspended now in Texas? Many of you are talking about takeout margaritas, etc

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Well, the drinks we've gotten have had lids or in bottles, so I'm not sure how far that law has been suspended....

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There appears to be some confusion about the law. As I understand it, when delivering alcohol, it must be in its "original container." Easy enough for beer, but I don't understand how that works for margaritas.

LawHall88 said:

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MooreTrucker said:

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ravingfans said:

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So is the open container law somehow suspended now in Texas? Many of you are talking about takeout margaritas, etc

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Well, the drinks we've gotten have had lids or in bottles, so I'm not sure how far that law has been suspended....

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There appears to be some confusion about the law. As I understand it, when delivering alcohol, it must be in its "original container." Easy enough for beer, but I don't understand how that works for margaritas.

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Well, since they're mixed drinks the original container is whatever they're mixed in/poured into.

That's what I'm going with anyway.

MooreTrucker said:

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LawHall88 said:

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MooreTrucker said:

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ravingfans said:

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So is the open container law somehow suspended now in Texas? Many of you are talking about takeout margaritas, etc

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Well, the drinks we've gotten have had lids or in bottles, so I'm not sure how far that law has been suspended....

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There appears to be some confusion about the law. As I understand it, when delivering alcohol, it must be in its "original container." Easy enough for beer, but I don't understand how that works for margaritas.

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Well, since they're mixed drinks the original container is whatever they're mixed in/poured into.

That's what I'm going with anyway.

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Actually, I stand corrected. On Thursday, the Governor modified the rule to allow for delivery of cocktails. So never mind, I was operating off old information.

Didn't take long to derail and make this a true TexAgs thread by criticizing the restaurant option. I agree, Chili's sucks.

They serve it in a styrofoam cup with a taped on lid. Like the old daiquiri barn in CS.

First time today. We went as a family and picked up Freebirds in Temple.

MS

Best burrito I have had in years.

There are 5 of us at home. The quantity of dirty dishes we generate and the day is astounding. I need a break from cooking all the meals so we're eating take out probably every other day. I will generally bring the food home, wash my hands, plate the food, and throw away the containers which could be contaminated.

So far, so good.

There are 5 of us at home. The quantity of dirty dishes we generate and the day is astounding. I need a break from cooking all the meals so we're eating take out probably every other day. I will generally bring the food home, wash my hands, plate the food, and throw away the containers which could be contaminated.

So far, so good.

No joke. The dishes are wearing us out. Granted we are eating good.

I have 10 or.12 every day dishes. If all of my dishes are clean and I cook a meal, I can't usually fit everything from that ONE meal in one load of the dishwasher. Because.pots and pans....