Restaurants fight to survive

Restaurant dining rooms were eerily empty. For weeks, they were roped off. Chairs were stacked on tables, lights were dimmed, and liquor bottles collected dust.

But back of the house, kitchens still glowed. Small crews kept cooking, kept serving.

In the beginning, the decision to stay open for takeout and delivery seemed to be about restaurant owners keeping their businesses alive.

But as Louisiana’s stay-at-home order dragged on and COVID-19 cases climbed, that decision grew into something more. Restaurants made meals for health care workers and those in need. Competitors became collaborators, fighting not just to keep their own eateries afloat, but to keep their neighbors open, too. Chefs who flexed their creativity with plating found ways to make food in styrofoam boxes interesting. Cooks and servers hopped on bikes, going beyond their job descriptions to deliver meals. And they all risked their own health to give the rest of us the tiniest sense of comfort in one of the strangest, darkest times we can remember.

The Baton Rouge dining scene has really hit its stride the past few years. The cool new openings and delicious flavors have made us all proud to live here.

But the culinary industry has never made us prouder than it has over the past few weeks. Restaurants spread love when we needed it most. Now, as they face reopening in such uncertain economic times, let’s all do our part to show them that love back.

SIGNED, SEALED AND DELIVERED

Searching for ways to keep getting food to customers stuck at home, some restaurants launched in-house delivery

THE DIGITAL AGE

How Baton Rouge food companies used technology to maintain business in a rapidly changing world

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Food trucks shifted back into gear, this time heading to new territory: residential neighborhoods

MADE WITH LOVE

How Baton Rouge restaurants and businesses teamed up to help each other

THE FAMILY PLAN

With kids and parents alike home from school and work, food businesses pivoted to large meal orders

MAKING GROCERIES

Farmers markets became drive-thrus, and grocery stores offered special hours for the eldery and immunocompromised

BOTTOMS UP

Baton Rouge bar owners talk shutdown—and keeping spirits high for the future

LOOKING AHEAD

What the future holds for Baton Rouge restaurants and bars is hard to pin down, as each operator wrestles with unforeseen daily challenges against an unimaginable social landscape

WHY WE’RE STAYING OPEN

They come from different backgrounds, but these restaurant owners all shared a common dream: owning a restaurant. Here’s why they’re not letting it go, even in a pandemic

These articles were originally published in the May 2020 issue of 225 Magazine.