Stay at Home, and Order Delivery

The owners of Mama’s Kitchen, a pizza shop, in southeast D.C.

Thousands of restaurants have closed, more than 1 million restaurant workers have lost their jobs and tens of billions have been lost in wages and meals. These past few weeks have been devastating for the restaurant industry. Across the country some have been able to offer take-out and delivery, but many have had to temporarily, or permanently, close their doors. Closing these businesses hurts the owners, the employees, and the entire community.

I hear about this struggle every day when I talk to my parents over the phone.

My parents own a pizza shop, in southeast DC, Mama’s Kitchen. This shop supports my entire family, and although my parents are of the vulnerable population to this disease, it was never an option to close the doors. In addition to supporting my family, each of their nine full time employees who have become family, have families of their own to feed. Among my “quarantine daily to-dos” I spend some time every day looking for and applying to grants to help support my parents and the Mama’s family.

Although it is slower than usual, and some days only my parents come in to work, they let anyone of their employees that wants to come to work so they can pay them for their time, but other days they cannot afford to pay for their labor. My dad is nonetheless optimistic, “I think we are going to survive,” he laughs, “all we know is how to survive.” He’s bought extra gloves and masks for employees, and takes extra time cleaning the store from top to bottom, so customers who order takeout feel comfortable. Mama’s made 4,000 dollars last Saturday night which is the most they have made since the government required pandemic stay-at-home orders. have been put in place. “Mama’s loyal customers are coming out, I can’t believe it, they heard we were open and they are ordering a lot,” I could hear my father smiling over the phone.

His next move is updating the website and social media to let customers in the southeast know their favorite pizza place is still open--for takeout and delivery only. By the looks of it Mama’s Kitchen will survive another day, and hopefully through this crisis.

Although every morning when I wake up I am confronted with a bitter reality, of a pandemic that keeps me in my tiny apartment and that puts my parents in danger. But as a community, as a nation, and as a unified world, we have an obligation to flatten the curve, to support each other, and to stop the spread.

I have to remind myself that no one is alone in their worry and disappointment, and despite what it may seem—there is life after this.

A life where we can go outside and hug one another, and go out to eat at our local pizza shop.