A few weeks ago there was a story in the Globe relaunching their Project Takeout that they started in January 2001. Their original Project Takeout was an effort to support local restaurants during the pandemic by buying take-out and gift cards at Boston eateries. The title of the original story was, “Get takeout. It’s your civic duty.”
The idea behind the project was straightforward. Help support local independent restaurants by committing to order from local restaurants as often as you can afford to.
It’s a great idea for Boston, and just as good an idea for Bedford.
January is traditionally the slowest time of the year for restaurants and with the latest surge of omicron coming on the heels of delta, people are staying home. This surge does show signs of abating soon; however, these local eateries could use some support. Not only is there a pandemic that is keeping people home, but labor is in short supply and costs are skyrocketing.
Local restaurants are a large part of the fabric of the community, and they need our support.
We did a very unscientific survey of the local eatery scene to see how they are faring.
Here’s what they said:
James Morris at Peppers Grille at the Great Road Shopping Center
“Being a relatively new business, I feel like we have succeeded in surviving the worst of the pandemic when other businesses who were much more established have had to unfortunately close their doors. A huge credit to our staff for their hard work, loyalty and dedication helping us weather the storm. Our customers came back to friendly faces and were glad to see that we were able to stay afloat. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us to build up the business again but we will succeed because of the strong community support Bedford residents show us.
“As a native of Bedford, I wanted to create a gathering space where friends could meet, enjoy each other’s company, and enjoy a nice home cooked meal in a warm comfortable casual atmosphere. We serve high quality food for reasonable prices as well as offering full bar service. We provide catering services for all your needs whether it be social or business meetings. If you’ve never been in, we invite you to come down and give us a try whether it be for Lunch, Dinner or Weekend Breakfast. Come in a Customer, Leave as a Friend. Find out why people refer to us as Bedford’s Hidden Gem.” James went on to say some of the most helpful things customers can do is to basically spread the news, Give a shout out on social media, tell your friends, engage with them on their business pages.
Mike at Red Heat Tavern:
“We are doing wonderful, happy to report we are just about fully staffed and are open for all normal business hours seven days a week! We could always use another piece to the puzzle but overall, we have been able to staff the restaurant appropriately. A lot of our wonderful team members are local residents right here in Bedford and some surrounding towns.
“We would love the community to know we are here for them. Our dining room and lounge are a great spot to grab a delicious steak tip dinner or kettle crusted haddock! We are still doing lots of takeout dining for our guests that aren’t comfortable dining out, our lunch business is thriving for the local businesses in the community. We recently launched our new catering program and are happy to deliver to local businesses also.
“We have also kick started our dine-to-donate program. Once a month we are donating a portion of sales to local non-profits in need and we are currently looking for groups for the summertime slots that are currently open.
“We are grateful to be a part of the Bedford community and would like to thank all of our loyal patrons during these challenging times.”
Laura at Express Pizza Bedford
“Express Pizza Bedford is celebrating our 33rd year this May! Business has been ok… not great but could be worse! We also have a bake shop known as Bedford Cupcakes.
“We are offering a 5% discount when ordering online via our website (We use SLICE as our online ordering partner). First time customers (online) can use promo code SLICEPLEASE and receive an additional $10 off their order.”
Diane at Minuteman Diner
“Minuteman Diner Celebrated 2 years open on January 16, 2022 – Minuteman Diner was open for 8 weeks until we were take-out only. Want to thank my customers, surrounding towns, friends, family, community, Hanscom Air Force Base, local businesses and my awesome staff!!! Cheers to 2 years!! What a ride it’s been!
“It’s definitely been a challenge due to staff shortages so we are open 7 days a week 7 am – 2 pm., we made it work. Customers totally understand and we are happy we are open.
1 out of 4 restaurants closed permanently. We are lucky!!
“We loved having the outdoor seating and will continue to serve outside once the nice weather is back.”
Briana at The Flatbread Company
“We have been in the Bedford location since 2006.
“Although the pandemic has been very challenging for the restaurant industry, we push to have a positive attitude and continue to serve our community!
“Take-out has never been busier, but we miss seeing more customers dine-in and experience the atmosphere that is Flatbread! There is nothing quite like sitting by our roaring fire while enjoying a Flatbread fresh out of the oven.
“We hope to open full time soon! (right now we are only open Wed-Sun 3-9.)”
Here’s a list of the local restaurants with contact info
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