Chamber aiding in tents situation

CLOVIS — The roller coaster that is COVID-19 has plunged downward, then upward, then down again for local restaurants.

But the Curry County Chamber of Commerce is doing all it can to help.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s latest health order, effective July 13, has forced restaurants to close indoor dining again after it was prohibited, then allowed. On Monday, indoor dining was allowed for a few hours before it was shut down again as courts got involved.

The uncertainty in the industry inspired the Chamber to introduce its ongoing “Pop-Up Patio”campaign.

The initiative’s name pretty much says it all. The Chamber is using canopies — in some cases several — and pop-up tents to create makeshift patio sections that allow restaurants to legally and safely serve customers.

“That’s our new push in support of the restaurants that had to close because of the state mandate for no indoor dining,” Chamber Executive Director Ernie Kos said. “We are starting with our members. … It’s just a temporary fix so people can still eat (out). I know it’s hot out there, but it does give the restaurants an opportunity to serve customers and keep employees. Yeah, we’ve gotten a lot of interest in that.”

The pop-ups were the brainchild of Jonathan Justus, the Chamber’s vice-president of Membership Relations and Retention. “It is my job to take care of our restaurants the best we can,” Justus said, “and I figured this could be a way to do so.

“I actually saw a little canopy on a garage sale Facebook page,” Justus said. “I was thinking about how kind of one-sided the mandate was; I felt like the governor was just picking on one industry. …

“I was trying to think of a way we can support our local businesses. So I thought, ‘Why don’t we buy these (canopies) for our restaurants and see if we could keep them up and running.’”

“That’s our first option to help them,” Kos said. “We’re looking at another option for outdoor dining, and that would be something more permanent.”

Kos said she wasn’t quite ready to announce the other option, but the first is going well, and has Facebook lighting up with hundreds of positive comments.

According to Justus, the majority of canopies that have been donated so far were bought by the Chamber because the restaurants were in need and the Chamber wanted to act swiftly to help them. Businesses can donate to the Chamber to offset the cost of canopies, and the New Mexico Restaurant Association is also taking donations.

Businesses can also donate canopies directly to the restaurants. Such is the case for Plateau Internet and Telecom, which brought its own canopies to Leal’s on Tuesday.

“Just to show they support local businesses like Leal’s,” Justus said.

No one knows how long the COVID crisis will last, if it will get better or worse. But the Chamber and businesses reaching out to help are at least controlling what they can control.

“It’s a definite win for local restaurants,” Justus said, “and I’m glad to see people stepping up and taking action instead of hiding behind the computer screen.”