Life and business as we know it has changed dramatically with the progression of COVID-19 around the world and in the United States.
While we are all doing our part to minimize the impact by staying at home, there are still ways you can support Ossining businesses.
Here are some ideas:
1. Order Takeout: Most Ossining restaurants offer online ordering, free delivery or curb side pick up. We recommend ordering directly from the restaurants and not from delivery services, as those take a percentage of the restaurants profits. Note that delivery apps like Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber Eats often take a huge percentage of a restaurant’s revenue, so try to order directly from the restaurant where possible. Chow Now is now used by a few Ossining restaurants, and they aren’t charged a commission on purchases through that platform. We’ve heard directly from restaurant owners that they sometimes pay 40% of revenue to these delivery apps, making the orders essentially break-even. There is also increasing discussion of this issue nationwide as restaurants are depending almost entirely right now on takeout/delivery orders.
2. Buy Gift Certificates: If you are not comfortable ordering food or want to wait until the restaurants and shops are open, you can still support your favorite restaurant or store by buying gift certificates. A gift certificate is also a great present for friends or family members’ birthdays or for graduating students. Some businesses offering gift cards are Penny and Ting, Brothers Fish and Chips, Good Choice Kitchen and First Village Coffee.
3. Donate: Local non-profits are working to support people in need, which is even more critical during a crisis. Make a difference and help a neighbor who may be having a particularly tough time right now. Gullota House has raised over $43,000 dollars to provide free community meals and the Ossining Food Pantry is helping to feed families during this difficult time.
– You can donate to Gullota House HERE.
– You can donate to the Ossining Food Pantry HERE.
4. Take online classes: There are lots of free and paid classes offered by Ossining Businesses. You can take yoga classes from Dragonfly Wellness, dance classes from Logrea Dance Academy or Westchester Dance Artist, music classes from Mike Risko Music, acting classes from Theater O and lots more. Remember, many of these businesses’ revenue went down considerably as regular classes and programs were canceled. If we want these schools to stay open, it’s critical that we support them now when they need it the most. And of course you benefit from great instruction (and keeping the family occupied) as well!
5. Leave a review: Virtually support your favorite businesses by leaving a review on Google, Facebook, Yelp or Trip Advisor. Good reviews make other people more likely to patronize local businesses. Google stopped posting new reviews for a few months, but recently lifted that restriction.
6. Share!: Is your takeout amazing? Are you wearing a mask made by a local artisan? Are you taking a great online class with a local school? Snap a picture and share it with your friends, followers and contacts on social media! Or send a message to your local friends recommending and inviting them to #SupportLocal. More people are on social media than ever before, so it really can make a difference.
7. Sign Up for our newsletter! Get the latest updates and info on how to support Ossining businesses by signing up to our newsletter!
Support your town! #OssiningStrong
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Are you an Ossining business owner and need our support?
Please don’t hesitate to reach us and let us know how can we help.