TUPELO, Miss. (AP) - When the coronavirus made its way to Tupelo and the mayor limited access to restaurants to keep residents safe, Mitch McCamey had a decision to make.
McCamey, co-owner of the Neon Pig on North Gloster, could either shut down or double down.
He chose the latter.
“Neon Pig is a restaurant, but it’s also a butcher shop, which is deemed an essential business,” McCamey said. “People go to grocery stores and they’re out of meat, then they come here and we’re fully stocked with seafood, beef, pork and chicken. We’ve almost turned into a full-time grocery.”
The Neon Pig sources meats and vegetables from local farms, and butchers on site.
“People are just grabbing stuff,” McCamey said. “The grocery and market part of the business is going great, and we’re still doing carryout food.”
McCamey has started selling casseroles to go, such as chicken tetrazzini and smashed potato casserole, and he’s about to launch a meal kit.
“We’ve been wanting to do that for a while and now we have the perfect opportunity,” he said. “A meal kit might be two butchered and prepped rib-eyes, cut-up vegetables ready for the oven, steamer or grill, par-cooked potatoes, seasonings and sauces and instructions on how to prepare everything.”
McCamey’s other restaurant, KOK in downtown Tupelo, is temporarily closed.
“We’re trying to flatten the curve and see what the future holds,” he said. “But when KOK reopens, it will be vastly different. This is the time to make a change. This situation is going to get harder before it gets better.”
John Mark Elliott, who has Lost Pizza on North Gloster, has gotten creative with what he calls a pizza construction kit.
“The guy who has the Lost Pizza in Oxford was the first one to do it, but it’s really working for us,” Elliott said. “We sell a lot of them. People have had fun with them. It’s a good attention-grabber.”
The construction kit comes with fresh dough, sauce, cheese and up to three toppings, and you build and bake your pizza at home.
“We started doing these about two weeks ago because of the virus and we’ll keep doing it after the virus,” he said.
He’s also about to launch some bulk takeout meals, like spaghetti and meatballs, baked cheese spaghetti and chicken Alfredo. That venture is a week or two away.
Before COVID-19, Elliott was using Tupelo 2 Go to deliver his pizzas and that service is still in place. And instead of people ordering pizzas and coming in the restaurant to pick them up, they’re now using a curbside service.
“I’ve been surprised at how well that is going,” he said. “We’re doing a lot more carry-out than we were, but pizza has always been a take-home-friendly product. This town is so supportive. People are getting out and coming to us and we appreciate that.”
To keep customers coming to his restaurant, Rob Lesley, who has Romie’s Grocery on West Jackson, has started offering pre-order dinner specials.
“We started doing this two weeks ago, before they started limiting guests in restaurants and before they shut dining rooms down,” Lesley said. “We offer affordable family meals. We know we’re competing with people cooking at home.”
Lesley posts the day’s menu on Facebook and other social media and folks have until 4 p.m. to order. Then they pick up their meal curbside between 4 and 6 p.m.
Tuesday’s meal was poppyseed chicken, green beans, salad, rolls and banana pudding. Tonight’s menu features hamburger steaks, twice-baked potatoes, salad, rolls and lemon crunch.
“It still allows people to have that dine-out experience, just at home,” he said.
Like other local restaurateurs, Lesley is also getting into the casserole business. Between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., customers can pick up small or large pans of grilled chicken Alfredo, chicken spaghetti, beef stroganoff, Mexican casserole and chicken and dressing.
“We’re just adapting and changing,” Lesley said. “I won’t say it’s good, but it’s brought my wife and me back to our grassroots. We’re working hard for the dollar, really hustling. We’ve got time to regroup and we’re pretty positive about the future. The Lord provides.”
Well before social-distancing restrictions were put in place, Amanda and Jason Hayden took matters into their own hands at their restaurant, Cafe 212 in downtown Tupelo.
“We took out some of our seating in the cafe so people wouldn’t be close to each other,” Amanda Hayden said. “We also went to take-out-only before the restrictions were announced.”
The Haydens’ business was still good, but there was a problem: The small staff was dwindling.
“We only have four employees,” she said. “One had to stay home because there was no daycare available and another one wanted to self-quarantine because she lives with her mother, who is at greater risk.”
At that point, Cafe 212 went grocery-store style, offering only pre-made items like chicken salad and pimiento cheese.
“But the shopping was killing us,” Jason Hayden said. “The shopping that normally took me an hour to do in the afternoons was taking three or four hours because I was having to go to so many different grocery stores to get what we needed.”
Last Wednesday, the couple made the decision to send their two remaining employees home and close their doors temporarily.
“We decided for the safety of our staff and our own safety to shut down,” Amanda Hayden said. “Right now, we’re just taking it week to week. We’ll stay closed until things settle back down.”
On Friday, Cafe 212 will mark its 14th anniversary.
“We have had overwhelming support and the community has just rallied around us,” Jason Hayden said. “I can’t wait to get to a point where I can just hug customers again and thank them.”
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