Putters Covid-19 Staff Relief

GoDeacsGo said:

Racer,
I did not mean to imply the "margin" is 50% but rather the cost of the FOOD is typically about 50% of the sell price. Once this thing is over there will be a mad rush at all restaurants for a while pushing them to full capacity and seems like an ideal time to honor the cards. You'll be paying the cooks, servers and bartenders regardless of how busy you are. You should be able to absorb the reduced margins (or some loss) while you are slammed busy.
Just my 2 cents.

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Maybe. But if you actually sell enough gift cards to truly make a difference and pay some bills, that could be a HUGE chunk of your business when you reopen.

RacerDeac said:

Maybe. But if you actually sell enough gift cards to truly make a difference and pay some bills, that could be a HUGE chunk of your business when you reopen.

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Gift cards could make up the immediate cash flow difference between income from carryout/delivery meals and bills that can't be deferred. Business at restaurants looks like maybe 10% of regular. If you can double that cash flow with gift cards, it might well be the difference in paying rent, utilities etc.

BillBrasky said:

Figured they'd have a little extra put away considering how overpriced their food is. Us Townies chuckled at how they would get the Wake kids to pay $12 for an $8 sandwich. Beer prices were generally legit though and those soft chips are money.

Joking aside, I like the place and wish them the best. They are a Winston institution. One of the places I will be visiting once this is all over.

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Like 3 out of 25 sandwiches are over $10. Chuckle away though, I guess. They could charge 20% more and still be overflowing a lot of the time, especially during football season.

BiffTannen said:

Use it all on tea.

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The Long Island kind?

Having just spoken to a handful of folks who own over 20 restaurants in the area collectively, the nonsense being pushed about not buying gift cards is ridiculous.

Absolutely buy gift cards. Get takeout. Order pantry items if they open a delivery service. Basically nobody is putting money into the onslaught of go-fund-me emails from every restaurant in the city - dealing with a run of gift cards is a laughably minor problem compared to the current decimation they are facing.

Talked to a couple who are both in food sales. One (the guy) sells to grocery stores for a food distributor. The other (the woman) is an exec who leads regional sales for a major food company. She primarily works with local restaurants. She said that she’s worried about her job and she doesn’t think many local restaurants will make it.

Are food trucks active in your areas? Seems like they could scratch the itch for deliveries. Take orders in a neighborhood and deliver them in an hour window.

Reposting this just in case there is anyone else that has not seen this yet.

We are planning on closing the go fund me at the end of the weekend!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/1xuzvopb...m=copy_link-tip&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet

Thanks to all who have donated and made this effort so successful. We have raised over $7500 dollars for Putters!