CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Mother’s Day was a bit different this year due to restaurant dining room closures, but it didn’t stop several restaurants from whipping up something special for mom.

Nancy and John Merck said this is the first time they have ever had brunch to-go.

“It’s very different, it’s very unique,” Nancy Merck says. “We do miss our children.”

Merck said her daughter ordered them stuffed french toast since she couldn’t be with them for Mother’s Day.

“It sounds good,” Merck said. “I am anxious for that because I do like french toast.”

The Merck's were just one of many deliveries for Patrick Murphy. He is the owner of the Charlotte farm-to-table restaurant, Heirloom. Murphy said they had more than 50 Mother’s Day orders by 11 a.m. Sunday.

“What the community has done for us, it’s huge,” Murphy says. “It allows us to stay alive.”

Haberdish in NoDa was also providing Mother’s Day meals to-go. General manager Moriah Glenn says takeout was a great option because many moms have been doing a lot of cooking due to the pandemic.

“You don’t have to worry about cooking, you just pop it in the oven and you get a lot more time with your family,” Glenn said. “So I think we just wanted to supply that for people.”

“Through and through I am a mama’s boy, so this is a special day in my heart for all moms out there,” Murphy said. “I want to make sure that they feel taken care of, especially in this situation.”

In some ways, the Mercks say food to-go is better because they don’t have to wait in line and it’s brought right to their doorstep.

“This might spoil us, we might do this again,” Merck said.