CLEMMONS, N.C. --- As restaurants in North Carolina adjust to the "new normal" dine-in experience, some have come up with new ways to approach comfortable social distancing.

What You Need To Know

  • A Forsyth County manufacturer is allowing the restaurant to use the mobile unit for free

  • It allowed the restaurant to open up under Phase 2 and provided more outdoor seating for guests

  • Normally the mobile unit would be used for a variety of events, but all events have been canceled due to COVID-19


For the last several weeks, Little Richard's BBQ in Clemmons has been doing take-out. As North Carolina moved into Phase 2 Friday night, owner Stephen Karagiorgis said the restaurant had just 48 hours to come up with something fast.

On Thursday, customer of Little Richard's and owner of Specialized Mobile Exhibits Toby Robertson called with some news.

“He said 'I have an idea I'd like to do something to help out the local community and help out a local business' and he brought us a dining room on wheels," Karagiorgis says.

Now, the restaurant is taking its social distancing to new heights with the help of the manufacturer. It's letting the restaurant use the mobile double-decker dining space for free. This allows the restaurant to reopen under Phase 2. The equipment would normally be used for a variety of events, but all have been canceled due to COVID-19.

“The restaurant industry has been decimated by this and we should come together as neighbors and as friends to help each other out," Robertson says.

The mobile unit gives the restaurant an extra 50 seats, they also configured their parking lot into a makeshift drive-thru for those still uncomfortable to dine-in. Karagiorgis adding, the business is doing anything they can to get back on its feet.

“Everyone’s been hit by this pandemic one way or the other, and it’s just truly amazing to see people come together in anyway that they can to help to try to bring the community and the economy back to the way it was prior to COVID-19," Karagiorgis says.