DURHAM, N.C. — Throughout the pandemic, restaurants have faced closings, restrictions and finding ways to adapt amid labor shortages and supply chain issues.
What You Need To Know
The Small Plates Crawl is every Thursday
Sixteen restaurants are participating by offering different small plates, cocktails and discounts
The Downtown Durham Alliance is offering prizes for people who support small businesses through March
In Durham, a group of small business owners in the service industry are banning together for a new idea to help keep their lights on. It's called the Small Plates Crawl.
Every Thursday, 16 participating restaurants and bars in the downtown loop will offer small plates, special cocktails and discounts.
Elizabeth Turnbull is the co-owner of COPA. She says the crawl is a way to encourage people to be comfortable dining out again.
"There is no one time thing that is going to save us. We need to do something to help get people comfortable with dining in. We need people to come out, we need to give them an excuse to come out and see us, something that makes us different," Turnbull said.
Turnbull's restaurant opened in 2018 and celebrated two anniversaries during the pandemic, but she says this year is the toughest, as government funds are running out.
"It's a very real possibility we will have to close down, it's beyond a fear at this point," Turnbull said.
Less than a half mile down West Main Street is Durham's latest bar, Killer Queen Wine Bar, that opened in October 2021.
Owner, Silvia Gallo is originally from the Triangle. She spent seven years in Los Angeles when she decided she wanted to open a wine bar.
"I came to town to visit a friend and saw this space for lease and decided to do it in Durham because Durham's just got this soul that resonates with me," Gallo said.
Offering specialty wine and small plates, Gallo says she wasn't nervous to start a new venture during a trying time.
"I knew a little neighborhood bar fit perfectly. Durham is not over saturated at the moment like Los Angeles was," Gallo said.
Gallo says business has been good since opening, but says the Small Plates Crawl will give her team more exposure.
"The food and beverage community is very much a community," Gallo said.
The Downtown Durham alliance is responding to the small business owners sounding the alarm with the Downtown Durham Feast.
The feast runs through March 13 and will offer an array of prizes to people who support local businesses from retail to restaurants throughout the month.