The New York State Restaurant Association Rochester Chapter is offering advice to its members during this time of uncertainty caused by COVID-19.

“Be smart and do what you feel is safe,” said Kelly Bush, president of the New York State Restaurant Association Rochester Chapter.

Bush is putting that advice to work at Union Tavern in Irondequoit.

“Here, we’ve got a parking lot, people are told to park several spots away from each other, our staff are gloved and masked and bring out the food, so we have a limited menu so we can have a small amount of staff in,” said Bush.

“It’s great that they’re following the proper procedures and being safe,” said Karl Church of Irondequoit.

Some of these measures are giving customers the assurance they need to continue supporting local restaurants.

“It’s not much of any opportunity to get out to the local restaurants unless you can support this curbside pickup like this,” said Church.

As new plans and initiatives to help restaurants are cooked up, the local organization is telling members to research them thoroughly.

“Just go slow, take care of your mortgage, talk to your landlord, talk to your utilities, things that people aren’t thinking, cancel your waste management, things that are happening monthly, take a look at those things and see if you can put them on pause,” said Bush.

The Rochester Chapter represents 157 restaurants and allied organizations locally.

Kelly Bush tells Spectrum News her hope is that people stick with businesses through this pandemic.

“Just be patient and remember us when we get to the other side of this, some places can do takeout and delivery, other places it’s really not a good move for their business model,” said Bush.

The Rochester chapter says for those businesses not able to take part, people can still support them by getting gift certificates, gift cards, or purchasing their merchandise online.