Dine on 9/29

Local event encourages folks to eat at local restaurants or order food to go

All guidelines the hospitality industry as a whole continues to face challenges amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Originally, the week-long event "taste of huntsville" was set to take place this week.

But organizers transformed it into a one-day celebration..

It encourages folks to eat at local restaurants or order food to go... waay31's megan reyna joins us live from downtown huntsville.

She spoke with two new establishments about the obstacles they've faced - starting a business in the middle of a pandemic, megan?

Starting a local business is always challenging -- but throw in a pandemic and it can become devasting.

The huntsville hospitality association chose to create a city-wide event today called dine 29 -- hoping more people would come out and eat local.

It's an initiative businesses -- especially new ones like rhythm on monroe -- are thankful for.

Nats nielson says: "our opening week was the week we had to shut down."

Nats jimenez says: "we opened at the end of february, we had to shut down three and a half weeks later."

You could say the timing was off.

These two downtown restaurants -- la esquina cocina nats and rhythm on monroe nats opening their doors right as a pandemic hit -- halting huntsville's thriving economy for several months.

Jimenez says: "it was devastating, it was devastating because we had for everything to go, everything started well."

Allen jimenez -- the manager at la esquina cocina says it caused them to re-think their entire business plan.

Nats the same goes for rhythm on monroe -- marketing director samantha nielson says to-go orders have helped stabilize business.

Nielson says: "the team really came together, being creative in what we can offer and how to adapt to the situation."

Still -- jimenez worries there's not a steady traffic of customers.

Jimenez says: "some tuesday's it's busy, then the next week, it's going to be very slow, i mean we don't really know how it is."

That's why marc robinson chose to dine-out tuesday night.

And he encourages anyone who can afford it -- to do the same.

Robinson says:" people are staying home, so businesses are getting less people, so while employees are getting hours cut, down making as much, businesses aren't making enough, so it's just a cycle that leaders to a downturn so i think in this time if you have the ability in influencing the local economy, that's very important."

Nielson says: "it's huge, it's the community to come out, support the restaurants, and the hospitality industry and hopefully not just on 9/29 while most restaurants are closed already tonight and you can't go now, the point of tonight's event was to help bring momentum to supporting local businesses every day and night.

Live in downtown huntsville mr waay 31 news