Crucial Businesses Adapt During Crisis

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Crozet Market is now offering curbside pick-up and delivery.

Updated March 26

Green House Coffee Reopens

Green House Coffee reopened March 26 for pick-up only, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Owner Camille Phillips said that customers can order from the website at www.greenhousecrozet.com, pay online, then pull into a numbered parking space. Once there, they can call inside at 434-823-1077, let the server know where they are, pop the trunk, and the server will place it inside. Walk-in customer will find their purchases on a table outside.

Phillips, a registered nurse, said that there will be few people handling the food, fastidious cleanliness measures, and no one will be handling money. You can also order Goodwin Creek bread, bags of coffee and local frozen ground beef to take home. Phillips said the menu for coffee and food will be online and there will be offerings for family meals as well.

State adjusts licensing for restaurants, breweries and wineries

In a move that should boost income for local restaurants, breweries and wineries, any business previously licensed to serve beer and wine on premises is now licensed to offer them for both take-out and delivery, and many local businesses are adding bottles of wine and beer to their take-out services. In addition, distilleries may deliver products to customers in their cars on the premises or in their parking lots. In both cases, the transaction must be initiated by the customer and, if a delivery service is involved, the service must follow certain procedures. Not all local wineries are participating during this crisis, so make sure to call first.

Afton Mountain Wineries will have a staff member on hand to help with pick-up from 12 to 5 p.m. each day, and King Family offers both pick up at the winery, single bottle sales to be opened and enjoyed outdoors, and delivery to your home for orders of six bottles or more.

Starr Hill in Crozet will deliver up to four cases of beer locally, and the Brewing Tree offers pick up food at its food truck, the Scratch Kitchen, as well as beer to go. With 20 acres, the Nelson County brewery has enough space for everyone to maintain a distance but make sure to call first.

Crozet Market now offers curbside pickup and grocery delivery within a five-mile radius of the store. To do so, the store has teamed up with NorCro Delivery, to deliver groceries to your home. There’s a $14.99 delivery fee for orders under $50; $12.99 for orders $50-100; and $9.99 for orders over $100. Order online: https://shop.crozetmarket.com/. As of this writing Friday, the market was well-stocked.

Harris Teeter has cut back its hours to close at 8 p.m. nightly to focus on cleaning and restocking. You can phone in orders for curbside pick-up, Harristeeter.com.

Mudhouse has closed, but Grit Coffee in Old Trail is still dispensing pour-overs and lattes. Order coffee online and you can pick it up inside or the friendly baristas will run it out to you. Also available are assorted breakfast sandwiches and pastries. You can pre-order by phone if you don’t want to enter the building. Grit is only using to-go containers, and accepting only credit cards. Grit also offers free local delivery of 12oz, 2 lb, and 5 lb bags of coffee.

Also in Old Trail, Mi Rancho offers full menu take-out service during its regular working hours.

With all catering events canceled, L’etoile has transformed itself into a bustling outlet for soup, chicken salad and an evening meal once a week. Co-owner Vickie Gresge said the demand for takeaway soups has been three times greater than usual, and they’ve added a Friday night dinner. “We’re rushing to keep up,” Vickie said. On Thursday, they put several new rounds of soup in the cooler as each sold out. “And we just put out our chicken salad,” she said, “and it’s almost gone. Also spoken for are all the Chicken Marsala dinners that will be picked up Friday for the lucky patrons who ordered them in time. Next Friday there will be a chicken pot pie dinner. Gresge said each day the soup menu will be updated on Facebook, and by Monday of each week, the Friday night takeout dinner menu will be announced. Orders must be placed by Wednesday. Visit their Facebook page for information.

Next door, Cakes by Rachel has also had many event cancellations and the bakers find themselves with plenty of materials on hand to fill your family’s needs for desserts, birthday cakes and other sweets. In addition, they’re staging a “cake out,” each week, offering a couple of flavors at a time, less elaborate cakes than their usual and for a lower price. Find the flavors each Monday on the Facebook page, order your 6” or 9” cake (or packs of cupcakes), and pick up your order Friday.

Over at Dr. Ho’s Humble Pie in North Garden, the owners worried about the cooks who were laid off as the dining room closed. They have made a number of generous family meals every day, with 100 % of the sales going to support those out of work. They offer the special (favorites like Curry Chicken with Steamed Jasmine Rice and Toasted Garlic Naan) as a “pay what you will” purchase. The meals, with large servings for a family of four. The menu is listed daily at 10 a.m.: A Dr. Ho’s manager said they sell out by 10:15, with people paying from $25 (the minimum) to $300. The entire regular menu is also available for take-out every day from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Dr. Ho’s is also offering discounted growler fills.

Greenwood Gourmet Grocery has had a run on their ready-made food and sandwiches, and are glad to take orders by phone, including taking credit card payment. Or customers can pay with Venmo. They’ve changed their hours a bit, and will be open 11a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday. They are happy to run any orders out to customers in the parking lot.

Up at Restoration, the kitchen is serving from the snack bar window on the left side of the front entrance. They’ll be open Thursday until Tuesday, and will close Wednesdays.

The Hops Kitchen Food Truck has closed for now, and will let people know when they’re in business again. They may have some special meals; check their Facebook page for information. Also closed for now is New China in the square and Pap ‘n Zan’s at Clover Lawn.

At Trey’s Restaurant and Sam’s Hot Dogs, owner Trey Wilkerson has created a pick up window on his porch, and has started a delivery service around town, with a minimum order of $15. Sal’s is offering curbside pick-up. Across the Square, Morsel Compass will put your takeout order on the counter, run it out to you or deliver it (free for orders more than $25). To reach that amount, Keeley Hess and Jennifer Blanchard have several “Grab and Go” items you can save for later. And Smoked Kitchen and Tap is offering take-out as well as delivery service to Crozet, Ivy, White Hall and Greenwood.

Fardowner’s now will offer pick-up service until further notice.

Crozet Pizza’s Mike Alexander said his space is so big that he’ll seat people in isolated areas. Meanwhile, no condiments are on the table so they’ll bring them on request, freshly wiped down. He expects the take-out business, already a big chunk of the business, to increase, and staff will bring pizzas out to you if requested.

Love2EatThai has changed to all-takeout and will remain open every day.

Jaslisco’s Mexican Grill in Clover Lawn is open for takeout and is now offering delivery as well.

Wayland’s Crossing has converted to all take-out, running your order out to you and even inviting you to eat it on their patio. Over in Afton, Blue Mountain Brewery offers delivery to cars at curbside pick-up for food and packaged beers, with designated parking.

At Duner’s Restaurant, chef Laura Fonner will open to take-out only Thursday, March 19. Duner’s, better known for its fine dining, has little experience with takeout, Fonner said on Facebook, but she hopes to adapt the menu and refine the process.

Taj Mahal at Rockfish Valley Community Center is offering lunch and dinner pick up. Call for days and hours.

Waynesboro’s Blue Ridge Bucha tasting room has closed but notes on its website that there are many retail outlets.

La Cocina del Sol, formerly located in both Crozet and Charlottesville is delivering gourmet meals with two hours of notice via its new venture, avocadodelivers.com. There are set meals but you can also request meals that fit any dietary restrictions or preferences.

Noting that many customers drive from western Albemarle, Vivace’s Kathryn Saul writes that the restaurant now offers curbside pick-up, and free delivery within three miles, as well as discounts on beer and wine to go.

Everyone surveyed by the Gazette is training staff on extra cleanliness procedures.

Not hungry now? Most local restaurants offer gift certificates that can be purchased online so no money or credit cards change hands. People across the country are suggesting this as a way to offset the staggering economic loss if all businesses close.

Experts say that food poses little risk for virus spread, and suggest you focus on hot food, or reheat it if it’s cooled. The greater risk is to the server or delivery person who is in contact with a lot of households, so they suggest you add your tip online and have them leave delivery at your doorstep.

Finally, buying locally from people you know and trust is safer and it keeps the local economy going. Adding extra for the server or delivery person will help families with financial challenges.

For reference, the following is a list of local restaurants and their contacts. In many cases, detailed information can be found on their Facebook pages or web site. Please call for hours and services, and check the Facebook pages for more details.

Old Trail

Restoration Crozet
434-823-1841

Mi Rancho
434-205-4560

Wayland’s Tavern
434-205-4669

Grit Coffee Crozet
434-205-4253

Downtown Crozet

Crozet Market
434-823-4774

Home

Fardowner’s
434-823-1300

Sam’s Hot Dogs
434-282-8705
Order at Crozethotdogs.com

Smoked Kitchen and Tap
434-205-4881

Mudhouse
434-823-2240

L’etoile
434-823-1435

Crozet Pizza
434-823-2132

Sal’s
434-823-1611

Whistle Stop Grill
434-823-9000

Starr Hill
434-823-5671

Cakes by Rachel
434-960-5872

East Crozet

Love2Eat Thai
434-823-5881

Jalisco’s
434-829-0240

Harris Teeter Crozet
434-823-1184
Order online Harristeeter.com

Ivy

Duner’s
434-293-8352

Afton

Blue Mountain Brewery
540-456-8020

Afton Mountain Winery
540-456-8667

Taj Mahal Indian Food
540-902-0022

The Brewing Tree
540-381-0990

Other

King Family Vineyards
434-823-7800

Greenwood Gourmet
greenwoodva.com
540-456-6431

Dr. Ho’s Humble Pie
434-245-0000

Vivace
434-979-0994

Blue Ridge Bucha
Find retail outlets at Blue Ridge bucha.com.

This is current as of Sunday March 22 and will change. Please help us include your business. If you are a Crozet business owner, restaurant or otherwise, and have news of any kind about your response to the pandemic, please contact [email protected].

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