Pitching In: Local Restaurants and Producers Making a Difference
Photos courtesy of Peirano's, Ojai Rotie, Celebrate with Sarah, La Dolce Vita, The Royal Egg, Seasons Catering, Rincon Brewery-Ventura
Even as many businesses are closed, many Ventura County restaurants and small producers have been hard at work pivoting to help those in need during the county’s shelter-in-place order.
Back to Basics
Peirano’s Market & Deli, which recently opened in downtown Ventura, quickly added some of the grocery items residents around the city were having trouble finding: flour, eggs, milk, bread and butter. While they continue to offer curbside pick-up from their ample lunch menu and family meals, grateful customers are able to pick staples without risking the crowds at the regular grocery stores.
In Thousand Oaks, Mouthful Eatery is offering a home essentials package for pick-up that includes basics like dairy, chicken, rice and produce. Additionally, while placing your order you can add a la carte items, like apples, romaine lettuce, disposable gloves—even honey-cured thick-cut bacon. Both Twisted Oak Tavern in Thousand Oaks and Slate Bistro in Camarillo have launched similar marketplaces of staple items for local delivery or pick-up, in addition to their usual fare and even signature cocktails.
Meeting a New Demand
Even as they had planned to launch their new agave spirit, Ventura Spirits pivoted much of their production to making hand sanitizer for the Ventura County Office of Emergency Services. In the middle of March, regulatory government agencies realized distilleries could be a resource and shifted to allow them to produce much-needed hand sanitizer. Although they have access to purchase large quantities of ethanol alcohol critical for this supply, “we quickly realized a lot of the ingredients like glycerin and hydrogen peroxide were hard to get,” said co-founder and distiller Anthony Caspary. Despite the high demand, Ventura Spirits has been able to donate several thousand bottles to the responding medical community. Other products, including the new spirit made from agave grown on the Gaviota Coast, are also available for curbside pickup or to ship, thanks to new regulations intended to help their industry.
Generosity in Trying Times
To help out residents facing food insecurity during this challenging time, Ojai Rotié is donating directly. The restaurant put out a call for anyone interested in donating meals to place orders that would be delivered directly to Help of Ojai. They were able to deliver nearly 200 loaves of bread and 40 rotisserie chickens at the end of March, and are now working with the nonprofit World Central Kitchen to feed local healthcare workers.
In Ventura, Native Pizza is responding to the crisis with a “pay it forward” initiative that allows anyone to call and “sponsor” a pizza for first responders at local hospitals and medical centers. For each pizza that is sponsored, Native Pizza will match another pizza of the same size. Executive Chef Henry Martinez added, “We deliver them with a handwritten note of gratitude.”
Ragamuffin Coffee Roasters in Newbury Park and Oxnard, and The Royal Egg Cafe in Westlake Village have both also created an option for customers to donate towards deliveries of coffee, pastries and breakfast for medical professionals. “In the past couple weeks, we’ve received enough donations to provide one drop-off of organic coffee and our house-made pastries for 50 people so far,” says Royal Egg owner Bree Gugliuzza. The Café had just received enough donations to also provide breakfast wraps and salads for 50 more and were preparing to deliver them to Los Robles Hospital.
Sarah Buxbaum, founder of Celebrate with Sarah, a dessert catering company, has been offering donate-for-delivery of cupcakes to local hospitals and first responders while the greater part of her business is on hold. She is delivering 50 cupcakes for every $100 received, "I've delivered almost 2000 cupcakes since starting my #SweetGratitude movement!" she shares via Instagram.
Partnering with World Central Kitchen
World Central Kitchen (WCK) is a nonprofit founded by chef José Andrés in 2010 as a way to support communities in the wake of natural disasters and crisis, and has worked all over the world. Now the team of WCK are delivering prepared food to Ventura County Medical Center, Santa Paula Hospital, Community Memorial Hospital, St. John’s in Oxnard and even the Ventura Council on Aging, which distributes meals to seniors throughout the county.
By participating as a partner with WCK, Gabrielle Moes of Seasons Catering has found a great way to keep the business going. “We’re tapping into a much larger network of people who are taking care of all us,” said Moes. In addition to delivering food to customers who can order directly from them online, Seasons currently provides around 300 meals a day to hospitals in Ventura County.
Mark Valdivia, who runs mobile cocktail bar, Rocks & Drams was slated to open a new wine bar this month with his wife Nicole in downtown Ventura. Instead, Valdivia is coordinating the scheduling and logistics for this massive effort to both help first responders in the COVID-19 crisis and buoy small businesses. Having worked to organize the response through World Central Kitchen after the Thomas Fire and subsequently the Woolsey Fire, Valdivia is encouraged by the efforts of local restaurants like Rincon Brewery-Ventura, Seafresh, Café Zack, La Dolce Vita, Basil & Mint, Twenty88, Water’s Edge and Peirano’s (mentioned above). 20 local restaurants in the county are currently participating, with more in the process of being onboarded. “These are the real heroes,” he said. In order to participate, restaurants and caterers need a versatile menu that is also nutritious to help medical staff get through their shifts. “We still allow chefs to be creative with their menus,” Valdivia said. “I know all of us share in this tough time. There’s a strength and bond through this process.”
If you’d like to pitch in to support the efforts of World Central Kitchen, you can donate to donate.wck.org.
