For more information, visit the Grumpy's blog: https://www.grumpysrestaurantco.com/grumpys-blog
Grumpy’s Restaurant featured on First Coast News “Orange Park diner starts program for customers to sponsor meals for frontline workers.”
Reported by: Leah Shields & Published: 7:56 AM EDT May 12, 2020
ORANGE PARK, Fla. — Grumpy’s Restaurant has been in Orange Park since 1999. The new owner, Daniel DeLeon grew up in this community and when he saw people in need, he figured they might as well dig into their resources.
What he had to give was food.
After weeks of giving meals to hospital workers, firefighters, and police officers, meals are being delivered to grocery store employees. Twenty meals will be given to staff at the local Winn Dixie on Tuesday morning to thank them for their work during COVID-19.
“The grocery store is a staple in our community," DeLeon says. "You know, how much time are we spending there now? More than ever. Just to say thank you to the guy stocking the produce, the cashiers… you know. People are working hard in an unappreciated job that we see and just pass by, but they're a necessity."
DeLeon says the program is his community action plan and it goes back a few weeks ago when Grumpy’s held a free food pantry for anyone to come grab what they needed. He says five pallets of fresh produce was gone in two hours. He wanted to do more. “It is a hard reality where the community needs help, we want to thank the people who are helping us and help as many people as we can," he says. "We really don’t feel like there is an option right. We feel an obligation to use our resources and use our people."
He created a program where his employees would be able to stay employed and they would be able to help hundreds in their community. Customers can sponsor meals for frontline workers for $10 and Grumpy’s delivers them.
DeLeon describes Grumpy’s as an Americana diner. They will be serving meatloaf, roasted turkey, and sides for the grocery store employees.
In total, Grumpy’s has delivered about 300 meals to different frontline workers with the help of customer sponsorship. DeLeon says the restaurant has matched donations so far.
For more information, visit the Grumpy's blog: https://www.grumpysrestaurantco.com/grumpys-blog
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By Teresa Stepzinski Posted Apr 29, 2020 at 8:18 PM
Northeast Florida restaurants are getting ready to return to full dining room service after a month of relying on takeout and delivery due to crowd capacity and social distancing mandates to prevent exposure to COVID-19.
Jacksonville-area restaurants are ramping up to re-open their dining rooms after a month-long shutdown due to state and city social distancing and crowd capacity mandates imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Re-opening offers the hope of recouping some of the revenue lost during the shutdown.
GRUMPY’S RESTAURANT
Daniel DeLeon said Grumpy’s Restaurant “pretty much maintained the status quo” during the pandemic.
Except for transitioning fully to take-out and curbside pickup, the menu and business hours remained the same for the popular diner, 834 Kingsley Ave. in Orange Park, owned and operated by DeLeon and his wife, Morgan.
“Shutting down would be in the end a catastrophe. Because once you begin to restart, you essentially are opening a new restaurant. It’s the same steps you take when you open another location. I mean, you’re starting from ground zero,” he said.
Not only is that a lot of work, DeLeon said it just wasn’t an option for him. He wanted wanted to keep his employees on the job and his restaurant operating as much as possible.
“For us, it won’t take as long as other restaurants given that we’ve stayed open our full hours and we offered our whole menu,” DeLeon said.
It was a strategic decision to put them “in a better position when we win this war on COVID-19,” he said.
“I would say it would take a day or two given that we need to get a schedule out there. We’ve got to make sure we have the employees ready to return,”
DeLeon estimated about how long returning to dining room service will take. DeLeon said they plan to continue their curbside pickup and take-out options after the dining room re-opens.
“I think we’re ready. The people are ready. Our customers are ready,” DeLeon said. “We’re just excited to get back open.”
For more information, visit: www.GrumpysRestaurantCo.com
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April 22, 2020 // Franchising.com // JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Noted as Jacksonville’s “Best Kept Secret” and “Best Overall Restaurant,” Grumpy’s Restaurant is one of many small businesses around the world taking a hit during the coronavirus outbreak. As a brand that has always been involved within the community, Grumpy’s has been working to give back to residents in the surrounding Clay County and Jacksonville community.
President and CEO Daniel DeLeon has been recognized in the community for giving up his own salary so that his staff can continue to bring home a paycheck, despite dining rooms being closed in the state of Florida. He then organized a fee produce giveaway for residents in need. Now, DeLeon plans to give back in a new community initiative that supports local healthcare workers, first responders and less fortunate. The campaign allows anyone to contribute and gift a meal to people on the front-lines of COVID-19, as well as people in need in the local community.
“It started off with the salary -- Our incredible staff is what makes our diner more than just a place to eat,” said DeLeon. “It seemed like common sense to do everything I can to help them. Once people heard about what we were doing, the community showed us so much love and I knew I had to do everything I could to continue to help our community and neighbors.”
DeLeon then coordinated with the restaurant’s food vendors to set up a community giveaway where Grumpy’s gave out free produce to anyone who couldn’t afford groceries. The countless pallets of produce were expected to last over the course of a week, but ran out after just one morning. “It became really evident that people right in our backyards are hurting,” added DeLeon.
Now, DeLeon has come up with a new way to give back. Grumpy’s Community Action Campaign, Give A Breakfast – Give A Lunch enables local patrons to buy a meal as a thank-you to healthcare workers on the front-lines of COVID-19 and or their less fortunate neighbors. The restaurant will be delivering all contributions weekly to healthcare workers, first responders, and the less fortunate in the Clay County community.
“So many people have reached out wanting to assist us in giving back, with our new campaign all you have to do is call and donate, and we will bring a hot meal to those who are risking their lives to protect us or the less fortunate,” said DeLeon. “One gift of $10 will provide a Grumpy’s signature meal as a small thank-you to our selfless workers and our communities less fortunate. Your donation also helps to ensure that our team members can continue to come into work every day. The coolest part is, you can fill out a custom thank-you card and we will provide your message with the meal!”
Those interested in donating can call (904) 215-1956 to make a donation, or stop by Grumpy’s Curbside Pick-up to place an order. The restaurant is making arrangements to deliver the meals weekly to local hospitals, first responders’ headquarters and to local families need.
For more information, visit: www.GrumpysRestaurantCo.com
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