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Lansing restaurants adjust to state dine-in ban

Customers can still order via phone, internet for pick-up and delivery

by Carrie Steinweg

LANSING, Ill. (March 16, 2020) – Winter is already a slow time for many restaurants, but the recent COVID-19 outbreak thinned crowds even further as social distancing and self-quarantining has been encouraged. With Governor Pritzker’s dine-in ban announced Sunday comes the requirement for all dine-in establishments and bars to close at the end of the business day today (Monday) through March 30.

The Lansing Journal reached out to Lansing dining establishments to find out what adjustments they have made. Many have added curbside pick-up or delivery to help make up for the lack of customers in their dining rooms. The list below summarizes our findings.

(March 17 update: We transferred this list to a permanent page that we can continually update: Supporting local restaurants. Please click the link to visit the most up-to-date list, and then bookmark it to revisit it throughout the month.)

(Business owners: complete the form here to add your restaurant information to our list.)

Beggar’s Pizza

  • 3524 Ridge Road, Lansing
  • 708-418-3500
  • beggarspizza.com/our-menu
  • Order by phone or online for curbside pick-up, delivery, or non-contact delivery

Beggar’s Pizza has introduced contact-free delivery so that orders can be placed, paid for, and delivered without a customer having to come into contact with a delivery driver. After calling and placing an order online with a credit card, you can note a drop-off spot and the driver will notify you via text or phone when your order has been delivered. Curbside pick-up is also available.

For those in the highest risk groups, limited human contact is critical. Area restaurants can likely provide no-contact delivery if requested and you have a method to pay electronically or by phone.

Bottom’s Up

  • 1696 Thornton-Lansing Road, Lansing
  • 708-418-3877
  • bottomsuponline.com/menu
  • Carry-out available; normal hours are 10:00am–4:00am, but those may be altered, so call ahead

Buffalo Wild Wings

  • 3720 Ridge Road, Lansing
  • 708-895-3300
  • www.buffalowildwings.com/en/food/
  • Curbside pickup; delivery through DoorDash, Grubhub, and Postmates; Sunday–Wednesday 11:00am–midnight, Thursday–Saturday 11:00am–1:00am

JJ Kelley’s

  • 2455 Bernice Rd, Lansing
  • 708-474-9977
  • Facebook page
  • Order by phone and pick up curbside daily from 11:00am–8:00pm; limited delivery available if needed

JJ Kelley’s was just recovering from a brief closure after a fire and is now facing weeks of having the dining room closed. “It’s really hitting us, and I’m really concerned for my employees,” said co-owner JoEllyn Kelley. “We’ll be doing pick-up and delivery, so we’ll have someone answering the phone and cooking and taking the orders out, so at least we can keep some of the employees busy for the next couple of weeks. I’m really looking for Lansing to support us.”

They’re offering two soups each day and they’ll be taking orders of quarts of soup to go.

Johnny K’s

  • 17816 Torrence Avenue, Lansing
  • 708-895-1500
  • Drive-thru open and delivery available Monday–Thursday 10:00am–2:00am, Friday–Saturday 10:00am–3:00am, Sunday 11:00am–12:00am

Liang’s Garden Restaurant

  • 17042 Torrence Avenue, Lansing
  • 708-474-8100
  • liangs-garden.com/takeaway-delivery/
  • Carry-out, delivery Monday–Thursday 11:00am–9:30pm, Friday 11:00am–10:00pm, Saturday 11:30am–10:00pm, Sunday 12:00–9:00pm

Lynnie Que’s Bar and Grill

  • 3249 Glenwood-Lansing Road, Lansing
  • 708-474-7837
  • lyniequesbbq.com/menu
  • Order by phone for curbside pick-up or delivery beginning at 11:00am, with closing time adjusted depending on demand

Lynn Cartwright, owner of Lynnie Que’s Bar and Grill, said that she has always offered carry-out and is now getting prepared for curbside pick-up and delivery. She’ll be offering her full menu and is well-stocked on corned beef plates that you can get warm or cold if you want to take them home to eat another day. “We’ll get form of payment over the phone and have change ready or take credit card info, and we’ll bring it out,” she said.

Like so many other restaurant owners, Cartwright said she doesn’t know what to expect, but she isn’t panicking. “It’s scary. I hope all the businesses can survive it,” she said. “But I think if we all work together, we can do this.”

She said she and staff will spend any downtime doing extra cleaning and in-house projects. “I’m going to make a positive out of it.”

rico’s pizza

Rico’s often includes a coupon in the Shopper and The Lansing Journal.

Round the Clock

  • 17601 Torrence Avenue, Lansing
  • 708-418-7244
  • roundtheclock.com/menu
  • Open 24 hours for carry-out and delivery through DoorDash, Uber Eats, and ChowNow

Taqueria la Soga

Three Roosters

The only thing Three Roosters Grocery has sold out of is bottled water, and Manager Daisy Herrera doesn’t plan to restock that because it is too expensive. Their produce, meat, and canned goods are selling at normal prices, except in a few cases where vendors have raised the price and Three Roosters had to do the same. The restaurant in back of the store is still cooking food for take-out.

Troost Coffee & Tea

  • 18155 Roy St #2, Lansing
  • 708-889-6248
  • troostcoffeeandtea.com/menu
  • Curbside and phone ordering Monday–Saturday until 2:00pm, closed Sunday; hours may be adjusted based on busy-ness

The cafe is closed, but those who still want to get their caffeine fix or grab a breakfast sandwich can glance at the online menu and call in an order, or simply pull up into one of the three designated curbside spots.

“We keep an eye out, and when we see a car pull up, we go out and take their order,” said Renae Fentress, Owner. “Cards are much preferred for payment because it reduces the exchange back and forth. We can take cash, but much prefer cards.”

The process is something that was completely new to the business, but Fentress said it has been working well. She’s even had some parents with kids telling her that they prefer the curbside method. “We’ve had a good start and got a good pattern down so far. It’s gone pretty smoothly, and we’ve already had a good show of support from the community, so I’m thankful for that.”

Currently, the shop is closing at 2:00pm, but afternoons have been slow, so they may adjust the hours if the lack of lunchtime customers continues. “It was kind of slow from noon to 2:00pm, so it could change. We’re just playing it day by day.”

Supporting local establishments

The dine-in closures will not only affect restaurant sales, but the income of those employed in the restaurant industry. Currently, the minimum hourly wage for tipped employees in Illinois is $5.55, so for those who may be able to continue working at restaurants in an alternate capacity, tips will be even more crucial as table-side service is eliminated.

Restaurants that already offered delivery and carry-out should continue to operate without much change. Across the board, restaurant owners have been taking further precautionary measures with increased cleaning of facilities and wearing of gloves by employees. Some restaurants in the state have shifted to card only payment, so it’s a good idea to call ahead of doing a curbside visit to verify accepted payment method.

If you are a restaurant owner who would like to add information to this list, please complete the form below.

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Carrie Steinweg
Carrie Steinweg
Carrie Steinweg is a freelance writer, photographer, author, and food and travel blogger who has lived in Lansing for 27 years. She most enjoys writing about food, people, history, and baseball. Her favorite Lansing Journal articles that she has written are: "Lan Oak Lanes attracts film crew," "Why Millennials are choosing Lansing," "Curtis Granderson returns home to give back," "The Cubs, the World Series, fandom, and family," and "Lansing's One Trick Pony Brewery: a craft beer oasis."

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