A new digital initiative has launched to help empower New York City’s restaurants and bars during the COVID-19 pandemic.
#SaveNYCEats is an online platform where participating businesses can feature take-home chef kits, future unique dining experiences, gift cards, merchandise and other special offers. Those who visit the #SaveNYCEats website can view aggregated offers and each of the offers links directly through to the chosen restaurant’s website for fulfillment and payment.
Following the success of #SavePhillyEats, Philly founders Anthony Bucci and David Bookspan were looking to broaden their impact to New York. Bookspan reached out to Rob Edell, whose restaurant tech startup, Servy, had received investment from David’s Dreamit Ventures back in 2015 before it was acquired by Resy in 2017. Edell partnered with longtime friends Stephanie Goldstein and Josh Klein to launch #SaveNYCEats.
“Restaurants, and the people behind them, are a quintessential part of the New York experience. Restaurants and bars are where we laugh with our friends, celebrate with our families, or just enjoy a brief pause from our everyday lives,” said Goldstein. “Save NYC Eats is our way of giving back to the restaurants and employees who have tirelessly given so much to our community. I am incredibly excited for the day when we can once again break bread together in our favorite restaurants with friends.”
Participating chefs and restaurants include Marc Forgione, Huertas, Sauce, The Musket Room, Juku, 5 Napkin Burger, Scarpetta, Kissaki, Blue Stripes, Caffe Panna, The Village Den, City Cakes, La Newyorkina, Melt Shop, Joe Coffee, Casa Publica, Ed’s Lobster Bar, Roberta’s, Golden Diner, Il Laboratorio del Gelato, Lighthouse Brooklyn, Randolph Beer and more. The restaurant keeps 100 percent of the revenue; there is no affiliate fee or any payment of any kind to #SaveNYCEats.
“Most people associate restaurants with wealth, but the vast majority of restaurants — including fine dining — operate on razor thin margins and do not have more than a few weeks of runway in the bank,” said Edell. “We launched Save NYC Eats to help small and medium business owners survive during these unprecedented times. One hundred percent of proceeds go to the restaurants; all of the Save NYC Eats team are volunteers.”
For more information or to sign up your bar or restaurant, visit www.savenyceats.com.
This story originally appeared on amny.com.
