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Picking up food Michigan & Trumbull Pizza To be delivered to Henry Ford Hospital.
For the month of April, the Corktown Business Association, with the assistance of several restaurant members who are still open for business, have been providing daily meals to front line workers at Henry Ford Hospital.
These meals were made possible by donations from the Ford Motor Company’s Ford Fund, Pattie and Ron Cooley, Oakland Housing, Wayne County Building Trade Alliance and the Detroit Hispanic Growth Corporation.
As of April 21, the CBA has delivered 2,100 meals.
The funding was slated to end April 20, however, Ford Motor Company’s Ford Fund stepped up and made another sizeable donation so that these businesses can continue daily meal delivery service through the end of the month.
Thank you for these crucial cash donations and the culinary donations of these great Corktown restaurants: Brooklyn Street Local, Onassis Coney Island, Folk, Michigan & Trumbull Pizza, and McShane’s Irish Pub.
“I applaud everyone's work and assure you the Corktown Business Association stands ready to assist in any and every way possible,” said Bob Roberts, president of the Corktown Business Association.
“Our purpose on earth is to serve others and that’s what we’re doing. And then you add the gratification of where these meals are going. The doctors, nurses and emergency room folks, I can’t fathom what their daily routine is like.”
We wanted to share an interview with Michigan & Trumbull Pizza, one of the businesses participating in the Henry Ford Hospital program. We hope this gives some insight into how our Corktown restaurants have been affected and how you can help,
Owners and Detroit natives Nathan Peck and Kristen Calverley.
Our sales have declined approximately 50%. We are still doing curbside pick up and third party delivery, but for the safety of our staff, the safety of the public, and taking into account labor expenses, we had to let everyone go. Consequently, Nate and myself work open to close, with our two children, every day we're open. Unfortunately, we opened less than 2 months before all of this transpired, so we were still very much in the 'start up expense' phase of our brick and mortar, shutting down, even temporarily, was just not possible.
Being a part of the CBA has been an invaluable resource at this time. Most notably, the email thread that continually updates us on developments regarding the shutdown, financial assistance, and other programs for small businesses. But also, feeling connected and supported by small business owners in a similar situation. I think ultimately it will also prove to be a great asset for advocating for small businesses at various levels of government.
We were approached by Bob from McShane's to participate. For us it was not as simple as expressing gratitude to those working the frontlines. The Ford Fund Program, and other opportunities we've had to give back really gave us some purpose and reenergized us when it was starting to feel like no matter how hard we worked, it wouldn't change the outcome. We now have a broader perspective of what our role is in all this.
Aside from the CBA, several area businesses have ordered from us, checked in on us, brought us hand sanitizer, brought ice cream for our kids, and created campaigns to cross promote us... it's been really remarkable.
I think that the key going forward will be to continue to buy and shop from small businesses. Even once 'normalcy' resumes, small businesses will still need the support of people who are able to. It's going to take awhile for these businesses to bounce back.
Our experience with the community so far has been that other businesses and members of the community are remarkably supportive, generous, tight knit, and loyal. And I think something like this will only amplify those feelings within the community.
Currently we are doing curbside pick up and third party delivery. We are doing family meal packages (two pizzas/ a salad/ a side ~ $35) and a gift card promotion ($10 free for every $25 gift card purchased). Very soon we will start selling some of our most popular housemade dressings, sauces, seasonings to go!
As Detroit’s oldest neighborhood, Corktown businesses are resilient and innovative. Here’s a highlight of how two of our Corktown Business Association members have pivoted their services to produce hand sanitizer for the public and essential workers.
We've produced north of 14,000 gallons of FDA-approved WHO-formula hand sanitizer so far. We've supplied tons of police departments, fire departments, social service organizations, and the like throughout Detroit. We also have a flow set up where people can purchase a bottle for donation which has resulted in a few hundred gallons being donated.
We're donating all we can to people who can't afford it - and keeping the prices very reasonable for people who can.
We're working to scale our production to drive the price even lower.
We saw a huge need for hand sanitizer when the pandemic hit and there was no question about switching gears to start the process of creating hand sanitizer to step-up to help the community. We are proud to be able to say that we have donated to our local police, fire and EMS departments as well as those working the front lines in the surrounding metro Detroit area. Family and community are the pillars of our business and it only made sense to help.
Currently we offer hand sanitizer to the public Wednesday - Saturday from 12p-4p. Currently we offer 8oz for $4 and 16oz for $8. We have a limit of two per person, so we can make sure that hand sanitizer gets into the hands of everyone who might need some. We do not ship, but when you come into our tasting room to purchase, you can also buy bottles and support our business in these times.
If anyone is interested in bulk orders, they can send an email to clerk@twojames.com with "Hand Sanitizer" in the subject line and we will get them the information they need. We appreciate the support from everyone in Corktown and the surrounding community.
Please consider donating to our staff to help them through this difficult time.
The Corktown Business Association in Detroit, MI convenes neighborhood business owners to inform and execute a strategic plan that promotes entrepreneurship and growth in our community. As a dues-paying membership organization that meets regularly, we advocate for specific strategies in the following areas: mobility, public safety, green space, and identity.
