Johnny’s Lunch now has a window for curbside pickup. P-J photos by Michael Zabrodsky

Even though the pandemic has forced people to stay indoors, area restaurants are still offering food for takeout, delivery and curbside pickup services.

And restaurant owners say many of their regular and not-so-regular customers are showing support by choosing to order out.

“We are right now only going take out. Every night we are running at capacity and beyond of what we can do. The busiest times are from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. I am doing about 60% delivery and 40% curbside pickup,” said John Raymond, owner of Honest John’s Pizzeria, 1245 E. Second St., Jamestown.

Raymond said that to keep up with orders, he had to temporarily hire back three former employees. He said the alcohol sales jumped during the first week of the quarantine order. “The first week I started this I sold more beer and wine in and take out and delivery than basically I did inside the restaurant through the entire year so far. We did that in one week. Beer and wine deliveries have been very good for us,” Raymond said.

Raymond said from April 16 to April 19, he had to take the phones off the hook and shut the restaurant’s Internet site down for one to two hours because they could not take any more orders. “It’s been strong,” Raymond added.

A customer using curbside pickup at Honest John Pizzeria.

Jami Olson, owner of Lena’s Pizza, saw a similar spike in her takeout business as well. She also has added to her staff. “It’s been great. We have been busier than ever,” Olson said. She said her business is 99% takeout.

“The only thing that changed is that we have gotten busier. Every night I have had to add an extra person,” Olson said.

Olson said she only has three tables in the restaurant and before the quarantine it was very seldom people chose eat in. “That (dining in) part of it didn’t affect us at all. People have been really good about wearing the mask coming in and staying 6 feet apart. It’s been working out very well,” Olson said.

And Christy Spegar, co-owner of Guppy’s Restaurant and Tavern, 4663 Route 430, Bemus Point, said the restaurant’s customers and patrons have been outstanding in showing a lot of support and generosity during the quarantine. She also noted that she has had to be flexible making sure her staff and customers stay safe when picking up orders.

“It’s definitely a different flow not having the dining so, you have to step up and change a lot of things to make sure everyone is getting taken care of in a different way. We have put in extra phone lines to take extra calls we are getting for takeouts,” Spegar said.

The average check-per-person, Spegar noted, has gone down because customers are not in the restaurant ordering extra things like appetizers and deserts. It’s definitely decreased, she said, but she doesn’t know exactly how much. She said she is spending more for supplies. “But we are keeping everybody working. Our number of dinners are up, but our average check sales are down because of not having that extra business in the restaurant,” Spegar noted.

Dianne Calamunci of Johnny’s Lunch, 966 Fairmount Ave., Jamestown, said she misses interacting with her customers. “We have people who love to watch us just work,” Calamunci said. “People love to see their food prepared because it’s being prepared right for them. That makes people feel good.” She said customers don’t mind waiting in line because they know their order is getting made the way they want it made. “I love seeing people. It’s personal. I like to talk to customers,” Calmunci added.

She added that her business has decreased about 35% since the quarantine took effect. “I can accommodate 64 people (inside). That took away a lot of our business. She said because her dining room is closed, she also had to shut down her fountain service of which people would order soft drinks. She has installed a pickup window to accommodate takeout orders. “Putting in the window has helped. For the pickup window for orders, people have really adjusted to that, and have done really great,” Calamunci noted. Before the quarantine, she said, the business was 40% take-out and 60% dine in.

Also some businesses offer online ordering as well. For Southern Tier Brewery, 2072 Stoneman Circle, Lakewood, the only thing that has changed is the retail side of the business, said Nate Arnone, of STB. Arnone said most of STB’s catalog is available online, so customers can order from stcbeer.com and follow the links. “From our operations, it’s business as usual,” Arnone added. “We are still making beer and we are still making spirits.”

Raymond said his restaurant also takes online orders. He said if a customer wants to order online, and pickup it up at the restaurant, there are cameras set up, so the employees can tell when a car is at curbside pickup. “Most of the orders are prepaid, so there is no contact. The server goes out and opens the passenger side door and gives food. We record the license plate for a signature, so they don’t have to touch a pen. For delivery, the driver will call when he is on way, and then leave food at the specified door, and then driver watches for the customer to come out and retrieve food, and then he (the driver) leaves,” Raymond added.

Kurt Johnson, owner of Shawbucks, 212 W. Second St., Jamestown, also uses an online system for orders. He said his business is experiencing a downturn of about 60% during the quarantine. He said Friday is the busiest day between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. and customers can get their orders at the pickup window located on Second Street. “We don’t let any customers in the buildings. We have restructured it, so the ordering is done online. You pay for it and everything online and then all we do is hand the food out the window. It was a lot of work getting it (online service) started, but it’s working pretty good now,” Johnson said.

The owners want the quarantine to be lifted, but in a safe manor. Take-out and pickup orders may decline. “I think people are going to want to get out, so take-out may drop. I think they are ready to come out and see people and have a conversation even though it may 6 feet away. It’s going to be a flood of business once everything starts opening up. That’s my guess. People still need to use their common sense. If you are sick or your coughing or you feel like you have cold, stay home and don’t go out. Be respectful of other people,” Spegar said.