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Restaurants prepare to-go thanksgiving dinners, in light of the Coronavirus pandemic

Due to COVID-19, many people aren't traveling, cooking, or gathering in big groups like they usually would. This means smaller to-go turkey-day dishes are a hit.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, a lot of people didn’t travel for Thanksgiving like they normally would.

That meant many people were tackling the holiday cooking for the first time. It also meant others opted to get “Thanksgiving to-go,” and restaurants are meeting the demands.

At Cobalt Grille, in Virginia Beach, they added new to-go Thanksgiving dishes that are available for people to pick up and eat at home.

Co-owner Alvin Williams said in 20 years of business, they've only served small two-person turkey dinners at the previous restaurant.

“We’ve never done Thanksgiving, the whole meals to-go,” said Williams. He said, “This year, with COVID, it seems we’ve come full circle and come back to a lot of small parties.”

Also, COVID-19 hasn’t made business easy, with restaurants closing for a period of time and reducing capacity. So, the small dinners are back, and ready for pick-up.

“It’s definitely helping us because it brings in revenue,” said Williams. He said, “the whole meaning of the holiday is what you’re thankful for and we’re thankful for our health, and we’re thankful for our staff and our families… and we’re still here, we’re still in business and hopefully we’re going to make it.”

Other places also saw an increase in demand.

Cecile Abid, the Manager at Le Yaca, said the restaurant is doing to-go Thanksgiving dinners for the first time as well.

“We keep on the tradition. We have to be open,” said Abid. “It’s definitely different this year, and we definitely have more requests about it.”

Since it’s to-go she suggests enjoy the experience fully, from the protection of dining at your own table, Abid said “Even if it’s the same food, it’s in a box. So, please put it on a plate.”

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