Myrtle Beach restaurant brings free delivery as coronavirus fears hurt its bottom line
A Myrtle Beach restaurant has lost its catering orders, which will cost it thousands as fears from the coronavirus loom on the Grand Strand.
Snak Shak, a longtime Myrtle Beach restaurant on Kings Highway, is now offering free delivery to help with business as people are deciding to avoid crowds.
Eight large catering orders through April were canceled, which would have brought in thousands to his business, said owner Andy Graham. Events range from wedding receptions to church meals to a St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
“This certainly has the crisis feel of a hurricane,” he said. “The difference between this and a hurricane is you have an approximate time of when the hurricane will get here … and then [after] it’s somewhat business back to usual.
“But with the coronavirus, this could go on for months. We don’t know. Two months is a long time for businesses to have their sales interrupted.”
Graham said he’s hoping state officials will not limit restaurants to just delivery and carry out, but if they do, “We have to do what we have to do to keep the doors open.”
In the meantime, Graham said dishes are being washed before being put into the dishwasher and extra wipes are being used to clean surfaces to keep the restaurant clean.
The backbone of his business is support from locals, he said.
“My philosophy is to support local businesses as much as I can,” Graham said. “I try to support local businesses year round, but particularly in a crisis, and I feel like they will return the favor to me.”
Snak Shak is located at 5211 N. Kings Highway. Orders for delivery can be made my calling Snak Shak at 843-712-2195.
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 12:02 PM.
