CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) -When Gov. Mike DeWine made the announcement on Sunday that all bars and restaurants were to shut down dining rooms, many had predictably bought and prepped volumes of corned beef ahead of St. Patrick’s Day.
“By the time they announced it, it was too late when the announcement was made,” said David Steele, who owns the Flat Iron Cafe.
They started cooking last Thursday to prepare for the holiday.
“Ninety percent of it was already cooked. We were ready to go,” he said.
Now, they’re sitting on about 300 pounds of corned beef.
They’d scaled back a bit, ordering less than they normally do, but they didn’t expect to have a totally empty dining room on March 17.
Steele said they’re selling corned beef sandwiches and platters to go, and distributing the tips for carry-out orders among the dozen employees he had to lay off.
Nora’s Public House, part of a family of Irish-owned businesses, that also includes Fiona’s Coffee Bar and Bakery, and The Wild Goose, has a whopping 1,200 pounds of corned beef to sell today.
They’re offering a deal to unload it all, 3.5 pounds of corned beef, bread, Swiss cheese and all the fixings for $25.
“Today would have been their busiest day of the year,” said Rony Daher, whose family owns the Manhattan Deli in Mentor.
Normally, they would order 4,000 pounds of corned beef for St. Patrick’s Day.
They were able to make adjustments on Sunday, and cut their order in half.
Still, 16 people were laid off due to the closure of the dining room.
They’re offering takeout business for lunch and dinner can be done in-person (or via phone order), GrubHub, Uber Eats or Door Dash.
Their sister restaurant, Wings Tavern & Sports Bar in Maple Heights, they cut back their order from their normal order of 1,200 pounds, to 500 pounds.
In the smaller operation, six people had to take reduced shifts to avoid layoffs.
All takeout business for lunch and dinner can be done in-person (or via phone order), and via Postmates.
Brennan’s Fish House in Grand River is shopping around their food truck, which would normally still be parked for the winter at this time.
They’re offering to cater for companies with the truck or deliver to homes.
They’ve got 75 pounds of corned beef to serve, plus other Irish offerings.
“We currently have many meals in the process of being prepared such as Irish stew, corned beef dinners, Reubens, and corn beef sandwich’s all cooked in house and with best quality of meat you can buy,” said owner Tim Freeman.
And Corky & Lenny’s in Woodmere, which has been in the corned beef business for 64 years, they have 1,000 pounds of the holiday special to sell.
They’re offering the famous deli sandwiches, and hoping to sell off ham and salami at their deli to customers who come in for take-out.
Copyright 2020 WOIO. All rights reserved.