WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — Serving up food to Connecticut customers was suddenly stopped amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“First in March, it was a ghost town and everyone thought, at least in our restaurant, that it was looking like the end,” said Alexander MacDonald, Owner of Luna Pizza 999 LLC.
But for Luna Pizza in West Hartford, things seemed to turn a corner through the spring and summer with the focus changing to delivery and take out options. For MacDonald, that’s always been Luna Pizza’s concept.
“It’s super convenient first of all, and we’ve had a presence in the town for 20 years at least now, so they know what we can do,” he said. “We just try to make people as comfortable as they need to be, because at the end of today, may not feel like they need to see a mask, but some people may think, hey can you just leave it on the doorstep and run away as quickly as you can.”
Luna Pizza, like many other restaurants in the area, has been following CDC and state guidelines when it comes to masks, hand washing, hand sanitizer, and social distancing. When it was allowed, the restaurant set up four tables outside, but overall, is limiting its outdoor dining.
“The rest of the town, they were closed for most of the time, you know, April and May, my neighbors matter just as much as I do, so. Not like there’s a lot of competition, but one less place trying to pack as many people in, may give some people some direction, like hey, go to one of our neighbors. They were hurting for so many months,” said MacDonald.
That’s what it’s really been all about in West Hartford Center.
“All for one and one for all. That’s the easiest way for me to describe it. All for one and one for all. We’re all in it together. Yeah, are we all trying to make a dollar here? Of course. But they’re my neighbors,” said MacDonald.
He also said the most important thing you can do as a customer is support your local small businesses, not just restaurants, but any business you can think of that may need your support during what has been a difficult time for many.