After having to close their doors and lay-off their staff due to the COVID-19, Ugly’s Pub and Grill decided to use their remaining food to help the community.
On March 18, the pub made a Facebook post saying they have decided to use their remaining fresh produce and food to donate meals to people who are in need in the community.
Taylor DeMott, co-owner of Ugly’s Pub and Grill, said they made to decision to close on March 17, followed by her mother Cindy DeMott coming up with the idea to donate the food.
“Doing take-out and delivery was up in the air, so my mom decided thought there was a lot of people out there who are not able to afford a lot,” she said. “They aren’t able to put meals on the table and they may not have the most nutritional meal or they may have to skip a meal.
“She is preparing about 150 meals and we are using all of our meats to make a Shepherd’s Pie, Beef Stew, some chili and some salads we will be giving out as one meal per person.”
Taylor said the response to their post on Facebook was huge.
“I have had a lot more requests than I even expected and we will do some delivery, but we will be only doing that if it absolutely necessary — if people are sick or quarantined at home. The rest will be pick-up,” she said.
Taylor said her mom has always been passionate about cooking and giving back to the community.
“We are going to see how today goes and how many people are in need. She is considering taking money out of her own pocket and preparing meals for people in the next few days. We are seeing how everything goes,” she said.
Taylor said seeing how many people are in need during the pandemic has been emotional.
“It was very surprising and a little overwhelming. I was getting all sorts of messages, so I decided to have everyone contact my business email. It is quite emotional to see how many people are in need right now,” she said.
The choice to give back comes after after the very difficult choice to shut down temporarily.
“We are family owned and operated business and my mom has owned the bar for 19 years. I have been running it for eight and this past September, I became a co-owner. We are a small venue and our staff is family to us, so it was emotional to have to make the decision to lay everyone off, but we knew that decision was best for the community and everyone’s well-being,” she said.
“My staff all know that the minute I am able to open my doors again, they all will have their positions secure. Each and every one of them offers a certain touch to the pub.”
She added her mom is always trying to help everyone in the community — especially during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“We are trying our best to help everyone,” she said.
todd.vaughan@lacombeexpress.com
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