List of Columbia (and other HoCo) Restaurants offering Takeout/Delivery
I have created an editable Google Sheet listing restaurants in Columbia (and other other HoCo) areas that are open and offering pick-up and delivery. The list includes the name of the restaurant, phone, website, Facebook page, and whether they offer pick-up and/or delivery. The sheet is editable, so please feel free to update and add new restaurants to the list! I've added 25 to the the list myself already.
Ordering food is a nice way to change things up from cooking at home each night, and helps support our local businesses who are certainly feeling the strain. For those who are skeptical due to safety concerns of ordering delivery or takeout food during the pandemic, this Verge.com article does a great job providing instruction on how to do it safely.
A few things to consider:
Consider supporting small businesses and locally-owned restaurants who may be hit-harder and feeling the financial strain moreso than national chains during the slow-down in business.
Order directly through the restaurant by calling in your order and/or using their own website platform instead of using a third-party delivery app, like GrubHub, UberEats, or Doordash. While many of these platforms have waived delivery fees for customers during the pandemic, they still charge a commission to the restaurant, so take the extra minute or two to call in your order so the restaurant receives the most revenue.
Tip well!
Many restaurants are able to delivery beer, wine, and liquor. Govt Hogan's action closing all MD bars and restaurants for in-person dining allows restaurants to more easily gain approval to delivery liquor.
There is little evidence to support that COVID-19 can be transmitted through food or food packaging, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration (although, of course, nobody is absolutely sure), but smart safety measures can be taken to reduce risk.
Discard the food containers and packaging and instead use your own dishes and utensils. Wash your hand immediately after handling packaging.
If using delivery, you can ask for your food to be left on your doorstep to avoid all contact with the delivery person. If doing pick-up, must places offer curb-side delivery, so they can put your order directly in your car for you while you wait outside.
If you are still uncomfortable ordering from a restaurant but want to help, you can order a gift certificate to use when normalcy returns, or you can consider donating to Howard County's General Hospital "Caring for our Caregivers" campaign to raise funds to buy meals from local restaurants to serve our amazing health care workers. Win/Win!