#ResilientTPA: Help out Rooster and the Till, Nebraska Mini Mart, and Gallito by ordering from Rooster Redux!

#ResilientTPA is a hashtag that Taylor Ralph, founder of REAL Building Consultants and all-round civic-minded guy, came up with. It’s about those of us who can better economically weather the COVID-19 crisis helping those in less stable circumstances. I think it’s a great idea.

Here’s what he posted earlier:

Earlier this week, chef Ferrell Alvarez, who’s behind the following local restaurants…

• The Rooster and the Till
• Nebraska Mini Mart
• Gallito Taqueria in Tampa and Lakeland

…had to close down all four restaurants and lay off most of his staff. It’s all detailed in this Tampa Bay Times article: Tampa Bay’s restaurants try to adapt to an unprecedented crisis.

He has a plan to bring back his employees, one by one if necessary, but this plan depends on staying afloat. He’s reworked his business model so that you can order from a downsized go-to menu featuring dishes from his restaurants, including:

• Gnocchi with short ribs from Rooster & The Till (I’ve had them; they’re excellent)
• Sloppy joe nachos from Nebraska Mini Mart
• Pork belly tacos from Gallito Taqueria

As summed up in the Tampa Bay Times article:

It’s a last-ditch effort to keep the restaurant afloat during the coronavirus pandemic, which has prompted federally mandated restrictions on restaurant operations and social distancing recommendations that are keeping diners at home. As COVID-19 continues to wreak unprecedented economic havoc on businesses everywhere, Tampa Bay restaurants and bars are scrambling to figure out a way to survive.

The project is called Rooster Redux — check it out on the Rooster and the Till site. Do a good deed and get some good food and place an order!