As our entire nation comes together to learn how to battle COVID-19 and the new way of life living with a global pandemic has inspired, our local business community is facing numerous challenges.
As the voice of our local business owners and advocate for our members, we are working tirelessly to provide our business community with support, encouragement, and resources that will help them weather this storm.
As our President and CEO, Rick Weldon, recently expressed, “Instead of focusing on the things we have no control over, my hope is that the Frederick County business community sees this for what it offers us, not what it denies us.”
We urge you to find a way to focus on the positives and invest yourself in activities that will help your business and fellow community members recover and thrive when this comes to an end.
Here are some things you can do today to support businesses in our community.
10 Things You Can Do to Help Frederick County Businesses Impacted By COVID-19
Stay informed.
But, get your news from credible sources.
There are a lot of untrustworthy news sources pushing out unsubstantiated claims and misinformation makes dealing with this virus more challenging. Stay up to date on the current CDC recommendations as well as the things going on in your state and county.
For information from the CDC: CDC Coronavirus Info
For information from Governor Hogan’s Office and the State of Maryland: Maryland Governor
For information from Frederick County: Frederick County COVID-19 Response
Practice social distancing.
The single best thing you as an individual can do to help combat this disease and mitigate impact is to follow the guidelines from the government (federal, state, and local) to practice social distancing.
What is social distancing?
According to the Red Cross, medical experts describe social distancing as “deliberately increasing the physical space between people to avoid spreading illness. Staying at least six feet away from other people lessens your chances of catching COVID-19. Examples include avoiding mass gatherings, working from home if possible, closing schools, visiting loved ones electronically instead of in person and canceling or postponing conferences or large meetings.”
Order take-out and/or delivery.
Since Governor Hogan issued the order to close dining rooms at local eateries, they have been struggling to stay afloat. You can help by ordering delivery (from those that offer it or use Door Dash) and take out to be picked up curbside.
As of Friday, 3/20, the following Chamber member restaurants were offering take out and/or delivery services:
- Baltimore Coffee & Tea – pickup
- South Mountain Creamery – home delivery
- Chick-fil-A – drive through
- Brewer’s Alley – pickup
- Carterque BBQ – pickup
- Chaps Pit Beef – pickup and delivery
- Dublin Roasters – pickup and delivery
- Fratelli’s – pickup
- Silver Diner – pickup and delivery
- Rocky Point Creamery – pickup
- Pretzel and Pizza Creations – pickup and delivery
- Plaza Mexico of Frederick – pickup with margaritas too!
- Roy Rogers – pickup and drive thru
- Olive Garden – pickup and delivery
- Oscar’s Ale House – pickup
- Pistarro’s – pickup
- Menchie’s – pickup
- Maxwell’s Kitchen – pickup
- Madrone’s – pickup with beer and wine too!
- Starvin Marvin Pizzeria & Grille – pickup and delivery
- The Wine Kitchen – pickup
- White Rabbit Gastropub – pickup and delivery
- South Market Sandwich Co – pickup and (limited) delivery
- The Main Cup – pickup
See more options here: Downtown Restaurants with Takeout and/or Delivery
Shop Online
Just because storefronts are closed, doesn’t mean you can’t sneak in a little local retail therapy. Consider shopping some of our local retailers via their online shops. Many will also take phone orders from you.
Members with Online Shopping and Delivery
- Lebherz Oil & Vinegar Emporium
- McCutcheon Apple Products
- Anything in Stained Glass – Project kits
- The Trail House
- HobbyTown USA, Frederick
Members with Online Shopping and Pickup
- AR Workshop – DIY to Go Kits
- Attaboy Beer
See Downtown Frederick Partnership for the full list: Downtown Frederick Partnership List of Online and By Phone Retailers
Make a donation.
The United Way launched a giving campaign specifically to aid business owners during this time. You can donate to it here: United Way of Frederick County COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund
There is also a a virtual tip jar set up by Downtown Frederick Partnership to support Frederick’s service industry workers through this time. Consider donating to those on it and be sure to share it with people you think could benefit. You can find it here: Frederick’s Virtual Tip Jar
Support them on social media.
Find the local businesses you utilize on social media and then engage with them there. Liking, commenting, sharing their content and updates as much as possible helps them spread the word about their services and needs while also helping to build long term brand awareness. This will definitely come in handy when our community begins to recover and get back to business as usual.
We are sharing updates from our members across our social channels. You can follow us at the below links:
Frederick Chamber: Facebook
Frederick Chamber: Instagram
Frederick Chamber: Twitter
Frederick Chamber: LinkedIn
Write reviews.
It’s an often overlooked way to show support to a business, but leaving reviews on Yelp and Facebook help that business tremendously, both now and in the future.
Take a moment to write a note sharing what you love about them and post it to their pages now that you’re spending so much time at home.
Share helpful resources.
It’s hard to stay up to date on all of the available programs and resources becoming available to individuals and business owners right now. Help with the overwhelm by reaching out to business owners and other in need to share opportunities you come across that may benefit them. Just take a moment to make sure they’re legitimate and not one of the many scams being perpetrated by those seeking to profit from the unfortunate situation we all find ourselves in right now.
Here are the resources we have found: COVID-19 Business Relief Information
Join and share our Chamber Challenge
We created this fun way to support our local businesses and we are excited to have as many participants as possible join us in taking this challenge.
We encourage you to take the next two weeks to complete as many of these challenges as possible and please share it with your friends!
Reach out and show you care.
At the end of the day, there is nothing any of us can do to stop what is happening. What we can do is show kindness, be caring, support our community, and lend a hand when the time to rebuild is here.
Be understanding and mindful of the stress many in our community are under because of this situation. Whether they’re business owners wondering how they’ll make ends meet, employees who’ve been laid off, or community members who are ill or taking care of loved ones who are, everyone is experiencing hardships right now.
Take a moment to reach out to friends, neighbors, and family members and let them know that you’re thinking of them during this time.
Frederick Chamber Insights is a news outlet of the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce. For more information about membership, programs and initiatives, please visit our website