Outside Richard’s Brick Oven Pizza in downtown Franklin, a line of vehicles waited to file into a packed parking lot.
No, there weren’t any pizza specials bringing out dozens of people. Instead, it was the promise of a free meal during a very uncertain time.
Employees and volunteers helped cook and deliver pulled pork barbecue to people in their vehicles. Throughout the week, they added variety to what they served, cooking up spaghetti with marinara sauce and garlic bread, chili and gumbo with rice.
In an attempt to stop the spread of coronavirus, Gov. Eric Holcomb ordered all non-essential businesses closed starting March 25. With those closures came layoffs.
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During a one week period in March, 3.3 million people filed unemployment claims. Over the past 10 years, there hasn’t been a week with more than 500,000 people applying for unemployment benefits, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The goal was to show those who recently lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic that the community is rallying around them.
For single mother Candace Welch, a Franklin resident, the help couldn’t have come at a better time, Welch said.
“I heard about it on Facebook and it helped me,” Welch said. “I’m a single mom. I’m sick and I can’t go to work. It really helps. I think it’s wonderful. I tried to tip by giving cash but they wouldn’t take it.”
Richard’s Brick Oven Pizza was also hit hard by the pandemic. Although they are still allowed to deliver and offer carry-out, they had to let go of five of their 15 employees, owner Richard Goss said.
“It was a huge question when we found we were going to be takeout only,” Goss said of the restaurant’s future. “We weren’t sure what kind of business we would have. Luckily, pizza is handy for takeout, but we found a 50% decrease in business in the first week.”
Still, Goss and his employees and volunteers felt it imperative to lend a helping hand. In addition to the meals they give to people who drive up to the restaurant, their drivers have been delivering meals to Johnson County Senior Services, feeding 50 local seniors per day, Goss said.
In order to provide the food needed to make the meals, volunteer Bill Dever purchased about $1,000 worth of food from Restaurant Depot, a restaurant supplier, Goss said.
“At the end of the day, what’s really important is through this experience, we build a heightened community, and within Franklin, a core of good and giving,” Dever said. “We have to move beyond this time of crisis. It’s an exercise of a neighbor feeding a neighbor.”
Last week, Richard’s Brick Oven Pizza had already served more than 1,500 meals to the community, and is preparing about 225 meals per day, Goss said.
Last year, he helped set up the Walnut Culinary Foundation, a non-profit organization, which has turned its attention to helping feed people affected financially by COVID-19. By the end of last week, the foundation had raised about $5,000, he said.
Although workers at the pizzeria have had to deal with a constantly changing environment, it is a great way to get the community to work together, kitchen manager Chris Douthitt said.
“It’s been different; it’s a little bit of an adjustment,” Douthitt said. “It’s not different in a bad way. It’s been kind of fun, seeing everyone get together to work as a team and run a business at the same time.”
Franklin resident Felicia Britton, who recently started a new job, is grateful for that effort, she said.
“It’s going to help a lot,” Britton said. “I just started a job so money is tight. I think it’s awesome to help everyone out in Franklin.”
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If you would like to donate to Richard’s Brick Oven Pizza to help feed Franklin residents, mail checks to Walnut Culinary Foundation, 80 East
Jefferson St., Franklin, IN.
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What: Employees and volunteers are distributing free meals to those in need
When: 6-7 p.m. daily
Where: Richard’s Brick Oven Pizza, 229 S. Main St., Franklin.
To buy food: Carryout daily 5 to 8 p.m., may close earlier depending on demand.
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