Save Our Locals

May 14, 2020

In recent weeks, most restaurants and cafes have been forced to shut their doors or significantly change their business model, leaving many favourite local venues closed and thousands of talented staff in the hospitality industry either stood down, or without a job. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that since lockdown, a staggering 82% of hospitality jobs have been lost.

 

While statistics about job losses from closed restaurants and cafes rightly dominate our thoughts and news headlines, Australians have adjusted to being at home by returning to cooking to keep themselves occupied and well fed. Since lockdown began, there has been a 71%  increase in time spent on cooking websites, with young people spending 144% more time following online recipes. 

 

This surge in interest represented a great opportunity for businesses to pivot and inspired the not-for-profit ‘Save Our Locals’ campaign. Its aim? To keep restaurants, bistros, and cafes in business in spite the wider challenge presented by social distancing restrictions.

 

‘Save Our Locals’ is a free online marketplace created to use cooking at home 
as a lifeline to keep local kitchens cooking.'

 

Save Our Locals is a free online marketplace supporting local cafés and restaurants by creating much-needed revenue to keep their lights on and staff employed. The initiative supports restaurants

by delivering fresh meal kits to home cooks – giving them the opportunity to recreate chefs’ delicious signature dishes at home. Save Our Locals meal kits make inspired results easy to recreate at home, with all the hard work and prep done by chefs to ensure aspiring cooks can enjoy restaurant-quality results in their own kitchen.

 

Ben Schultz, a hospitality industry veteran, sadly experienced the devastating impact of COVID-19 first-hand, with his business going into administration. Undeterred, Ben reached out to good friend Aaron Monks – owner of Lionize, a creative advertising and media agency, based in Sydney. Together, they used their joint skills and knowledge to conceive Save Our Locals – an initiative that supports the hospitality industry in lockdown and beyond by inspiring the local community to free their inner Chef.

 

Save Our Locals – supports hospitality with the help of generous industry partners

 

Save Our Locals wouldn’t be possible without the support of its founding sponsors and partners. Nestlé Professional, a client of Lionize and key partner to the hospitality industry, became one of the first supporters of the ‘Save Our Locals’ initiative. They provided funding and industry expertise to help this kick-start this venture.