Of the 255 coronavirus cases in North Carolina (as of 10 am Sunday), 80 are in Mecklenburg County; three or fewer of those cases are in the 28105 zip code. Positive results are increasing dramatically, partly due to more availability of tests. As of Friday at noon, there were 37 cases reported in Mecklenburg County. Most surprising is that 48.8% of those positives are people between the ages of 20 and 39.
Map via Mecklenburg County's website
Look on our website for a list of small, locally-owned restaurants (in Matthews or owned by Matthews residents) offering take out. To be certain we're missing some, so send them our way if you notice ones that are missing. Also, be sure to call and make sure they're open. Everything feels in flux and businesses have to make decisions quickly.
A few restaurants have created Go Fund Me fundraisers. The Loyalist has one to continue providing sandwiches for kids in the school lunch program. Stumptown Station's Go Fund Me is for their employees who can't continue to work since bars were forced to close. Char Bar corporate closed all of its restaurants, letting its employees go, but the manager created a Go Fund Me for those let go.
Retail businesses are hurting, too. We're working on a list of businesses that have remained open, similar to the restaurant list. We have an update from Friday's newsletter: Renfrow’s couldn't keep social distancing protocols in place with their traditional set up. The hardware store may reopen on a Tuesday through Friday schedule with curbside ordering and fulfillment. Check the Renfrow Facebook page for further updates.