Veracruz All Natural Reopens for Contactless Takeout Taco Orders

Pickup Taco Return
Veracruz All Natural is back again for pickup orders, after closing in mid-March so that its employees could self-quarantine for two weeks. Starting today, Monday, April 13, three Veracruz locations are open — the trucks at Radio Coffee on Menchaca Road and Webberville Road and the Round Rock restaurant. Hours are from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, and each will offer a modified menu depending on availability of ingredients and to streamline service. Orders will be placed online for specific locations. When customers arrive, they’ll pick up their orders from a table set up outside of the truck or restaurant. Veracruz is also putting together breakfast taco kits, which will include tortillas, eggs, potatoes, etc., with cooking videos to come.

Donation-Based Cooking Video Series
Austin photographer Richard Casteel and illustrator Evan Farias organized Hands for Austin Restaurants, a small recipe video database accessible through donations. People will donate $25 to the accompanying GoFundMe campaign, and then gain access to ten recipe videos and instructions from Austin restaurants: Suerte, Buenos Aires Cafe, Parkside, Malibu Poke, Tillie’s, Kome, and Barley Swine, with others to be added later.

Coronavirus-Related Grant Program
Dating app Bumble announced the first round of recipients of its Community Grant Program, an initiative to support local businesses around the world during the novel coronavirus pandemic. This includes South Austin vegetarian restaurant Bouldin Creek Cafe and East Austin vegan restaurant Counter Culture. The company will donate up to $5,000 to each business, and additional recipients will be announced later.

New Food Vendor Platform
South Congress department store Neighborhood Goods is looking to showcase local businesses, vendors, and artists affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic through its stores and a new e-commerce platform, The Commons by Neighborhood Goods, starting in the summer. Participating businesses will be able to sell their goods at any of the three locations (including Dallas and New York) as well as through the website. Local chefs will also be able to take over Neighborhood Goods’s kitchens for meal service as well. Interested participants can apply online. The Dallas-based mini-chain opened its first and only Austin location earlier in March.