Business Booms for Restaurant Offering Toilet Paper Bonus

Another place sells 'emergency taco kits' with 4 rolls thrown in
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 18, 2020 5:30 PM CDT
Business Booms for Restaurant Offering Toilet Paper Bonus
Stock illustration.   (Getty/Samuil_Levich)

To bring customers "a little comic relief" during the pandemic, an Illinois restaurant is adding a side of toilet paper to every orders. The general manager of the Beacon Tap in Des Plaines said the idea came from the manager of another restaurant in his company. He quickly called his supplier, Tommy Riemer said, "and ordered as much as I could." So far, the Beacon Tap has given away 80 of the 300 rolls he bought, WMAQ reports. Every delivery or takeout order gets a roll. Those are the only options; Gov. J.B. Pritzker has prohibited dining in during the coronavirus outbreak. With people trying to stock up on toilet paper during the pandemic, business boomed after the Beacon Tap announced the offer Monday. "We were able to bring in extra employees yesterday because we were so busy," Riemer said, "and it was really awesome."

It could become a movement. An Ohio restaurant held TP Tuesday this week, giving every customer who spent at least $25 a free roll, per the Dayton Daily News. "Our customers count on us," the owner of the Waynesville restaurant said, "and in times like these, we all need to be able to count on each other." A taco place in Los Angeles is selling "emergency taco kits" that include, among other ingredients, 5 pounds of roasted chicken, 30 eggs, salsa, rice and beans—and four rolls of toilet paper. California restaurants also are limited to delivery and takeout, per KTVU. The kits generate enough business to let Guerrilla Tacos cover health and dental insurance for its employees, whether they're working during the outbreak or not. (More coronavirus stories.)

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